Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  What the Illusion Islands wanted was a place and history and the restoration of its own orthodoxy. This was a plan that unfolded over a millennium. A temporary loss would be nothing. Even if they failed, it would be just one more thing to tack onto the column of shame in their school’s history and bring their successors a bit of trouble.

  Moreover, the value of the Net of Aether lay in its openness. It lay in everyone’s accumulated contributions. It must have its own rules and regulations. Even the controller Ye Qingxuan couldn’t act against the Illusion Islands without a reason. What would be the meaning of such a vast Net of Aether if everyone was torn apart by dissension and discord?

  The Master was not afraid of failure. As long as her people existed, they could still make a comeback.

  As for the specific details of their management and cooperation, they could discuss them over time.

  This was the best thing that Ye Qingxuan had over the Sacred City.

  In business, as long as there was interest, there would be a discussion.

  “I look forward to our pleasant cooperation.” The Master opened her fingers, and in her palm, the music theory of the path of commandment intertwined, clapping into Ye Qingxuan’s hand as a witness to the two sides’ cooperation.

  The main key had been set, and the details would be left to their subordinates to discuss.

  After the Chainsaw Fraternity, Ye Qingxuan had hitched the Illusion Islands to his own cart.

  After this, their chat was much more relaxed.

  “What do you wish to do with high-level privileges?”

  “I am already prepared. Do you have any extra melody terminals here?” she asked. “I can show you.”

  Several musicians quickly handed over their terminals. Using Ye Qingxuan as a relay, the Master connected her terminal to a closed regional network.

  “I’m not too good at this.” The Master initiated her own music theory, and in a flash, everyone on the bridge was dazed for a short time. When they returned to their senses, they were already in a pure white void.

  724 Inspiration

  The surroundings were white and empty.

  It was an illusion.

  Obviously, the Grand Master had no intention of concealing the fact that it was an illusion. She directly placed the fulcrum on the terminal, and the illusion was incredibly crude.

  “What is it?” Ye Qingxuan looked at the Grand Master, somewhat confused.

  “Please be patient.” The Grand Master sat in her seat, and soon, in front of many tables and chairs, an illusory figure emerged from pure white. It was like a piece of black cloth draped around the body of an invisible person, and it did not even have a face, only two hands protruding oddly from the robe.

  It was by no means an outstanding illusion, and could even be said to be incredibly crude, unable to live up to the name of the infamous Illusion Islands.

  But soon, Ye Qingxuan was stunned.

  Because in front of everyone, the shadow spoke hoarsely, “‘Beginner’s Guide to the School of Magic’, the first lesson, ‘fulcrum’…” The incorporeal shadow began to give a lesson about how to begin learning the music of the school of magic!

  Although the content of the lecture was dry and boring, although the tone was flat with no ups and downs, and it seemed obvious that it was a simple work created in a rush, the meaning behind it almost made Ye Qingxuan tremble.

  “Your Royal Highness, what do you think of the idea?” The Grand Master smiled and looked at Ye Qingxuan. “It is just a demonstration created in a hurry, but Your Royal Highness should be able to understand the changes it can bring? I think it will definitely be of help to you.”

  It isn’t just that… Ye Qingxuan subconsciously tapped the armrest of his seat. In his chest, the heart that had just recovered was beating wildly.

  Surprise.

  It is a huge surprise.

  The biggest problem of the Net of Aether currently has surprisingly been solved here!

  What is the biggest problem with the Net of Aether? It’s the people! It has too few users! Even though apprentices could somewhat use it after three months of training, it would require at least three months!

  Moreover, even if the Royal Academy of Music takes in ten times more students, it cannot fulfill the need to provide education to more apprentices, not to mention the fact that most of the apprentices face various limitations and cannot travel to Avalon.

  Nowadays, it is disorderly and chaotic in Avalon because of the war, and many apprentices have difficulty continuing their learning in Avalon.

  But with it, the problem that must initially be solved in various ways can now be resolved just by spending money to buy a terminal.

  A problem that can be solved with money is, to a certain extent, not a problem.

  As long as you have a terminal, even if you are thousands of miles away, you can learn it by yourself!

  Even if you are too poor and can’t even afford a terminal, you can sign a contract to obtain it for free!

  In an instant, God knew how many thoughts flashed across Ye Qingxuan’s mind. He had already made a preliminary draft of the promotion plan. Soon, he realized a small problem.

  “The demonstration of the illusion is still somewhat lacking in flexibility.” Ye Qingxuan said, “No matter how detailed the materials are, without someone to explain them, it would seem stiff and rigid.”

  “As long as the students are within the region covered by the Net of Aether, we can employ the method of combining the use of illusions for standardized teaching with having formal musicians answer questions in detail for the students.” The Grand Master replied, “Other than the basic training regarding the way of deciphering of the Net of Aether, once you provide us with the necessary authority level, all the musicians of the schools of the Islands will spend at least three hours online per day, answering the questions the students have about the school of magic.”

  So, another trouble had been resolved.

