Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  The ghastly green and dirt-yellow colors battled with each other and disappeared at the same time.

  The graduating student who had shot the arrow froze. He looked back and saw the student in disguise next to the other side’s goal. There was a crack in his concrete break, revealing his lips. He played his flute soundlessly.

  Ye Qingxuan laughed loudly. “Thanks, Bench Guy!”

  “No problem.” Bench Guy sighed in concern. “Worry about yourself first.”

  In the distance, a rumble sounded.

  196 Turn Up the Volume of the Taunts

  Hearing Bench Guy’s words, Ye Qingxuan looked up to see the student before him already producing a melody. The sound was fierce like a rippling flame. A line of red appeared in thin air and swept forward. It was meters away but Ye Qingxuan’s hair still curled slightly from the heat.

  His steps halted abruptly. Immediately, the redness expanded before him, turning into a wall of fire. His eyes turned red before the spewing flames. If he had reacted a bit more slowly, he would have charged right into the sea of fire and died with glory. He almost kicked the ball in out of fright and hurriedly dribbled the ball back.

  But then the wall of fire actually charged forward.

  Ye Qingxuan looked to either side in hesitation. He saw students shrouded in ice and covered in white frost charging toward him on both sides. These guys had really put everything in. In order to save time, they did not even put up a vacuum shield and just cast an instantaneous rune, covering themselves in frost to lower the temperature before rushing toward Ye Qingxuan.

  The defense were all muscular and burly men. Ye Qingxuan did not know what they ate, but they were at least two heads taller than him! If they worked on their arms a bit more, they might be thicker than his waist!

  Ye Qingxuan neither had his steel skeleton nor the Sighing Sword. It could only be death if he charged directly. After hesitating, he clenched his jaw and ran toward the fire wall, yelling, “Bench Guy, protect me!”

  “…” Bench Guy sighed. “So you’re just going to keep using me, huh?”

  Placing his flute beside his lips, he pressed his fingers down and played a light melody. The melody hung in the air like mist, but it created a gale. Faint mist solidified into a white line that shot into the fire wall.

  “Hold your breath.” Bench Guy’s low voice sounded in Ye Qingxuan’s ear. He no longer hesitated and charged headfirst into the blazing wall of fire.

  Boom!

  Something exploded in the fire wall and it shook. The redness instantly darkened. The playing student behind the wall froze. His melody and the following notes were cut off and shattered!

  Following that, he found there was a gaping hole in the fire wall. A ball shot through the hole, flying directly toward his face…

  “Go!”

  Boom! The student’s vision went dark and he bent down, holding his face and rolling on the ground in pain. The soccer ball landed on the ground and returned to Ye Qingxuan’s feet.

  “Neutralization? Or qualitative change?” James stared blankly at the ashes of the shattered wall of fire but it suddenly dawned on him. He stared back at Bench Guy as if he had seen a ghost. “No, it’s elemental breakdown!”

  That guy had completely broken down the aether formula of the fire wall in that instant! He had not created a vacuum to extinguish the fire, nor had he added a new material to qualitatively change the flames. Instead, he had broken it down from the music theory level and completely destroyed the enemy’s melody so that the base of the fire wall’s existence was gone. This was entirely a Modifications technique…

  But when did Modifications have someone crazy enough to completely break down an enemy’s music theory and melody within the snap of a finger?!

  -

  Just as the School of Mind emphasized “mental images,” the power of the School of Illusions came from “fulcrums” of reality, and the foundations of all melodies of the School of Choir came from “equilibrium of the four liquids,” the destructive power of the School of Modifications was built on complex “formulas!”

  The change between acid and base, the secret of rusting steel, the technique of igniting flames or bringing frost…all of these were effects created by aether following the guidance of music theory formulas. The complex and intimidating formulas were the foundation of everything, but since they were formulas, there was a way to crack them. This was the countermeasure against the School of Modifications.

