by Feng Yue
Silently, the water vapor perception threads froze and snapped. In an instant, Ye Qingxuan had lost his perception.
In the empty house, white frost spread from Claude’s feet, instantly blanketing the ground in white. As if a wind tunnel had been opened, sharp winds blew in palm-size snowflakes. They whistled around his body, emitting a cold chill. The sharp snowflakes cut through the walls easily and crushed another incoming arrow.
This was not pure energy change released by the School of Modifications—this was the Blizzard Suite from the School of Revelations! It had been created by a genius who simulated the heavens rather than hell. He put celestial phenomena into his mind, empowered them with the aether, and created something comparable to natural catastrophes.
Though he was destroyed by his own wild fantasies in his final attempt, he had started a new path in the School of Revelations. With the additions of others, it became a new school. They were Revelations musicians, but most would also use music scores from other schools in case of emergency.
This was the precious movement that Claude had earned from the royal family after entering the Resonance level. With this melody, the aether would form a blizzard zone like a giant shield. In this zone, external energy attacks would be diluted and frozen by the layers of blizzards. Enemies approaching brashly would become a pile of crushed ice. And its greatest power was…Flight!
Boom! The roof of the empty house was suddenly lifted up by a huge force. His body rose and he flew up into the sky!
The wind and snow rolled in reverse, emanating with icy coldness. The icicles cut into countless water droplets and Claude was instantly dozens of meters aboveground. If he was still at the Resonance level, he could have affected the weather of the entire street. Now, flying in the air, he was invincible.
“Cousin, he’s flying,” Bai Xi murmured. “Just as you said…”
Ye Qingxuan smiled and did not reply. He slowly lifted up his cane. Bolero’s perception threads extended from his body again and spread in all directions. A plaintive melody sounded faintly.
146 The Divine Horn
As Claude looked down on the two standing on the roof, hate flashed across his menacing features. He seemed to have sensed Ye Qingxuan’s defense, but his expression was still one of scorn.
He awoke the music score in his bone flute once again and began playing! In an instant, the lion began to roar like an angry copper elephant. It was a fulmination!
As if thousands upon thousands of horns were blown at once, the aether rushed together amid the avalanche-like melody. The light was dazzling.
When the horrible melody seemed to shatter eardrums and evaporate the rainwater in the sky…the storm ended under the melody’s deterrence. It was logical.
The Divine Horn: This was a hymn created by saints centuries ago during the era of mission art. The song praised the mighty sounds created by divine power as it acted upon Earth! “Before long, I will shake the oceans and lands of the heavens and earth once again. I will shake the universe!”
It was a majestic roar that exploded from nothing and controlled every organism, forcing them to sway with the melody. Everything in its path shook until it crumbled to powder!
In the next moment, music burst from the horn. A thin ripple shook through the air from Claude’s fingertip. The chaotic aether surged forward, instantly transforming the heavy sheets of rain into thick fog. The cone-shaped ripple advanced toward Ye Qingxuan without a sound.
The walls in the ripple’s path was reduced to powder, the water vapor evaporated, and even dust particles cracked apart. Even the air seemed to break with a sound like glass shattering. Everything in the path of the ripple was pulverized. The white fog billowed. Destruction was coming.
Claude cackled in the air. He focused on controlling the destructive ripple. He would surround the two d*mned ants, close in on them, and finally squash them! This way, the Professor’s plan would completely fail. He would be able to receive some consolation as well. He was ecstatic about his clever attack on the Professor, but for some reason, guilt arose in his heart.
He would survive, but his partners would most likely die in the Professor’s hands…even the strange Blue Teeth would have a hard time fighting back. He did not do anything during the time when they needed him the most! The guilt and humiliation surged, and expanded without control.
When he finally came back to his senses, he had already sunk into the guilt. Even his control over the Divine Horn had slacked.
A wailing melody sounded in the rain, as if the dead were roaring in his ears! The dark melody had already burrowed into his heart. It was like mercury, seeping into every pore. As his emotions swung from fear to excitement, the melody snuck into his heart and slowly began stirring chaos.
