Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

Ear piercing alarms sounded from within the gate. In a flash, hundreds of musicians who had been awaiting orders took off into the air, and a terrible pressure locked onto Ye Qingxuan.

  “Yes, this is more fun.” Ye Qingxuan laughed.

  This was right. This was right.

  If there was no one to block his way, he wouldn’t have to play the villain.

  …

  Heaven’s Gate was built to guard against danger. It was situated between two mountains. The mountains were high, and there was nowhere to climb them. The three gates were nearly unassailable, inside and outside. The walls were filled with arrow slits and other mechanisms, and every 20 paces, there was a pot of oil that was kept boiling day and night.

  For common people, a height of several hundred meters could be considered as reaching into the clouds, but for a musician, even a common one, with a little preparation they could fly over it.

  However, compared to the impregnable city gate, the sky above the gate was the real death trap. Between the three gates, Redbud Gate was the biggest, but Heaven’s Gate was the most dangerous.

  This was because this place was blessed by the Great Wall.

  The gate on the ground was as strong as metal, and the air above the gate was filled with torrents of aether, forming an invisible wall. Once you had carelessly entered it, you would be locked down by the Great Wall within an instant. Next, all the terrible power of the Empire of Aurora would be added to it, and a pressure powerful enough to crush coal into diamonds would kill any living thing.

  The ground had an impregnable pass to defend it, and the sky was covered by the Great Wall.

  This truly was Heaven’s Gate.

  Compared to the sky that was seemingly empty, but really hid mortal danger, it would be much easier to break through on the ground. In the histories of past dynasties, Heaven’s Gate had only been broken through twice, and one of those times it had been opened from the inside by traitors.

  The only time that counted as a true breakthrough, they had used the most brutal method—they had forcibly attacked Heaven’s Gate for six months. Corpses had filled the field, and they had captured the city by means of piling them up to a great height.

  Thus, all along, people had unparalleled confidence in Heaven’s Gate.

  But now that unshakable confidence had dissipated.

  And there was only one enemy.

  But that guy… Was he really human?

  At that moment, a torrent of aether erupted from Ye Qingxuan’s body, intertwining into a burning cloud of light in the sky. Under the cover of the World Tree’s arrays, the lightning formed by the Music Theory of Reform emerged from the cloud of light. The startling electricity gathered together into a bunch and fell into Ye Qingxuan’s hand, blending with the New Testament Sword.

  Facing the slowly rising sword of electricity, the wall that was made of bluestone, reinforced with enchantments, and nearly unbreakable under the cover of the Dragon’s Bloodline trembled.

  The gate roared madly like a beast of prey.

  Dust flew up chaotically and scattered in all directions.

  In the blazing light and heat, the King of Yellow’s crown emerged from the void, and bestowed its blessing upon Ye Qingxuan, causing its majestic divinity to run through his body, flowing between him and the World Tree.

  The incarnation of the deity had arrived.

  The power of a god in the hands of a man radiated out a majestic movement.

  Gungnir, which had nearly pierced Avalon’s defenses in a single attack, reappeared. One, two, three, four, and finally, with the power of the New World, dozens of Gungnirs overlapped, reproducing the martial power of the catastrophe Odin.

  At that moment, the spear of destruction cleaved through the air!

  The roar of the heavens and earth shaking spread hundreds of miles. The earth that had been solidified into a monolithic block trembled, and beyond the coverage of the enchantment, a ringlike crack that covered all of Heaven’s Gate faintly appeared.

  Originally Heaven’s Gate had seemed like a nail that had been hammered into a strategically located position, but now how could this nail be prevented from falling apart under Ye Qingxuan’s attack?

  In a flash, he had broken through the outer enchantments, and as he collided with the projection of the Great Wall, numerous cracks emerged from the void. Amid the roar, the burning Gungnir inched forward.

  The musician who was defending the city’s face went pale. He wanted to retreat, but he was fixed in place by the immense pressure. It was difficult to hide, and he could only watch as Gungnir inched closer to his head.

