by Feng Yue
“Hey, hey, how angry are they…” Charles wisely picked Bai Xi and Old Phil up, and hid behind Bench Guy. “Yezi, you taunted them too much.”
At the front, Ye Qingxuan heard but did not listen.
Now, the entire field was pitch black. One could not see their hands before themselves. Only the mighty resonance and melody echoed. As the melody advanced, stars lit up in the sky. There was moonlight.
The stars were too far away and were blurry, as if there was frosted glass before them. Unable to resonate with the world, they were unable to borrow power from the outside world and create a real starry sky. But this darkness was already terrifying enough because the dark night had come.
The first movement of Symphony No. 8!
This was composed by the late Saint Haydn and was known as “Night.” Its strength represented the arrival of beastly nature and night. If mankind lived under the sun, then the deep night was the beasts’ territory. If Banner was strong enough to achieve Deva sensing and call forth a moon, then just the side effects of the wave of beasts in the darkness now would be enough to destroy the history department.
But in the darkness, the manticore at the midline suddenly trembled and howled, either in pain or happiness. There was the crisp sound of bone growing and skin cracking in the darkness. The manticore’s body shook violently, but it grew bigger and bigger.
Its beastly nature increased in the darkness. The seed of wildness hidden in its aetheric body grew, sprouted, and developed toward its final shape. A fist-sized hole suddenly appeared where its spine was, like a whale’s blowhole. Then came a second hole, a third, a fourth…
The moment its transformation was complete, blazing flames shot out from the holes. It was like the air had been distorted by the wild heat, or like blurry yet strange wings. The manticore had expanded multiple times its size. All critical body parts were covered with scales and dark green liquid seeped from the stinger on its tail…
It was known as the evil b*stard beast in its final stage. It was the king of demons with a body covered in scales, six pairs of fiery wings sprouting from its back, the ability to spit fire like a dragon, but with the majestic presence of a lion. But now, it was only in its beginning stage.
It was not the only one. On the field, the other phantom beasts transformed quickly as well. They rose to a another stage instantly. Menacing and terrifying, they radiated with the odor of rusting metal. The grass in the path of the pungent smell wilted, eroded by the almost demonic breath.
In the dark night, the five phantom beasts excitedly clawed at the dirt. They threw their heads back and howled like wild animals. The howls were filled with craze and hunger. It made one’s pallor lose its color.
Actually, the freshmen in the stands did not understand why their professors constantly reminded them to stay friendly with the School of Summoning until Banner played Symphony No. 8. These people who controlled beasts could transform into things more terrifying than beasts at any given moment. In the stands, Ingmar—who had always disliked Ye Qingxuan’s team—was not the slightest bit gleeful seeing that they were about to be destroyed. He just pursed his lips, furrowed his brows, and stayed silent.
“It looks a little out of control.” The principal furrowed his brows in slight concern.
Sydney froze and coughed. “Yes, the psychological coaching for Summoning musicians must be increased…”
“Is that my fault?” Ludwig curled his lips. “Banner is from the School of Royalty, alright?” He meant, “The School of Summoning was not taking responsibility for this!”
“Should we stop the game?” someone asked.
After a long pause, the principal shook his head. “Let it continue. I believe this is only a small episode.” It definitely was just a small episode to the principal. The problem was…whose episode was it?
-
“Ye Qingxuan!” On the field, Banner ground his teeth and chewed on this name. His right eye glimmered with light as he stared at the white-haired guy who still was not retreating. He was still standing before Banner, unmoving. “Seems that you want to die!”
The white-haired youth’s body stiffened. He shrugged and seemed to laugh bitterly. His voice was unclear and hoarse. He looked like a patient older brother who had been dragged out to play by little kids and embraced it with open arms.
“What are you waiting for? Come on, I’ll play with you,” he seemed to say.
The proud posture entered Banner’s eyes, and even his fingers trembled in anger. He clenched his jaw and something cracked, as if he had ground something to pieces. Two of the most hateful figures seemed to have overlapped and he just wanted to rip them apart!
“It’s going to suck for the Eastern kid.” In the stands, Ludwig chuckled. “Is this a talent? Infuriating a musician from the School of Royalty to his breaking point without even a word…This is so interesting…An enemy with weakened sanity and increased fatality. Is he wishing for death?”
What Ludwig had said was true. Banner had fell into blind rage. He opened his mouth and howled. The face of the old manticore changed suddenly as Banner’s rage appeared on it. In that wild howling, Ye Qingxuan said something. His voice was distorted by the howls, but one could vaguely hear that he was telling Banner to calm down.
The gentle words were now the stalk of hay that broke the donkey’s back. The angry fire exploded. The manticore howled and roared; its voice was like a command, forcing the phantom beasts in its vicinity to listen. They immediately charged toward the lone youth. Everyone held their breaths.
In the next moment, the youth would be swallowed by the phantom beasts. But some saw him shake his head helplessly and pull something out of his pocket. It was a small aluminum bag.
Boom! The bag burned in his hands, swelled and exploded. The dark gray powder within melted into the flames and was ignited instantly, thanks to the combustion agent. Not even ashes remained.