  But to accurately find the enemy’s formula and substitution variables, control the changes in aether and neutralize the produced effect all during the rapid aether changes…Just how experienced of a technique and how strong of a control was needed to perform this countermeasure?

  James suddenly had an epiphany. Was he from another school while the other team the actual seed team of Modifications? But when did such a madman appear in the school?!

  James totally did not know who had this skill! Even he could not accomplish this! Maybe his professor could? But who the living h*ll was this?

  For a moment, James was completely shaken. But on the backfield, Ye Qingxuan had already charged forward. Using his extremely awkward dribbling skills, he had actually grasped the chance and rushed to the front of the goal.

  Seeing him rush over with a vicious expression, the goalie’s face paled instantly. “Is he going to carry the ball over and beat me up?” he thought.

  But Ye Qingxuan’s eyes were extremely excited, as if he was burning up and every cell in his body was screaming, “Goal! Goal! Goal!” This would be the first goal of his life!

  “This thing called soccer is actually pretty interesting,” he murmured to himself as he sped up in the direction of the goal. He was close! Close! Getting closer!

  “Good job, Yezi!” Charles yelled excitedly. “Goal! Goal!”

  Even Bai Xi called loudly, “Come on, cousin!”

  Concertmaster Ye’s supporters in the stands went wild with joy. They roared, pushing back the insults from Modifications and giving their vocal support. Amid the thunderous noises, Ye Qingxuan’s steps slowed. Coldness flashed past his eyes. He swung his right leg back and suddenly kicked forward!

  The goalie tensed up too. Seeing Ye Qingxuan raise his leg, he roared and dove in the direction of his kick. But he met thin air. His expression changed. He had been played again!

  Ye Qingxuan had not even kicked. He just raised his leg and then put it back down quickly. Seeing that the goalie was tricked, he smiled and raised his leg again. This time, the goalie on the ground had no way of blocking him!

  Under everyone’s cheers and focused eyes, it felt like every cell in his body was on fire. Immense power poured from his body.

  There was a muffled sound.

  The soccer ball flew out!

  As everyone held their breath in anticipation, the soccer ball cut an arc through the air and flew forward like lightning. It was so fast one could not even process it. The goalie shrieked and pulled himself up, diving for the ball. But he was late. The ball grazed his fingertips and flew forward. And then it…missed?

  Everyone widened their eyes.

  The ball missed?

  Yes, it missed!

  Because that kick was not aimed at the goal at all. After the ball made its arc, it flew out the field and into the stands. Everyone’s roars and cheers stopped. They stared at each other in dead silence.

  Only Ye Qingxuan lowered his head awkwardly and scratched his face. Even someone as shameless as him felt his face reddening.

  The spectators could not accept the result and immediately began wailing. “Bro, you’re right in front of the goal. How could you kick in the wrong direction…”

  What kind of horrible kick was that?

  “Heh, it’s my first time playing, after all.” Ye Qingxuan put on a smile. “This is already impressive. Don’t you know how hard I worked?”

  How hard he had worked?

  A bunch of water bottles, vegetable leaves, and even a toma
to flew at him, almost drowning him and making him uncharacteristically pathetic.

  The referee soon made his decision. “The ball is out. It goes to Modifications now.”

  When they brushed shoulders, James glared at Ye Qingxuan coldly and gritted out, “Ye Qingxuan, you forced me to do this!”

  He tossed the completely charred doll back into Ye Qingxuan’s hands and walked to the boundary to serve the ball. Ye Qingxuan looked back and saw that his teammates were still waiting, grouped before their own goal. Their eyes were filled with regret that he did not live up to their expectations.

  Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt depressed. This wasn’t his fault, right? This was already pretty good for a newbie. But he had also wasted their best opportunity.

  Ye Qingxuan sighed and pulled his spirits back together. He prepared to steal the ball, but the later beating had become inevitable. He could only try his best.

