Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  “How unbecoming.” The Empress took a glance at her with a look of pity on her face. “You are still so young. Why are you growing to become a tyrant?”

  “What you said isn’t too accurate, Your Majesty.” Bai Xi smiled and continued, “In comparison, isn’t it more terrifying if one is born a wise ruler?”

  Bang! A finger struck her head and she became unconscious immediately. There was no rage nor dissatisfaction. It was just like punishing a naughty child. It was just a simple knock that resulted in a small swelling.

  “Looks like you must be so free that you have forgotten your position.” The Empress shook her head helplessly. “It’s just nice that, for the past two days since the cat has left you, it has been shedding fur and scratching my clothes. The two of you shall rely on each other from now on.” She said nothing more and got up to leave. The palace maids followed quickly behind, and in the blink of an eye, the room was completely empty except for Bai Xi and the fat cat that had been left on the table.

  “What a weird woman, isn’t that right, kitty?” Bai Xi pouted and picked up the fat cat. She began to hum a song. “Come, let’s not worry about her and go to sleep!”

  Night had fallen.

  762 The Real Thing

  He didn’t sleep well that night.

  The sky had just begun to light up.

  Ye Qingxuan sat in a chair by the door, watching people in the camp going back and forth, and thinking about what he should do next.

  In the chaotic East, the civil war in the Empire of Aurora was like a raging fire. Ye Qingxuan had declined the invitation to the feast last night and had dinner at his residence alone. He had refused all invitations from the various patriarchs.

  He did not want to get pulled into too many relationships here.

  Especially not with Bai Heng.

  Unfortunately, things were often not as he wished.

  “The third son of the Zhangsun family, Zhangsun Jingming, here to see Master Ye.” The blue-eyed young man stood before him, blocking the light.

  Ye Qingxuan looked up at him, “What is it?”

  Zhangsun Jingming grinned and made an elegant, polite bow with both hands clasped. “I myself have little talent, as so I would venture to ask Master Ye for some advice.”

  “You shouldn’t. I can’t play the piano, play chess, or paint, and I haven’t the energy for poetry, writing, etiquette or music.” Ye Qingxuan waved his hand. “Unless you are consulting me about mechanical engineering or history of the dark age musicians, you should find somebody else.”

  Zhangsun Jingming was not dissuaded and still maintained his bow. “I’ve heard that you have an illustrious reputation in the West and that you are in control of the present situation there. You are called the Hand of God, as well as bear the title of Grand Inquisitor and the crown of the King of Yellow. I wonder if I could receive the honor of receiving some instruction in music theory from you?”

  “Forget it, I can’t teach you anything. Really.” Ye Qingxuan sighed helplessly. “And the weather is so bad today. It looks like it’s going to rain, and it’s still early in the morning. And with all this fighting and killing, it’s no good.”

  Zhangsun Jingming looked up and wrinkled his brow. For some reason, he sighed softly.

  “Either way, Your Excellency is not willing to teach me?”

  “Mhm.”

  Zhangsun Jingming’s expression became could. “Are you scared?”

  “Mhm.” Ye Qingxuan yawned listlessly. “As you can see, I’m a thief who gained fame through undeserved means. Now you see what I truly am, why bother?”

  Zhangsun Jingming closed his eyes. When he opened them again he had a dejected look on his face.

  “Forgive my intrusion.” He lifted his hands, and the image of the huqin [1] Moon in the Well appeared behind him. Thunder and lightning brewed within it, giving the impression that Armageddon would reappear. The harsh sound rose into the sky.

  In a flash, frost appeared on the muddy ground. The rain that had fallen last night froze into the soil, condensing into fine, delicate ice crystals which intertwined and spread out in all directions.

  Then it suddenly stopped. The projection of the inherited artifact Moon in the Well was hidden, and its music theory disappeared without a trace. Armageddon had no time to appear and was thus nipped in the bud.

  The frozen ice crystals melted and the morning dew evaporated.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Ye Qingxuan reached out and grasped his hand that was still held stiffly in the air. He smiled in a friendly manner. “I forgive you.”