A spray of thick white fog poured out of the youth’s folded hands like a waterfall. The thick smoke danced in the air and flowed to his feet before spreading out. It quickly thinned, spread, and rose. In the end, his entire figure was shrouded in the indistinct fog.
No one knew when the youth suddenly put on gloves, but the steel gloves looked like a knight’s armor and covered his arms up to his elbows. When he clenched his fists, sparks flew as his fingers rubbed against each other.
The fog surged and the fastest phantom beast rushed into it.
Boom! The well-prepared youth took a step back and raised his arm. The metal scales of the ice snake scraped past his arm, creating a dazzling spark. Then the youth reached out and grasped the snake.
All Summoning students gasped. The scales of a steel ice snake were sharp as knives. Touching it would anger it and force it into killer mode. Even an iron block would be turned into a distorted piece of metal from the thrashing of thousands of knives, let alone an arm that was merely protected by armor. But then everyone blanched. For some reason, the snake suddenly froze.
The hand gripped the fatal spot of the ice snake. A chain of booms followed, resonating from the five fingers. It was the electric light contained at the palm. The thunder resounded, completely damaging the armor, but also scattering the snake’s scales. Even the snake’s bones moved, making it unable to fight back. This was a textbook example of beast training!
The ice snake weakened instantly and was tossed out of the youth’s hand like a whip. After whistling through the air, it wrapped around the incoming shadow leopard.
“No!” One could faintly hear shocked cries in the distance but the youth did not stop. He moved abruptly and stepped on the ice snake’s tail.
Boom! The sharp noise of steel plates scraping together sounded. The ice snake’s scales bristled instinctively, shooting out like blades. As the youth pulled, the ‘snake whip’ with blades constricted. The shadow leopard howled and blood spewed out. For some reason, it collapsed onto the ground without another sound. It did not even fight back? It was like
a fraud product!
Two phantom beasts were defeated by him instantly as if they were domesticated animals waiting to be slaughtered. The youth waved his hands and his rings glimmered. Fire shot out as the melody played. It was a formula from the School of Modifications—the Fire of Soul Burial. It was a flame that erupted and extinguished in an instant, but the heat was strong enough to destroy an enemy’s body, as well as his soul.
Above the youth’s head, the fog demon that had appeared soundlessly now shook. When hit by the firelight, it shrieked and trembled. Half of its body had evaporated. It shot back with a scream and paced in panic.
The youth’s body appeared and disappeared in the heavy smoke. The onlookers in the distance could not see what was happening at all. There was only smoke.
213 Small Episode 2
Smoke permeated the heavy darkness and no one knew what had really happened. They could only feel that all attacks were pointless. In the end, even the phantom beasts seemed to have become lost and could not find Ye Qingxuan. In the vicinity of Symphony No. 8, smoke continued to spread and covered the entire place.
The manticore paced outside the smoke. Sometimes, it would pounce, but it never succeeded. The enemy was like a slippery fish. It would always miss or brush shoulders with him.
It seemed that failure was only a matter of time, but he stood at the edge of danger without falling. It looked as if he was trying to ensue a time out, but it was taking too long. Slowly, the spectators grew numb. They no longer had any worries; instead they began animatedly discussing how long the Eastern guy could last.
But to Banner, this situation was horrible. Now, no matter what music score he used or how he controlled the manticore, it was all ineffective. On one hand, the beastly side had been awoken. After the beast lost its master’s control, its reaction speed was affected. But on the other hand, it was because the enemy was truly too tricky. And this guy…when did he become a Modifications musician?!
He had not used a complete music score, but his wrist and technique, as well as the smooth and casual posture, were all so fierce and awe-inspiring. Banner no longer had any thoughts of immediate victory. He had sunk into this unexpected stalemate and his fighting grew more panicked. And the opponent seemed to know his moves like the back of his hand. Banner’s well-planned actions were easily countered, as if Ye Qingxuan was…playing with a kid!
“How much longer are you going to hide for?!” Banner growled. “Get the f*ck out!”
The music score in the alchemy equipment around his neck was activated. It created a gale, blowing the heavy smoke apart. As the smoke spread, the world grew dark again, making one feel the urge to sleep. What the hell was this?
In the stands, Ludwig waved his hand and grasped a wisp of smoke. It floated past his nose. It smelled pungent, with a tinge of hidden Soma wine, which was exactly what he had predicted.
“He purposely made Banner lose his reasoning.” Ludwig sighed. “…This is the Incense of the Lost.”
Volatile substances, combustion agent, borneol, bovine marrow, incense, Suma wine, white orange wood, green salt…Summoning musicians had found inspiration in Indian spices and created this formula after decades of experimentation.
It was the best narcotic and hallucinogen to beasts. It was like opium for humans. It would make the crazed beast become confused with slow reaction speeds. Its abilities would weaken and sink into extreme fatigue. Just like how a cat would become excited with catnip, a snake would become drunk with dogwood…this was the beast’s nature. When a phantom beast lost its musician’s total control, and its beastly nature gained the upper hand, it meant that it would be controlled by its nature. If it was unable to receive its owner’s clear orders, it would become drunk. It would be a miracle if the beast did not get into the way, let alone cooperate with the musician. Furthermore…
“This is your fatal weakness, Banner.” Ye Qingxuan’s voice floated over in the darkness. “Indeed, you’ve become an official musician, but what’s the difference between an official musician that only has strength and an upgraded student?”