  Even if the Great Wall consumed 90 percent of its power, the remaining ten percent still could not be resisted by humans! Just the aftermath would be enough to burn everyone in the city to ash.

  At that moment, a hand pulled the musician away from there, threw him to the side, and then faced the oncoming Gungnir.

  In the blazing light, powerful turbulence spread out, like a giant’s wild heartbeat, like iron drums, like thunder, shaking people to the core and making everyone’s vision go dark.

  After the lightning disappeared, the slightly older middle-aged man could not help but take a step back. His hand was scorched black, and his wounds had difficulty closing as electricity still ran through them.

  He sighed, closed his hand, and looked at the musician who had gone limp beside him. His eyes went cold. “You should have notified me earlier about this sort of thing. Why did you take matters into your own hands?”

  The musician’s face twitched. He said nothing.

  He sighed and waved impatiently. “I don’t know who told you to do this. You can go explain it to the commandants yourself.” Two commandants quickly came forward and dragged the musician away, just like pulling a dead dog away by its collar, and pulled him off into the city.

  Now the middle-aged man shook his head helplessly and hid his injured hand behind him. He looked at the young man below the city.

  “Long time no see, little Yezi.”

  “Mr. Hu?”

  Ye Qingxuan was stunned, and could not help but laugh softly. “I trust you’ve been well?”

  766 Entering the City

  Since they parted ways at the Sacred City, Ye Qingxuan had lost all traces of Mr. Hu. Ye Qingxuan did not expect to meet him again in such a situation. Although a dispute could be avoided and he was pleased about that, he felt inevitably regretful at the same time.

  “So, can I enter?” he asked.

  “Of course you can.” Mr. Hu gave his accent readily, then looked at the disaster victims behind Ye Qingxuan. “As for them… As a condition for letting you pass, how about you help me maintain the order later?”

  Ye Qingxuan nodded. “Of course, no problem.”

  Mr. Hu thought for a moment and told his subordinate next to him, “So, open the gates, maintain order, let the victims enter the city in an orderly manner, and pass down my orders…” He raised his voice, and the slightly hoarse voice was like thunder, rumbling in everyone’s ear. “Do not stop after crossing the pass, leave immediately!

  “Those who snoop around sneakily will be beheaded, those who don’t obey the commands will be beheaded, and those who use the opportunity to create chaos will be beheaded!”

  In the shocked expression of the victims, in one go, Mr. Hu issued three interdicts that would result in those who went against them being beheaded, then he softened his tone for a bit. “You all are allowed to temporarily rest for a night ten miles away from Heaven’s Gate. A meal of porridge will be provided.

  “I will inform the counties behind the pass to receive disaster victims. Set off immediately at first light tomorrow, and those who linger around will be considered to be spies!” He did not clarify what would happen to spies, but it was probably nothing good.

  Ye Qingxuan raised his eyebrows slightly. All along, Mr. Hu gave him the impression of being a congenial and cultured musician, and Ye Qingxuan never thought that the man would have such
a fierce side. Although he was still wearing a similar gray robe at the moment, when he looked down at the victims, blazing flares completely different from the past lit up in his eyes. It was like black gold burning in the hot sun, turning into boiling molten metal.

  Then only did Ye Qingxuan remember Mr. Hu’s nickname in the Sacred City, “the sun.” The title had probably come from his cold and serious side as well?

  Soon, the three-layered gates of Heaven’s Gate opened with a rumble, and a thousand cavalry soldiers rode out, declaring orders. They pressed one hand on the hilt of their sword and held a heavy iron lance that had its head removed in the other hand. They made their way through the chaotic crowd of disaster victims. For those who didn’t obey the orders and tried to cause trouble, the soldiers naturally wouldn’t treat them in a kind manner. Struck by the iron lance, one would inevitably break their head and bleed.

  In the crowd, several men who seemed quite calm were hiding in the back, and after exchanging a few glances, they were ready to raise their voices and shout something, but paused in their actions, unable to move. They simply felt their bodies going stiff, as if they had fallen into a pit of ice.