The darkness in his soul was awoken by the frantic yet hopeless melody. He sank into confusion and pain. If he was still a Revelations musician at the Resonance level and could sense the changes in aether, he would have noticed this poisonous snake in his mind, but his sound of heart had shattered, and there were gaping holes all over his defense. He did not know how many holes he had left as his swung between emotions.
D*mn it! D*mn it! In the air, Claude struggled. The remaining starlight in his eyes was extinguished without a sound. His expression changed continuously. Sometimes it was innocent, sometimes menacing, sometimes crazed. He had sunk deeply into the darkness of his soul, as if he would drown in the dark river at any time. Pain, loneliness, and…despair!
Just as he was about to break down, coldness spread from the Silver Virgo. He shook, keeping his mind clear with difficulty.
What was happening? He looked around in shock, and discovered that the power of Divine Horn had disappeared.
It was storming again. The rain drove away the thick fog, revealing a dark figure. Sensing Claude’s eyes, the figure smiled mockingly.
In an instant, the wailing melody rose amid the sound of the rain. The murmurs in his ears transformed into howls. The rain began to pour wildly as if the skies had gone crazy!
Claude could barely keep his balance in the air. The area with the blizzard began quaking. A formless force was trying to take his body. The dark melody had seeped into him, shaking his tenacity, forcing him down!
Suddenly, the ecstatic soul fell into the abyss. He finally realized that it was a dark musician! Another dark musician! The person who had attacked him was just a distraction. There was a dark musician hidden between two Rhythm musicians…A dark musician who acted without care for Avalon’s enchantment!
But how? How could the enchantment not react to this wild melody? What had this guy received from Satan that hid him from the enchantment?!
His eyes were frantic and hopeless. He could not figure it out at all! But he could not waste more time. He must leave now…
Without thinking, he began riding the blizzard to escape from this d*mned place, but he was in was Avalon. If he ran, the dark musician would definitely chase after him…No dark musician dared to fly in the air of the capitol. No matter how the Dark Musician blocked the enchantment, if he rose up in the air, he would set off the highest class of alarms, then the Round Table Knights would arrive and destroy him! Yes, that was the only way…
Claude sped up, his body flying with the wild wind. He did not see that the cold figure shook and almost collapsed behind him.
Under the pouring rain, the exhausted youth watched as Claude faded into the distance. He shook his head. “How can I let you go after putting in so much effort?” he thought.
“The weather is good today.” Smiling, Ye Qingxuan raised his staff. Indra’s Eye reflected the lightning in the sky.
“Do not turn the three realms into ashes!” As if he had pressed a fatal button, the clouds began to tremble and blinding light appeared. It was as if an angry fire was burning behind black paper.
For a moment, the black clouds glowed from the hot lightning, and the world was blindingly white! As if the gods above the clouds were angry, the worl
d shook with the destructive sounds of beating drums.
Amid the thunderous roars, a bolt of lightning tore through the clouds, striking the earth! Even if one shielded their eyes, the burning light was still painful.
The anger of Indra, the god of thunder, was like a sledgehammer, completely ripping apart the blizzard. It obliterated the shields and defensive alchemy equipment as well, and surged into Claude’s body.
Electrocuted, Claude let out a painful cry. He fell to the ground, his body burnt to crisp. Thud! He landed in the mud.
On the rooftop, Ye Qingxuan was once again dizzy from the blood loss and almost fell down head-first. Thankfully, Bai Xi caught him and poured medicine down his throat.
“Hurry, there’s still a bigger fish to catch. This guy is just a small shrimp.” Soon, Ye Qingxuan was energized again. He looked down at the dim Indra’s Eye and sighed. “But this thing seriously is powerful.”
If an average person used it, they would probably be sapped on the first try. Even Ye Qingxuan, with his dragon blood, suffered from blood loss. But its power was definitely worth the price!