Yes, this was Banner’s fatal weakness. It was just how Ye Qingxuan had practically no experience in face-to-face combat. No amount of sublimation rituals, heart mark inheritance and Deva sensing could make up for Banner’s lack. He had no experience in using his power. Personal experience could never be replaced by coaching, learning, and reading. It was something that came from failures and defeat. Those that had never lost before would not know what was the most important in battle.
Furthermore, something as large as the manticore was too much for Banner. Indeed, it was the phantom beast passed down through generations of the Adrian family. It was also very powerful, but it was too powerful. In fact, even an official musician would have difficulty controlling it.
For a musician with barely any experience, this situation was like a child playing pretend. The Adrian family was too impatient and gave it to Banner too early. This strong power was enough to be a terror in the schoolyard, but was not much for his enemies, especially when he faced someone who made a name for himself in downtown by using sneaky attacks like Ye Qingxuan.
Hearing Ye Qingxuan’s voice, Banner felt silent. A spider web of purple veins bulged across his pale face.
The melody halted before it began abruptly once again. It was the same symphony piece, but the melody was completely different from before. It was much grander, with brewing wildness. It had jumped directly from the first movement to the fourth?!
“Banner! Don’t force yourself…” Cullen gasped. “Fully playing the symphony is out of your control.”
“Shut up!” Banner’s voice was like grating metal. “I want to crush them. I must…”
Under the coherence, the melody grew in intensity! A storm wind swept through as the melody surged once again. Another layer of dark clouds appeared in the black sky above the field. The layers of clouds were like frozen ice cubes with a charcoal gray color. But lightning flashed through the layer of black clouds. The faint electricity illuminated the giant figure hidden within. The gradually condensing and swimming shadow was like a humongous sea creature hidden in the deep sea. It appeared slowly out of the darkness, spread its wings and roared! It was a dragon’s roar.
The fourth movement of Symphony No. 8 was referred to as a thunderstorm by the composer. It originated from the legend of the Dragon of Disaster. The giant dragon rode in the sky, spread its wings and brought about darkness. When it flapped its wings, it would bring a destructive thunderstorm. Calling forth the dragon’s shadow was the fourth movement’s power.
The dragon’s roar was like thunder, making his own teammates pale. Even if they put their strength together, it would still be difficult to disrupt the sea of aether. Only resonating with the world could create that influence.
Even if they could only resonate with the sea of aether, this was still a Resonance level music score! Banner’s joints cracked under the pressure of the aether’s reactionary force, but rather than stopping him, it drove him even wilder.
An average musician would probably have broken down or gone unconscious under this huge pressure, but Banner was still fine. The manticore roared beside him. Its body became a bit smaller as it took some of the backlash from Banner.
The biggest advantage of the School of Summoning was not their human wave attack or their strange phantom beasts. Their most basic strength was in their extraordinary resilience against pressure. Unlike musicians from other schools who fought alone, they were able to share their psychological stress with the demons in their minds. When they reached the Scepter level, they could even have the phantom beast take fatal injuries for them. It was as if they had multiple lives. In the East, these musicians were given names such as “the cat with nine lives,” Nekomata, and “seven-headed snake.” But their enemies probably would not be so lucky.
Seeing that Banner was about to reach the climax without any care, Cullen thought of the consequences and gasped, “Banner
, what are you doing?”
“Shut up! I don’t need you!” Banner spun around and glared at Cullen. His eyes were the same sharp emerald as the manticore’s eyes. He had been eroded by the beastly nature.
The realization dawned on Cullen, but it was already too late. He no longer had the strength to speak. All of his energy was put into fighting against the melody’s pressure. As strength brewed in the clouds, the shadow of the dragon grew more consolidated and the pressure on the players grew as well.
Everyone trembled and forced themselves to endure the sharp headache. They used all their energy to maintain the melody. If they succeeded, they would only become sick. But if they stopped the coherence right now, the backlash of the music theory was enough to shatter their perception. The lightest consequence would be getting sent to the emergency room of the Whitechapel Hospital!
As the pressure grew, some were already at the brink of collapse, but suddenly, a new melody joined this chaotic music score. It entered the coherence like a savior at the most critical moment. The arrival of this new force lightened everyone’s load. They let out a breath of relief, but they did not know who had helped them.
The melody fit perfectly with their frequency and reacted to their sudden changes, melding into the resonance. It took away most of the pressure and even then, the person did not seem to be losing control. The coherence technique was quiet and stable, and the melody flowed like water without a bit of hardness. It was flawless!
Overjoyed, Cullen looked over with his perception. He had never realized that there was such a genius on his team. This skill was something that others could only dream of. The man had saved the entire situation at the most critical moment. He had practically held up the sky and parted the sea! But when Cullen found the source of the coherence, he was completely flabbergasted.