  When they looked up with much difficulty, they only saw a pair of eyes as hot as the scorching sun. Then, as if they had been struck by lightning, their hearts started to beat fast like drums, and their faces turned red.

  After a few moments, their hearts ruptured from the frantic beating, blood seeped out of their seven orifices, and they fell to the ground, dead.

  At the same time, a pair of eyes was staring at tens of thousands of people all at once.

  Even Mr. Hu had difficulties supporting such a high rate of consumption.

  The expression of Ye Qingxuan, who was respectfully invited to ascend onto the city wall and saw the scene, immediately turned somewhat complicated. “It seems that I have arrived at a bad timing?”

  “Isn’t bad timing an understatement?” Mr. Hu couldn’t help but sigh. “You really gave me a huge, difficult problem to solve.”

  No, to be exact, it is not Ye Qingxuan who has thrown me the problem.

  It is Bai Heng.

  Had it not been intentional, why would the victims have congested the pass at Heaven’s Gate so densely overnight?

  Bai Heng has deliberately plundered their homes, driving the group of homeless people to Heaven’s Gate, to force the empress to resolve the problem.

  If they are given permission to pass, undoubtedly, the musicians and secret agents mixed in with the crowd will definitely stir up trouble when the army attacks the city. No, they might even start riots right when they enter the city.

  If they are not given permission to pass, then when Bai Heng’s army besieges the city, weapons have no eyes to differentiate between soldiers and civilians, and once the war starts, death will be the only outcome for these people. If no action is taken, it will be equivalent to letting them die.

  Even if one disregards the uncertainty people will feel, someone, be it a member of the court or the commonalty, will definitely make a big fuss over the lives of the tens of thousands of people, and it will also be quite a big trouble for Her Majesty.

  One can’t let them pass, one can’t refuse to let them pass, it is necessary for one to kill them, but killing them will cause even more trouble.

  It’s a multiple choice question that puts the answerer in a dilemma.

  Mr. Hu knew it very well. If it had not been him who was here at the moment, Ye Qingxuan probably wouldn’t have given face. Then, having his way being blocked unyieldingly by some other person would probably just force Ye Qingxuan to have a fall out with the Aurora government, leading to more trouble.

  I can only say that… Her Majesty has really taken everything into consideration.

  Thinking of it, Mr. Hu couldn’t help but sigh.

  No, presently, it seems that the whole situation has been within her control right from the start.

  When she received the news that Ye Qingxuan was heading to the capital, she sent me in advance to garrison Heaven’s Gate in a hurry, traveling day and night. For someone like Ye Qingxuan, rules no longer have any meaning. Trying to coerce him with an unyielding attitude will only make things worse. But if we cater to his needs cowardly, the dignity of the kingdom will be compromised.

  But with me stationed here, everything will be easy.

  No matter what happens, Ye Qingxuan is the type of person that will never make things difficult for a friend.

  And when we are dealing with the victims, with me here, Ye Qingxuan may not be unwilling to help.

  But after growing accustomed to such fascinating schemes of Her Majesty, at the moment, Mr. Hu did not feel the slightest trace of joy in his heart. Although the present empress could definitely be considered a ruler of unparalleled wisdom, he didn’t feel happy.

  Instead, he felt a little… sad.

  Just as he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a shrill whistling coming from a distance. He abruptly turned back and looked towards the inside of the city. Amid the chaotic crowd of victims that had entered the city, several carriages suddenly shattered. In a flash, textiles and gold ingots scattered everywhere.

  Silver flowed out like water, dazzling everyone’s eyes.

  After being momentarily stunned, the victims boiled with excitement. They pounced forward and fought hard to snatch the gold and silver.

  So, the musicians who had mixed in with the crowd smiled and threw out musical movements in all directions, disregarding death, injury, or any other consequences that they might cause. Metallic gleams emerged from thin air, turning into torrential rains falling in the city.

  Then everything paused midair again.