  But at the boundary, the Modifications team was not in a hurry to serve. Practically all members went up and clustered around James. It looked like an on-the-spot meeting. After three graduating students discussed for a bit, their expressions changed.

  “You can’t be afraid of putting your all into it at times like this.” James gazed at Bench Guy in the distance with suspicion and said quietly, “We must destroy them first. Otherwise those guys can really…”

  Quickly, everyone’s expressions turned serious and they solidified their determination. The three graduating students exchanged glances and pulled out their instruments. It was clear that they were all rich students. Their instruments all had the logo of the Hephaestus workshop.

  This workshop was known for their instruments’ high portability and professionalism. During the Hundred Year War between Anglo and Burgundy, they had even created an organ that could be transported in a carriage for Anglo.

  One must know that the organ was usually a fortress weapon and supersized. Rather than an instrument, these things should be called military fortifications or battle weaponry.

  Back then, in the Central Templar of the westernmost barrier, they had used up an immeasurable amount of money to create this supersized organ. The prototype had already been planned at the start of the barrier’s construction. It was six hundred meters tall and had forty-six levels of keys, and was known as the Weeper.

  The ability to compress such an enormous organ into a single carriage was enough to show the skills of the Hephaestus workshop, not to mention the grand piano in their hands right now.

  Ye Qingxuan watched as they expanded the piano. Aether apparitions wrapped around them and appeared in the air above the black and white keys. Seeing this, Ye Qingxuan knew that these guys were not just playing anymore.

  Seeing that they were about to harmonize with tacit agreement, Ye Qingxuan began to break out in cold sweat. “The taunts this time are a bit too loud…”

  When the three pressed down the piano keys in synchronization, sound shot out from thin air. The confused melody practically sliced the air. The dramatically changing melody contained an unsettling charm, making one instantly feel panic and caught by surprise.

  In that melody, the wind broke and the ground shook. Water and fire were no longer stable either and became muddled yet brutal. Broken shards of light illuminated in all directions. Electricity connected them all, pricking at one’s hair.

  James, radiating with fierce waves, stood before the soccer ball and flashed a sneer at Ye Qingxuan. “I promise you’ll like this.”

  A ray of firelight shone in the corner of his eye and transformed into a flame, covering his entire pupil. Soon, his entire body was bathed in fire and radiating with wild heat.

  197 Ta-da!

  Soon, Ye Qingxuan could no longer see his face in the distance because the soil beneath his feet had boiled and turned into lava too. Lava stretched upward along his ankles. The black crystals extracted from the soil rapidly proliferated, covering his body and making it burlier and burlier.

  A dense red circuit appeared on the black steel-like stone armor, continuously radiating high heat. One dared not to be less than five steps away from it. But on the top of his head, a clump of black clouds gathered in the air. It radiated with piercing coldness. Occasionally, a cold wind blew, leaving a ghastly frost mark on the ground.

  It was like a devil from hell coming to the world, setting off flames and frost, the land shaking while the wind wailed.

  The other two graduates kept playing their melodies, but their faces were getting pale. It was obvious that the force of this frenzy had gone beyond their control. Even the teammates stayed far away from James, afraid of being swept away by the frenzied force.

  “Are you ready?” James stepped on the soccer which had been frozen into a huge ice hockey rink, showing a ferocious look to the teenager.

  “The game begins!”

  Boom!

  All Ye Qingxuan could feel was a red stream of light shooting toward his face!

  -

  “Saint Liszt’s movement Mazeppa?” Above the stands, Ludwig, the coach of the School of Summoning, was slightly astonished.

  This was the resonance movement the saints created according to the deeds of legendary hero Mazeppa. It transformed the musician into the controller of the four elements. He could manipulate earth, water, wind and fire, and become a destructive machine. If one played this movement to its fullest, it was possible to turn a whole town into ashes.

