Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

“This feels so good! Who dares to accuse the Chief Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry of being a heretic?”

  After listening to his plan, Newton immediately saw the biggest flaw, “Purely based on your abilities alone, I don’t think the product that will be created can even be considered a prototype. There are seven systems of musicians. Even though you may dabble in abstinence, illusions and heart, at the end of the day, abstinence is your only forte. The unique quality of the School of Abstinence is its ability to provide an interface for the other six systems to combine into one, using only music theories. To musicians, the content provided by this platform is too lacking.”

  “I never planned to settle every problem on my own, otherwise, what else will the others have left to do?” Ye Qingxuan did not seem to be worried, “All I can do is to build the prototype of the entire system. I will leave the rest to the users to fill up the gaps.”

  Newton was stunned, “You plan to make it an open source? Can you bear to give up the initiative?”

  “Why not?” Ye Qingxuan rebutted, “To me, the Net of Aether is just a tool. If more people use this tool, the more power I will have. I believe that once they discover the convenience of the Net of Aether, they will automatically create new contents on their own, and push their own music theories all the way to the top…”

  Newton scrunched his nose, “You mean all the way to you?”

  “Something like that.” Ye Qingxuan shrugged his shoulders, “I’m the one who stands to gain in the end anyway. Since that’s the case, why can’t I share them with the other participants too?”

  Newton kept quiet. He could not believe that Ye Qingxuan would… open up the external structures of the Net of Aether! Of the four layers of alchemy array, outflow, form, create and circulate, Ye Qingxuan would probably open up the layers of creating and circulating to other people. Such evil motives!

  He knew just how attractive this item was to other musicians. In order to get them onboard, he has no qualms opening up so much contents to them. Besides, he was killing two birds with one stone. Not only would his contents become richer, he would also gain a large number of users. There would definitely be plenty of musicians, who might have fallen behind the rest or were limited by their talents, that would be grateful to Ye Qingxuan! No, they might even become Ye Qingxuan’s fanatics!

  “Even so, what about the basic facilities?” Newton asked, “Although I don’t know much about music theories, but I can tell that the requirements of the basic facilities of the Net of Aether would be overwhelming…”

  Before he could even finish, he saw the strange look in Ye Qingxuan’s eyes and he stopped. There was a complex emotion that he could not describe. It has been a long time since he was in such a dilemma.

  Would the Net of Aether demand a lot out of the basic facilities? Of course. Not only would it require plenty of complementary mechanical terminals, it would also require a lot of checkpoints and all sorts of technical skills. Otherwise, the Net of Aether would not even be able to extend out of Avalon. The complexity and size of the workload was so immense that it was like a nightmare, even to Newton. At this point in time, his heart was only filled with regrets.

  “I have been duped! I have been duped! Clearly, this has always been Ye Qingxuan’s motive! Didn’t he spend so much effort to find me just because I am able to do this? Who else in this world is more suitable than me to be doing this? Who else has the ability to do so? Before I snatched over that piece of incomplete page, Ye Qingxuan did ask me to think carefully. There will be no turning back once I have seen it.”

  At that time, he had thought that Ye Qingxuan was merely trying to scare him. It seemed that he has really fallen into a trap. Now, he was only left with two choices, ‘do’ or ‘not to do’. If he chose not to do this, there was no way Ye Qingxuan would allow him to continue living in this world. It was not that Newton was trying to wriggle his way out of something he had promised but this project was just too insane. Any leaking of information could easily bring about disastrous consequences.

  If Newton was Ye Qingxuan, he would not let him live either. Newton did not wish to die yet. Really. There were still many things that he wanted to accomplish, such as continuing the mechanical engineering course of study that his teachers had pioneered. He needed to prove the value of this new path. He firmly believed that this was the key to the future of mankind. Therefore, he had no choice but to submit.