  After the completion of the basic training of the way of deciphering, the follow-up intermediate and advanced courses that had been left vacant were almost in place at the moment as well! The Grand Master had obviously prepared a full set of plans already. Once she had upper-level authority, the schools of the Islands that were already prepared would immediately upload countless music theory of the school of magic.

  They weren’t afraid of others learning it.

  The more people could learn the better, the faster they could learn the better!

  For those who couldn’t learn it by themselves, teachers were even available online to teach them step by step!

  It was foreseeable that when the other schools realized what was happening, the Illusion Islands would already have acquired a large number of high-quality apprentices through the Net of Aether. By then, the apprentices would have been dyed with the colors of the music theory of the Islands under the careful teaching of the musicians of the Islands, and they would have the stamp of the Illusion Islands imprinted on them.

  They would be the backbone of their development within the Net of Aether in the future!

  Just by consuming some time of the musicians of the schools, the Illusion Islands received access to a huge talent pool, and could even spread the name of their schools…

  The devil knew how difficult it was to find someone the talent required to be a musician among the goddamn natives in the remote Illusion Islands!

  In the past, the apprentices were all stolen or robbed by the teachers who devised various methods to leave the islands to trick and abduct people, even personally acting as humans traffickers. When they came across an apprentice with good talent occasionally, they were simply as happy as one would be upon winning the grand prize of the lottery. Nowadays, while they sat at home with the door closed, students would fall from the sky in a steady stream.

  It was so blissful that they felt as if they were dreaming!

  For the Illusion Islands, it was the first step in their plan to “
shake off poverty and become prosperous,” become the orthodoxy in terms of illusions, and reclaim the status of their schools, and they certainly would not be lazy.

  Judging from how full of enthusiasm the group of expelled musicians was about making a comeback, they would definitely rake it in the first wave.

  For Ye Qingxuan, it had no drawbacks as well.

  With the Illusion Islands in the lead, other schools would certainly follow; one must grab it fast while it lasted. If they did not take advantage of the opportunity to occupy a position first, it would be too late when other schools were done with it!

  Ye Qingxuan wouldn’t even need to scam or guide them any further, they would be self-motivated to give it their best shot and use all the aces up their sleeves.

  Fight, fight, the fiercer the fight, the happier Ye Qingxuan would be. After all, competition was necessary for progress. Moreover, the “classroom” prepared by the school of magic gave him more inspiration.

  Since illusions could be used to make classrooms, it could certainly make other things as well. Be it opera houses, arenas, war simulations, intelligence transmission… As long as one put in a little thought and some time, and at most consume a little more resources, you could always get it done.

  As the Grand Master had said, what would be more valuable than an illusory world?

  For Ye Qingxuan, what it represented was definitely not so simple.

  Just think about it: a virtual world composed of illusions that would not be limited by matter, a place that would not distinguish between those who were born into noble classes and those who were not. An ideal, non-existent utopia!

  At the moment, he sensed the Land of Dreams pulsing madly and was almost ecstatic.

  He finally found a way and direction to realize the legend!

  He need not wait for the people born millenniums later to perfect it. As long as he worked hard to promote it, perhaps he could sneak a glimpse at the embryonic form of the utopia in his lifetime amid the mist shrouding the future!

  As long as all the users of the Net of Aether diligently worked for him and served his purpose, filling and perfecting the world…

  “It’s happily decided then.” He smiled.

  For some reason unknown, at the very moment, all the users of the Net of Aether felt the hairs on their back standing up slightly. It was like someone was scheming against them.

  …

  A few hours later, the musicians of the Illusion Islands returned to the Fleet of No Return, and Ye Qingxuan was finally liberated from the pressure of war and negotiations.

  On the deck riddled with holes, between the clouds, Ye Qingxuan propped up a parasol and lied on the deck chair, just like he was on vacation. An ice bucket with wine in it was on the table next to him, and the dewdrops that condensed on the exterior of the glass slowly slid down, spreading a pleasant wet mark on the table.

  In the noise of the repair works, Ye Qingxuan fell asleep soundly. After he woke up from his slumber, it was already evening.

  As he felt hunger, he smelled fine steak and spices. Then, he saw Watson holding a knife and fork, gracefully inserting the last piece of steak into his mouth. Then, Watson put down the knife and fork, wiped the nonexistent sauce at the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, and smiled. “It’s a pity, you missed dinner.”

  “Tsk!” Ye Qingxuan’s expression turned unhappy.

  He would bet ten pounds of black gold that this fella was being deliberate.

  Other than being devious at heart, Watson’s only other shortcoming would be the fact that he never gave Ye Qingxuan face [1], regardless of the time and place, and would mock him unrelentingly whenever he had a chance.

  I’ll let it slide, it’s just the sorrowful whine of a loser. Ha. Ha.

  Ye Qingxuan reached out and propped himself up from the deck chair. He zoned out for a while and was more or less awake.

  The two men finished up the last bit of wine between them, then told each other about the changes that had taken place in the past days. Ye Qingxuan also gained a deeper understanding of the Illusion Islands.