Because of the weather, Indra’s Eye was able to manipulate the lightning and thunder in the clouds. Just as a Resonance musician used the world’s strength, Indra’s Eye used blood, but its power was uncomparable. This was what Ye Qingxuan relied on.
With Indra’s Eye, he was confident even facing three musicians, not to mention someone like Claude, who had fallen from the Resonance level and was badly injured, and could only fight using his instrument.
Ye Qingxuan’s plan was going smoothly. He first used the arrow to lure Claude over, purposely let the man discover him, and used two Rhythm level measures so he would lower his guard and walk out. Ye Qingxuan had won the battle the moment Claude shot up to the sky, laughing maniacally.
—
The empty room was in ruins. After the blizzard had swept through, everything had turned to ice. Then in the aftermath of the quakes, it had all turned to dust. That was Indra’s fire. Everything in its path would shatter to pieces!
Ye Qingxuan dragged Claude into the room and tossed the man onto the ground. The raging thunder landed on his body, and all the alchemy equipment was destroyed instantly.
Ye Qingxuan had miscalculated and used a bit too much force. He had almost burned this guy to ashes. Even so, the man was barely alive.
Thankfully, musicians were accustomed to aether, and after years of penetration, their bones were strengthened. And when a musician resonated with the world, his physical strength would soar too. His vitality would be as strong as a cockroach.
If musicians did not have such vitality, Ye Qingxuan would seriously go crazy. He had worked so hard just to have someone he could question!
After having a vessel of medicine poured down his throat, Claude moaned painfully and spat out black blood. “Who…” He opened his eyes with difficulty. They were filled with confusion and resentment. “Who are you?”
“Ah, you can still talk! That’s great.” A foot stepped onto his body and a smile appeared on the shadow’s face. “It was first time using that technique, so I didn’t control it well. My apologies. But you’re so powerful…what if I don’t kill you and you fight back?”
“Who’s there?” Claude’s face was shockingly white. He tried to see what the man looked like but it was all a blur.
“You can’t see?” The youth with a cane stooped down, politely lowering his hunting hat. “We meet again, Mr. Royal Musician Claude.”
“It’s…you!” When he finally saw the smiling face clearly, fear enveloped Claude. He could still remember the scared and confused youth from the daytime, but now, the smiling face was filled with a terrifying strangeness.
He tried to speak, but could only cough violently. “Who—who—who are you?!”
“I almost forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Holmes. The Vengeful Spirit, Sherlock Holmes.” The youth grinned. “That’s right. I’m the dark musician who’s been making headlines recently.”
147 Moonligh
“That’s right. I’m the dark musician who’s become a bit famous in recent days.”
Claude’s vision went black. As if he had fallen into icy waters, he almost passed out from the shock.
The only thing more terrifying than death was wishing one was dead. Most of those who fell into the hands of dark musicians would alternate between these two experiences. The torture of being alive, but worse than death, was the despair of wishing to be dead but unable to die!
“You and the Professor weren’t actually fighting!” Claude muttered in despair, finally seeing the light. “You’re working together.”
“Don’t make wild guesses if you’re not smart enough. I just passed by and pushed you further into the ditch.” Ye Qingxuan shrugged. “I mean, you all want to jump in and can’t be stopped. I can’t let the Professor get all the good stuff, right?”
“You!”
“I strongly suggest you don’t act brazenly,” the youth stared into his eyes and reminded him. “Or else we’re done talking, understand?”
Claude froze, panic flashing past his eyes.
“If you can’t satisfy me, I can promise that whether you die or live, the entire world will know tomorrow that you’ve betrayed the Royal Musicians to work for the parliament! You don’t want to become a traitor after you die, right?”
Claude froze and hacked up a mouthful of black blood. He roared hoarsely, “Despicable!”
“If you’re scared of people finding your weak points, then you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.” Ye Qingxuan scoffed. “But it doesn’t feel good to be a slave to others when you have such a bright future, right?”