  Zhangsun Jingming’s face twitched slightly. He felt chilled down to the bottom of his heart. He did not dare to move. After a while, he finally relaxed and staggered back a few steps, smiling bitterly and cupping his hands in front of his chest.

  “The light of a firefly cannot compare to that of the moon.”

  Ye Qingxuan ignored him as he looked at the girl who was watching them from not far away. “How about you? Do you want to try too?”

  “No need.” Liu Ran, who he had once met in the Ultimate, rose slightly. “I myself do not dare to strike you.”

  “If there’s nothing else, why don’t you get out of here?” Ye Qingxuan sighed and waved his hand at the young people not far away. “If you have something to do, go do it. Don’t bother me. I came here to look, not to buy anything. There’s no need to be so enthusiastic.”

  The young people smiled bitterly and looked at each other. Last night, they had thought long and hard about the war. They knew that he could make a big difference, but they had never thought that Ye Qingxuan would not get involved. They had thought that with the inherited artifacts in their hands, how could the heroes of the world have any tricks left? As a result, they had lost before they had even drawn their weapons.

  They had lost terribly.

  Everyone on the battlefield suddenly felt a strong sense of frustration.

  Among them, after a moment of silence, someone came forward carrying a sword.

  “I am the eldest son of the Yuan family, Yuan He.” He nodded towards Ye Qingxuan and clenched the hilt. “I would also ask Master Ye to instruct me.”

  Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. “Fine, I’ll give you three moves… if you can move me one step, you win.”

  Yuan He’s expression changed, but he immediately suppressed his indignation, though his eyes went cold. “Then may the best man win.” He went to draw his sword, but the hilt was held by a hand and he could not get it out. The hand was as firm as a rock, firmly pressing the sword into the scabbard.

  He looked back in shock and saw his grandfather—Yuan Changqing.

  “You should just admit the gap between the two of you, and not get tangled up in this like some hoodlum.” Yuan Changqing released him, and Yuan He bowed his head. He was not embarrassed, instead respectfully accepting his grandfather’s admonition.

  “Everybody, leave.” Yuan Changqing waved his hand and everyone retreated a few steps. But they did not leave as he had asked, but instead gathered at a distance, looking on curiously.

  They watched Ye Qingxuan in the door and the old man in front of him.

  “Don’t bully the children, Ye Qingxuan.” Yuan Changqing’s white hair was tied up casually behind his head. He rolled up his robe’s sleeves, revealing the blackened skin and scars on his arms.

  He looked at Ye Qingxuan expectantly. “Why don’t you try me?”

  “Why do you say I’ve been bullying children? It’s more like a group of kids are bullying me.” Ye Qingxuan curled his lips and shook his head. “Besides, your position in your family is so high, isn’t this like the strong bullying the weak?”

  “But I don’t presume to be your better.” Yuan Changqing pressed his hand against the ropes on the sword’s hilt, and his eyes narrowed slightly. “You are better at managing your fear than your father was.”

  Ye Qingxuan was indifferent. “If you hadn’t brought him up, I’d be a little happier. Maybe I’d ha
ve even agreed.”

  “Then let me see, you unfilial son who burned away all of his inheritance, what’s the difference between you and him?” Yuan Changqing grinned and no longer looked like a kindly old man, but like a man-eating beast, full of savagery. “There, I’ve said it. If you can’t avoid it, you will really die—”

  Bang! The sound of metal scraping suddenly burst forth, and a ray of blazing light emerged from in front of Yuan Changqing, gathering together into a ray of harsh light and soft sound. It was like a bird, turning thousands of times each time you glimpsed at it. The sharpness of iron and the softness of steel were combined in the ray. It rose into higher dimensions and then fell.

  No one saw the simple, illusory sword in the old man’s hands until it fell. It was like silken music theory gathered together in the empty air, outlining the Cutting Sword Movement, revealing its pure form in the physical world. But it was also erratic and transparent. Only in the interplay of light and shadow could one see its terrible blade.