  However, he looked at the direction of the Fleet of No Return and frowned, slightly confused. “Haven’t they been hooking up with the abyss? Where did they get so many musicians of the school of magic that belongs to the Church faction from?”

  Didn’t the musicians of the Illusion Islands go overseas because of being suppressed by the Church back then?

  Since then, the mainstream school of magic in the West gradually declined, splitting into two. The ones that stayed was known as the Church faction, and the ones that left was called the musicians of the Islands.

  In order to fight against the Church, the musicians of the Islands even got involved in a complicated relationship with the abyss. Many of them were dark musicians outright, otherwise, they would not be pestered and roped in by the abyss.

  But in Ye Qingxuan’s observation, not even one dark musician was present among all the musicians who came!

  He couldn’t feel any vibe of catastrophes or anything particularly evil. In fact, each one was more serious and solemn than the last, and there was nothing strange about the way their music theory operated. As compared to the actual musicians of the school of magic of the Church, they seemed even more like Church personnel.

  It was really too goddamn weird. It was as if everyone’s vices had been whitewashed in an instant, with no more dark history left, nor did anyone have the goods on them. But it was not like writing erotica where one could call it quits and whitewash one’s past anytime one would like to. How could catastrophes be so kind? Accepting the music theory of the abyss of music was to let others get the goods on one, how could it be so easy to free oneself of it afterward!

  If one could really free oneself of it anytime, what use would the Religious Court of Inquiry be?

  “Do you know how they did it?” Ye Qingxuan asked seriously.

  “You shouldn’t ask how they did it.” Watson held a glass of wine, sipping it, a strange smile on his lips. “You should ask how I did it.”

  “It was your doing?” Ye Qingxuan’s eyes widened, and he was quite stunned.

  It felt comical, as if a traitor suddenly pocketed the benefits the Asgardians had offered Ye Qingxuan.

  Soon, he realized what was happening. “Your scepter?”

  Watson laughed and said nothing, but in the glass in his hand, the color of the red wine turned like a stream of light. Sometimes it was like a thick black rotten juice, a sticky monster of indefinite shape, but sometimes it turned into a sweet sacred wine, emitting a miraculous glow.

  In the empty space behind the wheelchair, the projection of a huge hourglass emerged. The iron-gray fine sand flowed at the two ends of the hourglass, guiding the sacred music theory and the vibe of the catastrophe to flow continuously. As the scepter rotated, it was sometimes sacred and solemn, sometimes dark and ugly.

  Watson’s aura was constantly changing as well, oscillating back and forth rapidly between that of a Church musician and a dark musician. It was as if he was stepping on a thin strand of silk that stretched across the thousand-meter deep abyss between the two, maneuvering with ease.

  Like a miracle, he had fallen in front of Ye Qingxuan, then immediately sublimed incredibly.

  He lingered on the boundary with ease.

  [1] “Give face” is the literal translation of a Chinese saying that means treating someone with respect.

  725 Compassion

  What made it even more terrifying was that Hua Sheng’s scepter was abnormally permeable and was just like an elderly clergyman giving a lecture of the Holy Bible. It was compelling and had the power to change a person into placing his faith entirely into it.

  Dense electricity appeared around Ye Qingxuan as if an invisible protective net had been activated with a resounding clap. He could sense that Hua Sheng’s music theory was infiltrating him just like how the power of a catastrophe would infiltrate others.

  “It looks ter
rifying, doesn’t it?” Hua Sheng chuckled as he poured the remaining wine in his cup into the sea. “Thanks to the Court of Inquiry, I managed to bring out the full strength of the music theory of Holy Caldron and became a scepter. Although it allowed me to convert freely amongst others, it was still not significant enough. Music theories do not change a person and neither does it allow for someone to achieve true redemption. Therefore, I call it ‘apocrypha’.”

  Apocrypha was to deviate from the right path. It was neither the book of abyss nor the Holy Bible, but something in between. It might seem flawless on the outside but was actually rather extreme. One could bend it to his will but could never truly master it.

  It was just stuck in the middle of sublimation and degeneration. This was Hua Sheng’s scepter, a maniac that would make use of the names of sages from the past to achieve his own purpose, an apocrypha that concealed evil intentions and poison, and an empty and false redemption. If Hua Sheng wanted to, he was fully capable of converting black and white, where the musicians of the Church would degenerate and Dark Musicians would be blessed.

  But just like he said, music theories were not capable of changing people; people fulfilled music theories instead.

  “You are really…” Ye Qingxuan was having a slight headache.

  Hua Sheng’s scepter was just like him. He might appear to be gentle and holy but his heart was filled with evil intentions. It was just like an evil cult, where one would be convinced to deviate from his original path in order to borrow and rely on Hua Sheng’s power, only to be changed incrementally. One would be under his control and would never dare to face their true selves under the façade of redemption until finally, they have become his puppet. No one would believe that he did not do anything extra when he helped the Island musicians to remove their maladies.

  He sighed. “Go back and find Shi Dong for a teaching position. You will go to Westminster Church to take up a temporary position.”