by Feng Yue
In response to Sydney’s welcome, the girl nodded. “Queen Mary told me that the Royal Academy of Music is an interesting place. This trip would have been a waste if I couldn’t visit it before leaving Avalon.”
“Your Highness has spoken too highly. The Academy is nothing but a place for education,” Sydney replied calmly. But he let out a sigh of relief inside and he could not hide the pride from his face.
What was this place? It was had been the center of Anglo’s academia for centuries. It was filled with geniuses, and at least three saints came from this school. There was not any other place comparable, other than the sacred city. Countless country leaders had visited before. A little girl was nothing!
“If you would like to know more about the academy, you must visit the auditorium. We’ve already prepared it for your arrival.” He walked in the front, leading the way. “Princess Chaoyue, please follow me.”
“Blasphemy!” The furious servant stepped forward and glared at him. “You lowly servant dare to call the Princess by her first name?”
Sydney froze, his heart trembling as his mind went blank. He had offended her with his first sentence. But he had really forgotten that strangers could not call Eastern elite women by their first names. His lips twitched and hurriedly put on a smile. “My apologies, please forgive me.”
“Mr. Sydney is not an Easterner and he doesn’t understand our customs. We shouldn’t blame him and just do as they do in Anglo.” The girl referred to as Chaoyue raised a hand, telling the servant to retreat. Neutrally, she said, “This isn’t a formal occasion. There is no need to use my title. You can call me by my surname. I’m sure there won’t cause any confusion here.”
Sydney finally let out his breath and nodded. “Miss Yunlou, please follow me.”
The servant huffed and followed closely.
Sydney walked in the front. Wiping cold sweat from his brow, he felt that his task was extremely difficult.
—
“The Royal Academy of Music was established four-hundred years ago. A century ago, famous artist Hermes remodeled it. It is now a well-known site in Avalon, especially the auditorium, which is representative of the Gothic style.” Sydney guided them down the wide street covered by verdure, endlessly introducing facts about the ancient architecture. It was clear that he had done his homework last night and memorized a lot.
Yunlou Chaoyue listened quietly. She nodded occasionally, as if she was not paying attention, adding more stress on Sydney. Suddenly, she halted, stopping in place.
Sydney’s heart skipped a beat. He ran over to her quickly and put on an enthusiastic smile. “Miss Yunlou, what’s the matter? It’s truly too hot today. Shall we take a rest?”
Chaoyue remained silent, ignoring him. She looked to the side, as if she sensed something. After a long time, she pointed to her right. “What’s there?”
Sydney blanched. Following her gaze, he panicked inwardly, his expression turning troubled. “This…”
The fat middle-aged servant rolled her eyes. “When Her Highness asks a question, you answer it. What are you doing stuttering like this?”
Sydney’s expression froze and he could only reply truthfully, “It’s the Jianlan Underground Palace.”
“Underground Palace? Is it like a prison?”
“It is just a place to store old items.” He wiped at his sweat. “It’s not suitable for visiting today. There’s a practice lesson going on now, and the students are fighting. I can’t have anything happen to you.” He racked his brain for a way to drag the girl back on the right path. There could not be any straying! But Yunlou Chaoyue’s words made his blood freeze.
“Sounds interesting.”
Sydney blanched. He had forgotten that although she was only seventeen years old, she was already a resonance musician! Her blood carried envious power since birth. What he said could scare weak elite ladies, but not a strong musician. He wiped his sweat, sending a pleading look to the servant.
She was trying to persuade the Princess too. “You don’t have to watch fighting to get rid of your boredom here. Yunlou City has more than enough fierce fighters. And anyway, Western fighting is so bloody. Broken limbs are an everyday thing. It’s pitiful and ugly. Your Highness, your golden body is so precious. Please don’t take unnecessary risks.”
Gazing in that direction, the white-haired girl seemed to be spacing out and was not listening the servant.
The old servant stopped awkwardly. The girl finally looked away after a long time, as if snapping out of a daydream. “There are so many ugly things in the world,” she replied quietly as she started walking away. “There’s no harm in looking.”