  But if he really did it… then he and Ye Qingxuan would become the top heretics of the Church, possibly even placed above Hyakume! Why was ‘redemption’ so terrifying? Was it because of how much damage it could cause, as much as piercing through the armors of knights? Or was it because of the theory that all deterrence would be lost with prior mental preparation?

  No… it was because of how applicable it was to everyone! When it came to redemption, everyone was equal. Once it has been created, even a farmer would be able to use it to kill the king!

  What made the Net of Aether even more terrifying was that… it would create musicians! All the musicians would be pushed down the altar, being stripped of their godly status to become ordinary people, transforming from ‘magicians’ to the engineers of the Net of Aether. That miraculous power would be shared with everyone. The moment it appeared, everyone that desired power would be groveling in front of Ye Qingxuan. He would be the only one that could determine who deserved power.

  This was just too… insane! This was why Ye Qingxuan refused to return ‘Genesis’ to the Sacred City, even if the latter threatened to stop him from advancing to a scepter. The Net of Aether alone would have been able to help him advance to scepter anyway. Not only that, the element of the Net of Aether would ensure that he would become one of the top few scepters. In addition, he could also ensure that Saint Haydn’s inheritance would remain in the Net of Aether.

  This has been Ye Qingxuan’s plan all along. At this moment, Newton fell into silence as he was in deep thoughts. His facial expressions changed ever so minutely, from fear to depression… he was experiencing all sorts of emotions. Due to his own curiosity, he has fallen into Ye Qingxuan’s trap. Right now, when the truth has been revealed, strangely enough, he did not feel upset. Instead… he looked forward to this day.

  He was fully aware of the consequences of Ye Qingxuan’s actions but what was so bad about that? No, it would be great! In fact, things could not have worked out better for him. Ye Qingxuan had chosen him and given him chisels and shovels so that he could dig a nice grave for the musicians.

  At this thought, he was so excited that there were goosebumps all over his body. He slowly raised his head to look at Ye Qingxuan and nodded, “I’ll do it!”

  “Fantastic.” Ye Qingxuan nodded and smiled happily. He picked up the wine glass on the table, “Cheers to our friendship!”

  Pui! Damned his so-called friendship.

  Newton could not be bothered with the nonsense that Ye Qingxuan was spouting. Ye Qingxuan quickly finished his whisky before wiping the corners of his mouth with his handkerchief, “Thank you for your hospitality. The alcohol was pretty good.”

  “Once you are done, scram.” Newton tore a piece of cloth to wrap up his palm that has yet to recover fully. He pointed at the door, “Don’t come and bother me unless you have a good reason to. I will write you a list of items that I need. You only have to worry about paying.”

  “No problem.” Ye Qingxuan shrugged his shoulders and took his hat off the rack before bidding farewell politely. He looked like a complete gentleman. Just as he was about to leave, Ye Qingxuan stopped and turned back to look at him, “Hey, Newton.”

  Newton could not be bothered to look at him. His back continued to face him as he tidied up the drafts on the table. From today onwards, he would be changing to yet another laboratory. When he heard Ye Qingxuan’s voice, he was somewhat irritated, “Anything else?”

  Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment before asking, “Although this may sound funny to you but Newton, was there ever
a moment when you felt sorry about the incident with Charles? Any moment.”

  After a period of silence, Newton replied coldly, “No.”

  “Is that so?” Ye Qingxuan laughed in a self-deprecating manner, “It was all my own wishful thinking then. My apologies.”

  The door closed and the sound of footsteps grew faint.

  Newton was the only one left under the dim lighting.

  He tried to tidy up the mess on his table but for some reason, it only got worse. Finally, he swept everything off the table in a fit of frustration. He sat on the chair with his head hung low. “Damned it…” he muttered under his breath.

  625 The Preposterous Ways of the World

  After it had been reconstructed, Avalon Shipyard Three already occupied all of the workshops on an entire island, leaving only the largest factory.

  The disassembled hull of the Mountain of Nomadism was laid out on the ground, forming what looked like an awe-inspiring mountain range. Bit by bit it was lifted up into the air by tower cranes with crisscrossing steel cables.

