by Feng Yue
“Sorry, this stupid place is too cold. I should’ve worn more.” With that, he looked down at the grouping area. “It’s almost eleven and it’s still not over? These kids don’t know how to sleep. What are they doing at midnight? A nude party?”
Someone beside him glared. “The deadline is midnight. After the clock strikes twelve, no other musicians will be able to enter the trial.”
“Yes, yes, I understand. You’ve all worked hard.” The guy who had appeared in Maxwell’s office blew his nose and complained, “I’m so sad. I was just messing around and then I was sent to this place to be a babysitter. Look at these kids! Each one is more troublesome than the last and they add even more trouble at night. What if we just let them be and go sleep?”
Everyone ignored him.
Amongst them, a man in Eastern clothing comforted him, “Great burdens come to those with great abilities. Why don’t you wait a bit more? After all, your representative from Anglo hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Mr. Hu, are you talking about that white-haired kid?” The mysterious man stuffed his handkerchief into his pocket and sighed. “He’s probably lying dead in a ditch somewhere if he’s still not here.”
“I think highly of him.” Mr. Hu chuckled.
“Then what about your kids? They must be sad if they hear your words.”
Mr. Hu continued to smile. “The Imperial College had me bring them here to open their eyes. We’re just here for the fun.”
Someone glanced over and shook his head coldly. “Undisciplined.”
Mr. Hu just chuckled and started singing, “Oh, I’m the undisciplined of Wollongong…” The mood became so awkward that everyone looked away, pretending they heard nothing.
In the long silence, someone finally looked up. “Someone’s here.”
-
“Someone’s here!” Under the heavy rain, Colt Flagg suddenly opened his eyes. The mark he had buried at the end of the road had been activated. He sensed that someone was crashing through the rain on horseback.
The apparition of a giant whale appeared beside him. Rather than stopping it, the torrential rain became the whale’s aid and helped it fly. The huge shadow floated across the sky with a mournful song. The whale song shattered the sheets of rain, transforming the world into an ocean.
Sensing the animosity from the city gates, the musician on the horse sneered and sped up. The whale sang loudly, creating rolling echoes.
“Summoning?” Colt distinguished the musician’s beastly nature. “Seems to have great attainments too.”
“It’s just for looks,” someone replied huskily. “It’s not the bigger the better. Enlarging the whale to such a laughable size without caring about its limits is just…shallow.”
The one who spoke stood at the end of the crowd. He looked like a twin with two people joined at the shoulder. Only one spoke while the other stayed silent. They were the Hauser brothers from Burgundy.
The one who spoke was Terry, the elder brother. He looked down and said something to his brother Kasper, who nodded. Under the hood of the heavy raincoat, he opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and screamed.
Thunder clapped in the sky.
Boom!
The giant whale apparition wailed. The pouring rain curled back and the whale broke apart abruptly. The musician on horseback was lifted up from the backlash. He fell off the horse and rolled in the mud. In the end, blood spewed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Convulsing, he could barely climb up. His sound of heart had been disrupted.
He struggled in the mud. In the end, his energy spent, he stopped moving. He looked up with difficulty and saw a traveler in the distance. Another person had come.
Seeing the musician’s pathetic state, the newcomer was stunned. He looked toward the city gates and felt the tangible animosity even across more than a thousand miles.
Then…he grew excited! He stepped forward.
Boom! An earth-shattering boom exploded under his feet. He advanced forward, drummed his sound of heart, awakened his instrument, and…the mountains shook!
“Copper mountain?” Many of the musicians recognized the instrument. One man’s expression changed. “Someone can actually receive recognition from a saint’s relic of this level?”
The rumbles got closer. Immense amounts of aether crashed, creating sparks. Practically all the rain had evaporated; the figure grew blurry as well. Each step he took was like a copper mountain and steel drum banging against each other. Ear-splitting thunder rumbled.
However, the large amount of aether and wild changes were restricted inside the formula. They raged with furious fire but could not break free. It was unbelievable that this immense power was controlled by one person.