Without waiting for Sydney’s guidance, she started in the direction of the underground palace.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!” Panicking, the old servant rushed forward.
Sydney stood in place, dumbfounded. He wanted to cry. Why did this have to happen? Why did troubling things always have to happen at the same time?!
80 Commentary
“It’s the fourth one!”
When Sydney ran after girl into the underground square, he heard everyone cheer, “Fourth one! Fourth consecutive win!”
“Go Eastern Ye!” Excited girls jumped around, waving their hands in the crowd. The people in the front row yelled, “Don’t stop! Keep going! It’s time for the fifth!”
The girl stopped at the entrance. Not knowing what was happening, she looked around and saw the youth with white hair just like hers.
Standing in the center of the snake ring, the youth stood quietly, panting and fatigued. There was a hole in his jacket, and one could vaguely see burn marks. A part of his arm had been burned too. He writhed in pain. Four overlapping Flow runes on the back of his neck had turned crimson red. They were swollen slightly, as if blood were about to seep out. It was like an ugly scar.
Using Flow to control his blood flow, his physique had gone from that of a weak kid to a hundred times that of an average person’s. That strength shook inside his body, causing sharp pangs of pain. His bare skin had already turned red, and was so swollen that it was ready to burst.
That was the biggest downside of Flow. One must have precise control to achieve the strengthening effect, otherwise it would just harm and weaken the body. After using it four times, his body was at its limit in terms of strength and endurance. If he continued like this, his organs could be injured. He could even die.
He sighed. He had overestimated himself. Using that type of shameless method to win five rounds had been his plan, but he had already reached his limit after the fourth round. But it was okay. He could still continue.
He chuckled and took a deep breath. The cold air rushed into his lungs and his pounding organs settled down. Looking back, he raised his hand and announced, “Next one!”
—
“He can’t keep going any longer,” Edmund’s friend said sinisterly from the side. “This is a good opportunity.”
“Not yet.” Edmund’s expression was serious. “A student can cast more than ten runes in a short period of time. Even if he has no physical energy left, he can still cast runes.” Looking toward his left, he said, “Jon, go up this round. Push him to his limit, but not all the way. I want to end him personally.”
“Don’t worry.” The thin kid named Jon smiled. His sickly pale face was flushed with excitement. Feeling the sachet at his waist, he said, “I’m well prepared.” With that, he walked out from the crowd and stepped into the circle.
Seeing him, Brian’s eyes filled with satisfaction. Jon was different from the previous cannon fodder. He had been a student for more than a year. He may not have grasped combination runes, but he was already better than most students. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Jon stated, “Teacher, Ye has already fought four consecutive rounds, and has used up a lot of energy. To make this round fair, I would like to use the challenger’s special rights and increase the density of aether. This way, it’ll be easier to cast runes
.” He paused and smiled. “I don’t want to take advantage of him.”
Brian nodded in satisfaction. “Of course.” Without waiting for Ye Qingxuan’s reply, Brian knocked on the head of the snake. Cold light shone from its eyes instantly. The density of aether increased four-fold inside of the ring!
The crowd fell silent. But the commoner students quickly reacted and started yelling, “Despicable! Shameless! How is this fair?”
“Do you have any dignity?”
“What’s wrong?” Bai Xi glanced at Charles. “Isn’t it good to increase the density? It should be easier to chant now.”
“It depends.” Charles’ brows furrowed. “The strength of a rune’s effect depends partially on the density of the aether, but don’t forget that it only applies to cast runes. For precision runes that require a precise structure, high density actually makes things harder. If Yezi keeps using that tactic, Flow’s burden on him will increase four-fold too! They’ve found his loophole. He doesn’t have a perfect of a control on Flow yet.”
—
In the center, Ye Qingxuan sensed the thick aether in the air. After a while, he looked up at Jon. “Is this your tactic?”