  Amid the shrieking of steel and iron, a large number of engineers shrouded in protective clothing were in the midst of careful preparations for the secondary construction and refitting. This legendary warship from the frontlines had been disassembled and added to the construction.

  Ye Qingxuan had fulfilled his promise to Egor.

  He had given him the best ship in the world.

  The best warship in the world.

  Egor, who had already joined the Inquisition, would have been crazy about this place. As a former pirate who had become a running dog for the Anglos, it was a surprise that he had received such high treatment. If this news got back to those fools on the Illusion Islands their eyes would pop out of their heads in jealousy.

  After finding out how fast the engineering was progressing, Ye Qingxuan turned to leave.

  The main reason he had come here was to look for Shi Dong.

  He didn’t know what the old b*stard had been up to this last month. His face was red and healthy, he had a good appetite, and he had even gone through two extra oxygen canisters.

  As a boss who cared for his subordinates, Ye Qingxuan felt that he should find out what that group of old wretches was up to.

  Since he was the official who would save the nation in its darkest hour, Queen Mary had generously promised the Inquisition large amounts of material support. Now, Maxwell’s manor island was already covered in all kinds of materials, and was in the process of being turned into a fortress.

  The place was being turned into the Inquisition’s headquarters, but of all the installations in Avalon it was merely a subsidiary institution, responsible for communications and incidental recruitment.

  These days, the status of the Inquisition was like that of the Chainsaw Fraternity in Canaan: it was a world apart.

  Moreover, Shi Dong’s old face was still obviously worth a bit of money. After he had learned that he would get no help from the Church, he had started to walk the path of the Chainsaw Fraternity. They had recently reached an agreement. Within a few days they would help the Inquisition build new workshops in the Anglo Kingdom, in order to build all-new Power Armor for the Witch Hammer.

  The Inquisition had brought out their secret codexes, and the Chainsaw Fraternity had supplied them with new technologies, and thus they had started researching armor for the new century. The Royal Institute of Research had also lent a hand, unrestricting part of the technology for Archangel Armor and Armor of the Round Table.

  And Mephistopheles from Westminster Abbey had been involved as well, disguising himself as an arms dealer in order to lend a hand.

  By now the Inquisition was truly a fellowship of heretics.

  The Inquisition, the Chainsaw Fraternity, and Westminster Abbey, which the Sacred City was starting to frown upon, had unhappily entered into shady deals and illicit relations.

  If Ye Qingxuan had been a cardinal bishop, he would be kicking himself right now.

  But there was nothing to be done. The ways of the world were now out of order, and the nations, while seemingly working together, were at odds with one another. All kinds of subordinate organizations had begun planning their betrayals, seeking a way out.

  The cracks that Hyakume had created before it died had gradually begun to expand. Now, people were gradually becoming aware of them…The world was changing.

  The shackles had begun to loosen. Everyone was as eager as a wild dog let off its leash, just waiting for the big news.

  “What have I been doing lately?”

  Helplessness was written all over Shi Dong’s face as he was intercepted by Ye Qingxuan. “I’m doing what you should have been doing in the first place…at any rate, you’re a Captain of the Inquisition, don’t you ever get out? You didn’t look at the things I gave you again, and on the ones you did look at you just wrote that I should do as I see fit. So I’m just doing as I see fit…oh by the way, that young man named Watson is pretty good, can you lend him to me and let me train him for a while?”

  Ye Qingxuan was suddenly dumbfounded.

  “You two have spoken?”

  “Of course.”

  Shi Dong’s face lit up as he spoke about this: “He’s got real potential. I didn’t think you still had such useful young people. Leaving him to deal with those gangsters is a real waste of his talents. Why don’t you transfer him to the Inquisition, let him be my assistant? In five years…no, not even three, I’ll be able to completely set my mind at ease.”

  Ye Qingxuan didn’t know what to say.