  Liszt, Paganini, Chopin. These three saints, who had made outstanding contributions to the School of Modifications, were known as the Three Heroes of Modifications. In history, they were centuries apart, and not all of them specialized in modifications, but they all laid the foundation and paved the way for the Modifications with their own theories. Their music theories and styles’ effect on the entire school had become well ingrained.

  Liszt, who specialized in Modifications, directly adapted many music scores for the format of the Modifications, which made the score more destructive and violent. He had spent his whole life studying Modifications and made unparalleled achievements on piano. After he died, he was welcomed into the Sacred City and became a Holy Spirit. To avoid the taboo, he became known as the King of Wind, Creator and Destroyer.

  It was this music score that gave the School of Modifications known the nickname “school of “battlefield musicians”.

  But soon, Ludwig realized something. “Unbelievable! The younger, the stronger. I didn’t expect that the Modifications’ skill in ‘divided coherence’ had developed so maturely.”

  He could see that this movement was not the original version of the “Mazeppa,” but a rearrangement that had lowered the level and usage requirements. After all, this famous symphonic poem was a movement of the resonance level, and was known for its extreme burden on musicians.

  It was clear the adaptor had lowered the level of the original movement. In order to reduce the difficulty, it was divided into three parts played by three musicians at the same time so the movement’s great pressure was shared.

  But this movement that was derived from Liszt’s work indicated his power as a revolutionist at the time. The moment the effect was formed, the aether on the entire soccer field began changing wildly.

  In the observation of the aether ball, a faint aetheric eddy was formed on the field. Huge dark currents spread around and everything was thrown in the turmoil. Ludwig put away the aether ball, slowly nodded. “As expected of the School of Modifications. Though it’s only an adaptation, Mr. Egor’s remarkable accomplishments on the Modifications are obvious now.”

  “You flatter me.” Egor nodded and smiled slightly. This music adaptation was not his favorite work, but it still gave him pride.

  But at the other end of the stand, someone chuckled, causing Egor to glance over and frown slightly. The uninvited blonde man sat beside the principal. His face was hidden in the shadows and he stared toward the field. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was going to fail, he grew gleeful.

  “Haha, that guy is going
to suffer,” he murmured. No one knew who he was talking about.

  -

  The wind and the fire rushed toward Ye Qingxuan suddenly. It was like a flow of light, and left a burning scorch mark in its path. Controlling the fire and storm, setting off frost, James had passed by Ye Qingxuan in a blink of an eye.

  Ye Qingxuan subconsciously wanted to block the ball, but James just looked at him and waved his hand.

  A foehn wind was created as his hand pressed down. Dark red fire emerged out of thin air, pouncing toward Ye Qingxuan’s direction. The high pressure was like a gun barrel. It roared and shook. The furious winds contained high heat, burning hot enough to scorch the heart. Even if there was a block of iron before him, it would instantly burned red by the scalding wind.

  Obviously, James had gone easy and did not end his life completely, however he was not exactly gentle either. If the foehn wind was sent directly toward Ye Qingxuan, he would probably be sent to the emergency room immediately.

  In the blink of an eye, the running youth only had the time to raise his hands and cover his head. Then, he felt a sharp pain on his face. He was upended and rolled in the air. After falling down on the ground, he began to cough out his lungs.

  Soon, he froze. Looking at his intact limbs, he realized that nothing had happened to him, other than getting flipped over.

  In the distance, James, who had been running into the midfield, looked away and hummed, gazing at Bench Guy beside the goal. It was this guy who had grasped the moment and deconstructed half of his foehn wind. But Bench Guy was gaping at the grinning man beside him—Charles.

  The moment before, it was he who had acted at the same time with Bench Guy. No, he had even acted earlier than him. While Bench Guy was focused on deconstructing the foehn wind, Charles had worked directly on Ye Qingxuan’s body. In the snap of a finger, countless notes were performed like flowing water.

  First, he changed the air pressure, blurring Ye Qingxuan’s features with the rune Haze. It was followed by the twisting of light, causing James to instantly lose his target with runes Bubble and Light.