“It’s not only that.” Laughing coldly, Jon reached into the small satchel and pulled out a thin strand of spider web between his fingers. The audience erupted into shocked yells.
“Recitation supplies!”
“He’s using other supplies to strengthen the effect! Despicable! So despicable!”
“Apparently, when high level musicians cast music scores, they can use specific supplies to strengthen the effect.”
“Ye Qingxuan is going to have a hard time! Only ten days have passed. How many runes does he know? Jon has been a student for more than one year.”
“I think he’s dead.”
Within the ring, Ye Qingxuan could not help but roll his eyes. Looking out at the audience he called, “Senior, what are you yelling about? It’s really distracting! Look, everyone’s ignoring you!”
In the first row of the crowd behind Jon, Charles imitated the rest of the crowd and yelled happily. “No way! I’m being a professional commentator!” he said loudly. “All races and games need a commentator. Don’t you know the rules? What if the audience doesn’t get it?!”
“Continue! Senior, ignore him and continue with your comments.” Beside him, a freshman enthusiastically handed him some peanuts and drinks. “Please drink some water. Can you please tell me more details? I need you to help me understand!”
“Look!” Charles said, getting cocky, “no one will watch without a commentator or boobs! I don’t have boobs, so this is all I can do for you!”
“…” Speechless, Ye Qingxuan looked back and saw Jon’s sinister face.
“Done talking? Can we start now?”
“Please.” Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and prepared himself.
—
As the coin landed with a crisp sound, Jon took a step back first, watching Ye Qingxuan carefully. That guy’s battle tactics from the first few rounds had scarred them. This time, he would attack first and plan later. But to his surprise, Ye Qingxuan stood rooted to his spot. Opening his mouth, he started chanting!
“Not moving?” Jon smiled coldly. That could be effective against Revelations, but standing there was making himself the perfect target for Modifications!
As a student of the School of Modifications with some expertise, Jon had already started researching the basic runes unique to Modifications. If not for the fact that he had not grasped combination notes, he would have been at the Rhythm level. But the long-term research had made him almost an expert at Modification runes.
“I’ll show you how powerful the School of Modifications is today! If you don’t want to move, then don’t!” he thought. A spider web thread between his fingers, he began chanting. The difficult syllables jumped from his mouth without any pattern at an unbelievable speed.
“Fast chant!” Outside, Charles purposely pretended to be shocked and yelped in a surprised tone, “My God, he knows how to chant quickly!”
Before long, a complex rune appeared in Jon’s heart. It was like countless ropes knotted together. The uneven rune twisted and transformed continuously. Aether gathered in the air from all directions, and using the changing spider web on his fingertip, it formed a blurry web that only Jon could feel!
The aether snare quickly came into shape. It shone faintly like a star, appearing out of thin air. This was the effect of the rune Shackle—Spider Web!
But Ye Qingxuan was still chanting. Excitement shone in Jon’s eyes. He chanted the last syllable and threw the web toward Ye Qingxuan.
The Eastern mutt was dead meat! Once he was trapped in place, he could only suffer Modifications’ wrath!
The starry net suddenly appeared and shot forward to envelope the chanting youth, but in the next moment, everybody was in shock.
“He dodged it? He dodged it!” Charles yelled.
As if he had predicted his move, Ye Qingxuan stepped to the left the moment Jon cast the effect, and merely rubbed shoulders with the starry net.
“Impossible!” Jon froze and stared blankly at Ye Qingxuan, not understanding what had just happened. How could a student discern the exact time that he would cast the rune and dodge at the moment he could not change anything? Not even one hair had been touched! He glared at Ye Qingxuan, but quickly realized that he had lost his temper. Stopping himself from wasting more time, he quickly began chanting another hymn.
This was another fast chant, even shorter than before. He pulled out a small bottle the size of a thumb. The icy bottle was filled with semi-viscous liquid, and it radiated coldness. Rune · Frost!
Under his control and chanting, the cold light slowly solidified. A sharp crystal seemed to form inside. The cold light illuminated his deathly pale face and excited eyes. With a final roar, it shot out at a speed faster than light!