  What could he say?

  Sorry, the one you are talking about was once the original high priest of Hyakume in the Anglo Kingdom, was once a genius Dark Musician, and at such a young age had been the force behind the scenes for so many important events?

  Oh…and that b*stard had, with his own knife…

  “What’s wrong? You’re not willing to let him go?” Shi Dong watched Ye Qingxuan’s distorted expression, and his spirits fell. “Hey, this is all the interest of working for you.”

  “Uh…”

  Ye Qingxuan was suddenly even more conflicted. He didn’t mind Watson taking on this burden, and he was quite useful. He could leave any dirty work to him, and not have to worry about doing it himself. But…

  “You don’t care about his past?” Ye Qingxuan asked carefully, lest the old b*stard grab his knife and rush into Avalon to clear it of heresy.

  “It’s pretty bad.”

  Shi Dong clearly knew what he was talking about. He turned his head with a look of disdain and called, “Old Cripple! Is Old Cripple here?”

  An old man came floating over from a distant workshop.

  He wore a black ferraiolone. His body was withered and his legs were different lengths. He was floating in the air. Viewing him from behind from this distance, he looked like a bald mop, sliding back and forth across the floor.

  It was only when viewing him from the front that he looked like a normal old man, but he concealed a darkness that was difficult to describe. His hooked nose and pair of empty eye holes were enough to frighten away children.

  “What is it?”

  The old man’s mouth did not move. His gravelly voice came from his chest.

  Shi Dong scratched his bald head and asked, “What did you originally do before I cut off your leg? I’ve forgotten, remind me.”

  The old man spat. “I was the chief of the Dark Musicians of Canaan, what of it?” he said unhappily. “It was so many years ago, why are you bringing up the past?”

  “Alright, its fine. Go on back now.”

  Shi Dong waved his hand lightly. He looked back at Ye Qingxuan. “Any more questions?”

  “…”

  After a while, Ye Qingxuan, who had held his breath for so long he had nearly suffocated, finally breathed a helpless sigh. “Fine, you go talk to him. If he’s willing, I won’t get in the way.”

  What was wrong with the world?

  The Inquisition was
full of heretics, the Silence Governance had let loose the Revolutionary Army, the College of Cardinals had cultivated the incarnation of Hyakume…it was completely f*cking preposterous.

  “The Inquisition has always been accepting of all.”

  “Besides, aren’t the Dark Musicians and the Dark Sovereign still bottled up?” Shi Dong boasted without realizing it. “Oh right, if that guy Dominic is free, why don’t you have him come over to the court for a while? It seems like he’s been pretty idle…”

  The old man’s club was really filling up!

  “Beat it!”

  Ye Qingxuan felt that talking to this old man was sapping his energy, and he was tired of it.

  “Oh, right. There is one matter that I haven’t been able to handle myself. You’ll need to decide for yourself.”

  Shi Dong gave a one of those sly smiles that was his specialty, making Ye Qingxuan a bit uneasy.

  He pulled out an invitation.

  “Her Highness the Queen would like you to attend a banquet.”

  Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt the world go black before his eyes.

  626 The Whole Family Is Disappointed with You

  “Why did you bring it here?” Looking at the beautiful and elegant invitation, Ye Qingxuan’s head began to hurt.

  “You’ve been gone all month, and when you got back to Avalon, you never presented yourself at the palace. If I didn’t bring it to the court, where else could I have brought it?” Shi Dong looked helpless. “Listen, it’s not like you have any more rebellions that you have to go quell. She just wants to invite you to a banquet and dance with you. Do you think that a bunch of saints will jump out and drag you off to the Sacred City?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Then what are you afraid of? That she’ll be upset with you for taking bribes and not handling things well?” Shi Dong was most anxious about this. The Anglo Kingdom had offered copious amounts of sponsorship to the Inquisition, and the support of the Throne had brought many benefits. If Ye Qingxuan shirked his duties here, their good days would be over!