  Music theory spread out from the sword and fell into the void, binding Ye Qingxuan like a chain.

  Ye Qingxuan had already taken a step back.

  Dust rose up amid the sound of the house collapsing, and everyone was cowed by the fierceness of the image of the sword movement. They dared not rise up as they crawled meekly on the ground.

  The outline of the New Testament Sword appeared in Ye Qingxuan’s hands.

  A white scar appeared on the primitive yet elegant ridge of the sword, the mark left by Yuan Changqing’s sword. The scratch slowly closed, but the killing intent left in it could not be dissipated. It floated in the air, causing a crack to appear in the thawing frozen ground.

  They stood ten paces apart. 19 sword marks crisscrossed vertically and horizontally.

  Ye Qingxuan looked down and looked at the sword marks under his feet. He sighed softly.

  It was just like Yuan Changqing had said: If he couldn’t avoid it, he would have died.

  “Are we really doing this, old man? So annoying.” He rubbed his forehead impatiently. In a flash, an illusion sprang out from beneath his feet, and then, with the New Testament Sword as a fulcrum, an endless sea appeared beneath him. This was not only the Ocean Abyss Symphony. The many illusory mysteries that the musicians of the Illusion Islands had created over the centuries appeared, forming out of thin air and covering Yuan Changqing layer by layer.

  In a flash, matter was distorted and the boundary between reality and illusion was blurred. Using the methods of orthodox musicians, he defended his advantageous position tenaciously and confined Yuan Changqing within illusions.

  Then music theory unfolded from within, layering over itself and wrapping around Yuan Changqing’s sword movement. It was like the rising and falling of the tides. It pushed, it pulled, making a single battle turn into thousands with respect to everything from the overall situation down to the details. In a flash, Yuan Changqing was attacked from every direction.

  This was truly a fatal move.

  He was still not willing to face Yuan Changqing’s cutting sword, so he pulled the irascible old man into the kind of music theory battle he was best at instead. A battle of countless details, pulling his whole body in, and giving him the feeling of being trapped in a net.

  But soon his expression changed.

  At this moment, among the thousands of conflicts, it seemed like there were thousands of skilled swordsmen responding to his attacks. Thousands of different sword spirits and sword movements had emerged from the Chun Jun sword.

  After dividing the sword that had been condensed as much as possible, he had never thought that one enemy would become a thousand, each one totally different from the next, but each of them equally hard to deal with and frightful.

  The sound breaking glass rang out.

  Then the illusion of the endless ocean abyss was broken with a roar.

  Yuan Changqing walked out from under 10,000 tons of pressure without any injury, and smiling mockingly at Ye Qingxuan, who had suffered a heavy loss.

  “You don’t think the Yuan family are all a bunch of boors who only know how to draw swords, do you?” He tilted his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan. “Actually, no matter if it is swordsmanship, movements or music theory, as long as it something that can kill someone, we can do it. So how long do you want to keep playing these sissy tricks?”

  Ye Qingxuan looked downcast for a moment. This old man was really despicable and annoying. And his words were poison, every sentence that he said was worse than the last. But the power under his control was ridiculously solid, and he could even use his sword technique to respond to a music theory attack, almost leaving Ye Qingxuan rolling in the gutter.

  If he hadn’t merely been counterattacking and breaking his illusions, Ye Qingxuan feared he would be even more troublesome.

  Now, Ye Qingxuan was finally irritated.

  “Alright.” He raised the New Testament Sword and grinned at Yuan Changqing. “You want to see the real thing, then let’s see if you can take it!”

  A mighty melody sounded.

  Countless stars shone on the New Testament Sword’s blade, sending out a dazzling light. They appeared behind Ye Qingxuan, and layer after layer of murderous intentions locked onto Yuan Changqing.

  From the New World.

  After being separated from the Net of Aether by the Great Wall, Ye Qingxuan could not draw upon its massive stores of power. All that was left to him was the movements that he had prepared himself.