“Interesting.” A Modifications musician at the gate looked up. He slammed down and a roar shot out from his fingers. A majestic melody resounded and collided with the earth-moving sound in the air.
The sheets of rain shook; a vast amount of rain evaporated, turning to steam. However, the heavy footsteps continued forward. The attacker at the gate stumbled back. He panted heavily and even coughed out blood. His face was stark white. He was completely defeated before an actual round. It had just been a virtual test!
Everyone’s expression changed.
“No sign of borrowing power from the saint,” Colt Flagg said hoarsely. “I can’t believe he had used his will to break through the Barrier of Knowledge and received recognition from a saint’s relic.”
“Finally someone’s here to challenge me!” Amidst the approaching thunder, the newcomer was enthusiastic. His eyes flashed. “Does someone want to fight? Come on, come on.”
“Sam?” Colt was stunned and his eyes darkened. “How come you…aren’t you still practicing asceticism in the Lava Dungeon?”
Why was he here?
Colt had a headache.
328 I am Ye Qingxuan…
If Colt had to name someone he did not want to see at Auschwitz, this guy would definitely be in the top few spots. In fact, he had passed Gavin, who used to be number one. Musicians who only emphasized the destructiveness of music scores and specialized in wide-range destruction were too powerful.
“Oh, Colt?” Recognizing him, Sam’s eyes brightened. “Stop talking. Wanna fight?”
Colt scoffed and tried to ignore him. However, he stopped the other musicians. “He’s the only inheritor of the Vacuum, a battle musician who specializes in large-scale destruction music scores. If he tries, maybe no one will be able to win but he’ll make at least half of Auschwitz into the grave with him. In addition…” Colt did not finish his words. He just whistled and exchanged a meaningful glance. In addition, his teacher is watching from the sky! Aren’t you scared of being discriminated against during the trial?
Soon after Sam passed, someone else stumbled in under the rainy night. The young man wore shabby clothing and his body was covered in bruises. He looked like a bedraggled beggar. Rain and mud had poured into his shoes during this journey and he panted for breath. It was hard to imagine what he had experienced to survive the fierce competition on the way here.
“Is he lucky?” One of the Scepter judges in the sky glanced over and said coolly, “It’s useless to come here. He can’t get through the gate.”
Amongst them, an elder with an illusory body furrowed his brows but said nothing. When the youth approached and faint light illuminated his bruised face, the elder was stunned. “Simon?”
“Simon?” Rebecca, another representative of the School of Illusion, recognized this pathetic youth. However, she never thought he would end up in this state. She could barely see the strong opponent in him anymore.
“What Simon?” the young man spat. “Haven’t you been looking for me for a long time? I’ll never change my name, no matter what…Yes, I’m Ye Qingxuan! Come at me!”
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack… Those were the sounds of jaws literally dropping and hitting the ground.
Everyone gaped at this proud guy in bewilderment. Did this guy
think he could pretend to be an Easterner with that crappy hair dye? The Angloian grandmaster was watching from the sky! Did he think this was okay?
“Ye Qingxuan?” In the sky, Mr. Hu was shocked too. He glanced at the grandmaster beside him. “He looks so different. What happened? A bad breakup?”
The mysterious man who had appeared in Maxwell’s office coughed violently with a troubled expression. After a long while, he tried to suppress his laughter and looked over. “Sorry, I don’t know him…”
On the ground, ‘Ye Qingxuan’ was staring down the people before the gate. “You!” he declared seriously. “Do you know Old Phil?”
Old Phil? The musicians stared at each other. No one knew who Old Phil was and their eyes grew serious. Was there a powerful and mysterious musician hidden in Auschwitz?
After long hesitation, someone asked timidly, “Who’s Old Phil?”
“Heh, scared now?” A sneer cut across ‘Ye Qingxuan’s face. He widened his eyes and declared, “Old Phil is my dad! Aren’t you scared! If you’re scared then scram! Otherwise, my dad will squash you all…”
Silence. Dead silence.