“What do you know…” Claude forced out in resentment. “Do you know how much I’ve put in to climb to this position as a commoner? If not for the parliament, I wouldn’t even be part of the Royal Musicians!”
“That is not an excuse,” Ye Qingxuan interrupted coldly. “I’m not here to listen to how hard your life is. If you don’t want to be forced out of the Royal Musicians, you’re going to have to talk nicely with me.”
“…What do you want to know?”
“Who is the robin?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
“I don’t know.” Claude laughed, mocking both Ye Qingxuan and himself. “You’ve made a mistake. I’ve never seen him in person…I don’t know anything about the parliament.”
“You think I’ll believe that?” Ye Qingxuan asked.
Claude’s eyes rolled back, his gaze unstable. “If I’m not injured, I can resonate with the world and swear to the Originator… but if I wasn’t injured, why would I compromise with you?”
“Seems like you’re not giving up.” Ye Qingxuan stared at him. Suddenly, he grasped Claude’s chin and reached into his mouth. With a snap, he broke off a fake tooth and yanked it out.
Ye Qingxuan crushed the porcelain tooth in his hand, revealing the blood-red crystal inside. Seeing that the crystal was in Ye Qingxuan’s hand, Claude’s face grew pale, and his eyes dimmed with defeat.
“The Crystal of Virtue? It’s been ten years and you still haven’t changed where you hide it?” Ye Qingxuan scraped off a bit of powder with his nail and flicked it into his mouth. The powder melted in his saliva and transformed into heat, spreading through his body.
Ye Qingxuan shivered. His face, pale from blood loss, instantly turned ruddy. In fact, the blood had come back so strongly he almost had a nosebleed.
The Crystal of Virtue was a precious medicine known as the ‘second life.’ As long as they promised to be loyal to the royal family for life, all Royal Musicians could receive one. As long as the musician was not completely dead, he could be brought back to life with this medicine.
“What a good thing,” Ye Qingxuan praised as he stuffed it into his pocket without hesitation. “I’m keeping it.”
Seeing that his last shred of hope had been stolen, Claude screamed in anger. He tried to climb up and take it back. Besides fury and
hate, an ineffable fear rose in him. Why did the dark musician know so much about Royal Musicians? Why could he see every move? Did he have the Starry Eyes sound of heart too?! But Satan’s power was supposed to deform the sound of heart. Why could this guy act so brazenly in Avalon?
Sensing his thoughts, Ye Qingxuan’s eyes turned mocking. Under those scornful eyes, any struggle became laughable. It was the humiliation of having every thought read by the other; it was the fear of walking up naked under the blazing sun.
“If you’re good and tell me about the parliament, I can bring you to the doctor. You might be able to return to the Resonance level with the help of the Chant musicians. Otherwise, you know how valuable you are to dark musicians, right?”
Claude did not reply. His burnt face was filled with despair. Finally making his decision, he said hoarsely, “I’ll talk. I know how to contact the robin. Every time I contact him, I…” For some reason, his voice trailed off and his broken face suddenly bloated.
Ye Qingxuan reacted quickly, yanking Claude’s collar. “He cursed you and you didn’t even know?! Talk! Time’s running out!”
Because he had spoken the forbidden words, Claude’s body quickly expanded to twice its original size. He looked like a balloon now.
“…I just…when!” Claude struggled in panic as the curse within him was awakened. “Robin, you…my body…”
“Finish what you’re saying! I’ll avenge you!” Ye Qingxuan stared deeply into those hopeless eyes. “Where is the robin? What does the parliament have to do with Ye Lanzhou?!”
“I, I…” Claude’s blood vessels were about to explode. “Lanzhou…”
“Spit it out!” Ye Qingxuan stared at him, eyes wild and frantic. But a hand grabbed him and dragged him out of the house before he could react. Then Bai Xi tackled him.
Boom! The ground behind Ye Qingxuan shook like an earthquake. Scalding blood and fire spewed from the crack in the wall. Claude had exploded from the curse within his body…