  In any case, the New Testament Sword’s load capacity had not been used up, and the movements could be held for six hours. In order to be prepared for any eventuality, Ye Qingxuan had put movements into the blade when he had free time, not fearing that they would go to waste.

  Now it was Yuan Changqing’s turn to enjoy them.

  “Yeah, that’s right.” Facing the hundreds of blazing lights, Yuan Changqing laughed and cheered. “This is how it should be!” He raised Chun Jun, and it turned into a vast and mighty sun. A sword movement as fierce as blazing sunlight rose from his body and fell towards the endless stars!

  Blazing light pierced everyone’s eyes.

  [1] A Chinese two-stringed instrument

  763 Clouds Follow the Dragon and Wind Follows the Tiger

  It was a clash between the stars and the sun.

  At the moment, a terrifying cloud of light rose high into the sky, suffusing through the entire military base and shrouding the heads of tens of thousands of people.

  The qi from the sword moved through it vertically and horizontally, and the musical movements undulated. The destructive pressure made everyone’s face pale. The closest spectators, namely the successors of the various houses, were already shaking, almost blown away by the pure gravitational force of the music theory.

  Yuan He took seven consecutive steps back, his expression shocked. Compared to his grandfather’s sword art, which surpassed supernatural forces like ghosts and gods, he was more afraid of Ye Qingxuan, and the power that erupted in a flash… It was a pure, crushing force.

  It was as if the ground was rising, and the sky was falling.

  The ground and the sky merged.

  Everything would be crushed into powder!

  In the rumble, the sword of the sun annihilated the endless stars, and it died out as well.

  A forlorn wail of metal colliding sounded.

  When the light dissipated, what everyone saw was the clash of the Chun Jun Sword and the New Testament Sword, the two swords parrying each other blade to blade.

  Yuan Changqing’s robe was torn, revealing the bronze skin below and the muscles that were so strong that they were completely unlike those of an old man, as well as the criss-crossed scars.

  The skin on the back of Ye Qingxuan’s hand also cracked, and streaks of scarlet blood seeped out from beneath the broken skin.

  Victory and defeat had not been decided.

  It was a tie.

  The two exchanged a look and withdrew their sword
s at the same time, then took a step back.

  “That was a good fight.” Yuan Changqing flipped his wrist and slid the hot Chun Jun Sword into its sheath. He seemed to feel that the result was unsatisfactory and looked a little regretful.

  “Young people nowadays are really difficult to handle.” At the moment, he got to enjoy the long-lost fulfillment and excitement, the joy of putting in all his efforts to fight against an opponent.

  However, Ye Qingxuan did not give it his all. He harbored no murderous intention, and he did not put all his chips, in the form of musical movements, on the table, nor did he intend to completely blast Yuan Changqing into pieces.

  Regard this, Ye Qingxuan only nodded. “You flatter me.”

  The difficult one to handle is not me, but Yuan Changqing!

  At the moment, he had completely grasped how terrifying the old man was. Rather than to say that Yuan Changqing was a great swordsman, it would be better to say that he completely forged himself into a sword.

  A non-human item.

  Ye Qingxuan also felt extraordinarily unhappy about this: The old man sounded fierce, but in the end, he still held back.

  Against the power multiple times stronger than him, the sharp blade with an unparalleled ability to kill actually forcibly opened up a path, maintaining its undefeated status purely by relying on a skill that Ye Qingxuan could never ever match.

  For such a person, a power ten times stronger than his was nothing at all, even one of a hundred times or a thousand times longer could hardly be of any use.

  It had nothing to do with quantity.

  It won because of its “essence.”

  Although the outcome had not been determined, and it was considered a tie, Ye Qingxuan knew it very well. If the two were to engage in a life-or-death battle at the moment, Yuan Changqing would have no chance of surviving, but Ye Qingxuan would definitely be the one to lose.

  It was because of the conflict between where they were coming from. One sought survival, while the other sought victory. When the two opposed each other, the winner and loser would be clear at a glance. The person seeking survival would live, while the person seeking victory would win.