  It seemed as if time had been frozen. Be it the torrential rains of metal, the roaring screams, the furious faces of the soldiers, the unsheathed long knives, the lances stabbing down, the gold and silver ingots flying through the air, or even the chaotic disaster victims and musicians, everything within the rioting area came to an abrupt stop, pausing in place.

  Faust.

  “Got distracted?” Ye Qingxuan asked, smiling

  At the moment, strengthened by the staff of authority of the King of Yellow, Ye Qingxuan had also thoroughly understood the working principles of Faust, which was almost like a miracle when Hermes used it back then, and he was even able to use it skillfully.

  Although Ye Qingxuan could not match Hermes’ terrifying level of attainment, whereby the latter could even freeze the Three Kings for two or three seconds with just a movement, it was simply a piece of cake for Ye Qingxuan to totally defeat the musicians who had just achieved the Level of Distortion.

  “Ah, sorry, I was distracted.” Mr. Hu gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “Thankfully, you’re here.”

  “I’m just checking for loopholes and filling in the gaps.” Ye Qingxuan released the shackles he imposed, erased the musical movements cast by the group of musicians, and conveniently sealed their aether sensing. As compared to Ye Qingxuan, who could only take action afterward, Mr. Hu seemed to have the advantage of a prophetic vision.

  Under the gaze of the pair of hot golden pupils, it was as if no detail could escape his probing. Just by taking a sweeping look, he could easily differentiate between the spies and the victims.

  “This one, this one, and this one…” Mr. Hu pointed several times with his finger, and amid the chaotic crowd of victims, obvious signs appeared above the heads of more than ten people. Then, the cruel order was issued, “Kill them on the spot.”

  Soon, a few brand new heads were hung on the gates.

  Other than a few looking to be of a slightly higher rung of the pyramid, who were taken away to be interrogated under severe torture, the rest met their end, which was nothing pleasant.

  In this regard, there wasn’t much room for Ye Qingxuan to intervene, and he did not feel that he had any excuse or reason to intervene. Just by looking at the actions of the musicians just now, he could tell what those fellas we
re doing in the crowd of victims.

  As long as they could cause enough riots in Heaven’s Gate, they probably wouldn’t even blink if all the disaster victims died.

  Compared to those useless idiots whose life and death did not matter to him, Ye Qingxuan was more curious about the pair of eyes of Mr. Hu.

  If his guess was not wrong, it should be the result of the research done by some school of revelation. But other than the subtle difference between Oriental music theory and Western music theory, they also differed significantly in subject matter and imagery. Ye Qingxuan could only tell that it was some type of implanted array, but had little other discoveries.

  However, after observing for quite a while, Ye Qingxuan, who was almost like a completely different person from his past, discovered something that he had never realized before.

  In the body of Mr. Hu, who was close at hand, this man who was quite thin and old, hid a violent force that even Ye Qingxuan felt slightly alarmed by. Although he had no blood of the Deva and the power was not a legacy of the dragon bloodline, it was by no means inferior to the legacy of the dragon bloodline.

  No. One could say that it had ascended to the same level as Gungnir. However, the nature it displayed was very different from that of Gungnir’s thunder. If one was to forcibly summarize it with the nature of matter, it should be ‘metal and fire’.

  The elements of iron and fire constantly collided within the power, emitting a violent aura of destruction, but it was restrained by layers of seals…

  Despite being so fierce, it was shrouded in heavy fog, only appearing for a brief moment when Mr. Hu used the pair of eyes. Then, it quickly disappeared back into the mountains shrouded by clouds and fog, making it difficult for others to see it clearly anymore.

  Seemingly sensing Ye Qingxuan’s curiosity, Mr. Hu did not hide it. Instead, he explained, “This was my teacher’s research back in his early years. To some extent, it can be regarded as the result of alchemy. Unfortunately, I am the only example that could be considered to have succeeded somewhat.”

  Ye Qingxuan awkwardly coughed once and looked away. His actions just now could also be considered as breaking a taboo out of curiosity, spying on the results of research of other schools. Although Mr. Hu was generous and did not make a fuss over it, he made Ye Qingxuan even more ashamed.