In the crowd, Rebecca stepped back. Lowering her head, she felt humiliated. Why did she view this psycho as a strong opponent?
In the sky, the illusory elder could stand it no longer. His deep voice rang out, “Simon, enough! Stop fooling around!”
‘Ye Qingxuan’ looked up. Seeing the elder, his eyes grew confused. His expression changed dramatically as if thinking of something. After a long while, it dawned on him.
“You’re Old Phil!” He opened his arms in ecstasy. “Dad! I finally found—”
Boom! A formless hand appeared in the rain and grasped Simon. It tightened and disappeared with a pop. Simon was gone too. All that remained was the shuddering elder who roared, “You disgrace!”
The musicians on the ground were silent for a long time. They had no clue what had just happened.
“Does Simon have some hereditary disease?” someone asked.
“If I’ve guessed correctly,” Mind musician Arianna said dryly, “he was probably brainwashed.”
“By whom? One of you Mind people?”
“Stop joking.” Arianna glared at the speaker. “You think brainwashing is as easy as wiping words off a piece of paper? You have to block the memories, reset the personality, correct the self-recognition…you need at least one hundred hints. This involves inheritance. It’s impossible if you don’t have a teacher who is also an expert and ultra-precise operation. Especially with a musician like Simon, you can easily ruin everything with the slightest moment of inattentiveness. It’s so much easier to just kill him!”
“What if you do it? Is it hard for you too?” It was obvious the asker did not have good intentions.
Arianna scoffed. Her smile was indescribably enchanting and demonic. “What do you think?”
The other’s heart shook and he quickly looked away in regret. Why did he mess with the psychos from the School of Mind?
Arianna smiled as if nothing had happened but it was clear she would remember that man and deal with him later.
“Enough, stop fooling around,” Colt uttered, snuffing the start of an internal war. “There are ten more minutes until the deadline. If you have any conflicts, wait until dawn to fight.” He looked away and calmed himself down. He focused on the surrounding marks he had set and felt for aether waves. However, he heard someone else’s voice in the silence.
“Hey, Colt, someone else is coming.”
Stunned, he looked up and saw fire. In the distance, at the end of the road, the rain was burning like fire. A youth was walking forward on flames. He strode over, ignoring the group in the distance. As if he was in his own world, he hummed an unclear and faraway song. Raindrops fell onto him and rose like flames. When he stepped onto the ground, mud splashed like water.
It was pure aetheric change. The nature changed without any sign. It transformed into wind, condensed into rain, converged into fire, and turned into dirt. It was like an illusion.
Colt furrowed his brows in discontent and looked back. “There’s been enough weird things,” he growled. “Rebecca, stop joking and get rid of the fulcrum.”
Rebecca froze under everyone’s scrutiny. Suddenly understanding, cold sweat appeared on her forehead. “I-it’s not me.” She waved in panic. “That’s not my fulcrum.”
Everyone’s eyes grew serious in the dead silence. A song traveled to their ears.
The youth’s hoarse song resounded in the rain and spread in all directions. It seemed to be some diddly but was so unclear. It was indescribably pleasant and distant as if it came from the mountains. The song hung in the air. And under it, everything began to change. The youth came forward with fire in the darkness.
-
All was silent in the air.
“It’s an Eastern language.” Someone looked to Mr. Hu. “Is this your student from the Imperial College? I’ve never heard of this music score…”
“No, it’s just a folk song. It’s not a music score and it doesn’t have any effects.” Mr. Hu chuckled wryly. “And we don’t have any Indians. If I’m not wrong, this is probably the other youth I’ve seen.”
“Who?” The grandmasters exchanged glances. None of their schools had a young man like him. “Is he a student from a secretive school or fraternity?”
“He’s finally here?” the mysterious man blowing his nose murmured from the back as he smiled. “You made me wait for so long, kid.”