Jon’s expression was menacing, as if he were taunting, “Dodge! Try dodging again! The frost arrow isn’t as slow as the web! If you can dodge this one, then I’ll…then I’ll…I’ll…” Staring dumbly at the untouched Ye Qingxuan, his mind went blank. What was he going to do?
81 He Cheated!
Unlike Jon who had been focused on chanting, the audience saw everything clearly. Ye Qingxuan had dodged at the exact moment the frost had shot out!? Like before, it was as if this were a planned performance. Ye Qingxuan stepped toward the left and only brushed shoulders with the frost!
“Jon, stop playing!” someone yelled angrily. “Get him!”
“Shut up,” Jon yelled back, losing his temper. “I know!”
“Let’s see what tricks you have up your sleeve,” Jon muttered from under his breath. He reached into his satchel again and pulled out a piece of metal. It was the size of a fingernail. The sharp thing emanated coldness. “If you can’t dodge this one, then you’ll have to lie down obediently!” he muttered, and began chanting.
“Objection!” Charles called, seeing the metal in his hands. “That’s too vicious! He’s using fatal runes! This is deliberate murder!”
Brian gazed at Charles coolly. “It is normal to have injuries in a duel between musicians. Your objection is irrelevant. Please do not disrupt the challenge again, or else you will have to leave.”
Within the ring, Jon had completed his chant. The metal in his hands floated up and spun in the air, producing a piercing sound. Formless strength controlled it. It spun at a crazy speed, building up strength like the bow of an arrow pulled taut.
This was Ghost Crossbow—the effect of Rune · Magnet, one of the most advanced Modifications runes. Magnetic force was used to build up strength and fire the metal piece. Its power was comparable to a light military crossbow!
As he chanted, Jon’s pale face flushed with excitement and effort. Gritting his teeth, he pronounced the last syllable and let the metal fly! The moment it shot out, the world went black for him. He had used up practically all of his energy to manipulate the
aether. As he had fine tuned everything, he pushed the Ghost Crossbow’s strength to its max! It would even be able to pierce a slab of metal!
But instead of the pained cry that he was expecting, he heard shocked yelps. His innards twisting, he straightened and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. Jon turned as white as a sheet.
The metal had shot past Ye Qingxuan and crashed into an invisible wall. It warped instantly and fell to the ground with a crisp clank.
“He dodged it again?” Jon thought. “Impossible, impossible…” Jon stumbled backward as if he had just seen a ghost. In a confused daze, he mumbled to himself. As the audience laughed at him, he met Ye Qingxuan’s piercing gaze. He screamed hysterically, “Die!” Stumbling forward, he began chanting again, ignoring the fact that he was at his limit. The effect of Rune · Fire lit up in his palms.
He roared as he ran, clawing madly at the youth with flaming hands. There was no need to predict anything this time. Ye Qingxuan waited until Jon was close before stepping to the left. The burning palms pressed against the invisible wall of the snake circle and were extinguished immediately.
His energy completely depleted, Jon collapsed. Right as he blacked out, he finally heard what Ye Qingxuan was saying.
“…Three pounds for tomato and chicken fried rice, one pound for mushroom soup, two pounds for noodles, two pounds for butter…” These were not the syllables of a chant! It was the cafeteria’s menu! That guy had not been casting any runes that entire time, instead he had turned Jon’s tricks around, making Jon drag on until he had used up all his energy…
“You’re cheating!” Jon gasped out angrily from the floor. He forced himself to keep his eyes open and glared at Ye Qingxuan, almost in tears. “I don’t accept this! You cheated!”
“Ah, you found out.” The youth looked down on him and smiled mockingly.
“You—you…you’re shameless!” Even as someone lifted him and took him out of the ring, one could still hear his tragic voice crying, “Ye Qingxuan, you cheated! Put me down. I want to fight him…I want to fight him!” The last cry rang louder than ever. But then he fell silent and did not make another peep.