-
In the silence, only the song sounded. Everyone gazed at the young man singing and advancing with fire. They watched as he walked in the mud without any obstacles. The footprints he left behind burned in the rain.
Rain drenched his body and he looked pathetic but he did not seem to care. In fact, he smiled happily. Faced with so many menacing musicians, he was still relaxed as if this was a day trip. Rain fell on all his swords and knives, rolling down the hilts and blades. The average swords seemed mysterious now too.
The atmosphere grew heavy, pressing down on everyone’s hearts and making it hard to breathe.
“Who is he?” Someone in the crowd furrowed his brows. “A sword seller?”
In the flowing flames and burning rain, the youth took off his heavy turban and revealed his trademark white hair. The whiteness shone in the fire, piercing their eyes.
“I am Ye Qingxuan…” The youth gazed at their faces and smiled warmly. “I’m here to sell swords.”
329 You Are Late
“Selling knives and cutters, yo!” At dawn, a white haired youth squatted in a corner of the messy and shabby market of Auschwitz and hawked dispiritedly. The rug before him was covered in the swords he had stolen along the way. There was also a carrot he had bought from a nearby stall. After he washed it, it would be his breakfast.
So early in the morning, no one was here other than some vegetable sellers. The dilapidated grouping center was like Avalon’s downtown district. It was filled with chaos, unruliness, and coldness. It seemed horrible but not horrible enough to be unlivable. It was stuck in the middle, filled with the feeling of living each day as it happened and wishing for nothing more.
Ye Qingxuan had lost his will to fight. He had been prepared to battle it out with the locals but after he entered the city, he realized that no one paid him any attention. They did not discriminate against outsiders; they just acted as if the outsiders did not exist. This made Ye Qingxuan feel indescribably upset and disappointed.
Scraping his carrot clean, he gnawed it mindlessly while making disgusted faces. Carrots grown in this kind of place definitely would not taste good. It was dry and felt like he was chewing on dirt.
“How do you guys live…” He sighed and yawned.
Last night, he had predicted a full-out war but the others were very restrained. They only tested him a bit and then left. The others had no confidence and did not dare to fight. It started off with a big drumroll but ended with nothing. He had ac
ted cool for nothing.
According to the plan, he should meet with the Angloian grandmaster that was here to oversee the trial and learn about the situation, listen to some suggestions, receive some advice, undergo vigorous training, and hopefully learn some secret tricks. However, none of that happened. Ye Qingxuan did not even know the grandmaster’s name.
He hid his face in dark mist the entire time and did not even come out for food. After he saw Ye Qingxuan last night, he took the youth to a shabby inn. Pointing at a room, he said something along the lines of I live here. Don’t come if you don’t have any problems. If you do…it’s best to not come either. Anyway, just pretend I don’t exist.
“You’re here now so it’ll all depend on you,” the grandmaster had said seriously while patting Ye Qingxuan’s shoulder. “I promised Maxwell that you won’t die. As for the rest, whatever. I believe in you, Ye Qingxuan.”
Ye Qingxuan could only chuckle sarcastically. The other grandmasters showered their students with good stuff in hopes that they would not be eliminated. But for Ye Qingxuan…it was so unreliable.
Oh, this mysterious grandmaster did give him something.
“But it’s useless!” Ye Qingxuan stared at the object. It was a…small whistle that the grandmaster had made from a doorknob. Yes, the type of toy whistles for kids. That man had even told him seriously to not play with it.
No sh*t! Why would he?
Ye Qingxuan tossed the whistle onto the rug before him. But after thinking, he sighed and put it back in his bag. What if it wasn’t entirely useless? Right? But it probably was useless…
“Hey, knife, how much?” A man squatted before him and asked with a strange accent while looking around.
Ye Qingxuan gazed at him and replied in local Romulusian, “Which one? I can give it to you for cheaper. Buy one get one free, just forty pounds, how about that?”
Hearing his words, the man looked over with a strange gaze.