by Feng Yue
A bunch of ghosts, that did not even know if their corpses were still around, left behind a couple of obsessions. Now that they had made use of the spirituality of the Ultimate to resurrect themselves, they were fully imposing their wills on others. If they wanted to demonstrate their seniority by scolding a couple of times, it would have been acceptable. Everyone could still play along, where they would exert their authority for a while and Ye Qingxuan would play humble. Everything could have gone on smoothly.
But they were just bent on not giving any face! After nagging for so long, they still expected Ye Qingxuan to contribute to this world. For what! There are so many people in this world, why me of all people? Have I dug the grave of the Pope?
If Ye Qingxuan had the time, he would have written a list of debts owed to him and he would have been able to collect them all the way from the Sacred City to Aurora! Of all the places in the east and west, how many people would dare say that they did not owe anything to Ye Qingxuan? Was anyone unaware that Ye Qingxuan was the Sacred City’s role model for values? Or that he was the world’s role model for hard work? But because of the words of these few old idiots, he was quickly relegated some kind of a*shole. What a joke.
Any typical musician would have felt powerless to do anything in such a situation but this would not be the case for Ye Qingxuan. He was a reckless person who dared to interfere in the clash between the Holy Caldron and the abyss. From west to east and across the seven seas, he was the only one who would dare to interfere in the matters of many countries. He had no fear nor respect for these traditions. Therefore, without any hesitation, he decided to fall out with them! In any case, this was a projection developed in his consciousness by the Ultimate through aether. In the worst-case scenario, he was prepared to give up on the Symphony of Predestination!
This was probably the first time in their lives that these kings were being scolded so fiercely and unceremoniously. They were so shocked that they were not able to react in time. Soon after, Ye Qingxuan smashed the railing in front of him and walked over towards them from behind the judgment seat while making a rude hand gesture towards the pair of blue ambers in the sky.
“What are you looking at?” Ye Qingxuan stared. “Preparing to be burnt at the stake?”
This was the last straw for the unlucky camel.
“What arrogance!” The King of the Sun was the first to explode in anger. Behind him, the imperfect outline of the sun appeared as he roared, “Kneel! Prepare to receive death!”
Boom! Seven pairs of wings of light seemed to spread open on his back. These kings had all received the blessings of the Holy Caldron. Although they were humans, by nature, they had already cast projections in the world of aether, so they could be said to be half God and half human. They were almost catastrophes. They all managed to obtain different powers from the Holy Caldron and the element that the King of the Sun had managed to obtain was Angel of the Sun.
At this moment, the wings of light were a fleeting line that caused countless cracks in the entire illusory land. The Staff of Fate roared and Ye Qingxuan’s body was instantaneously shrouded within a terrible light. It was as if he had been thrown into the sun, and at the command of the king, the sun had descended.
It was said that back then, when polar night came, he was able to utilize his own abilities and power to bring light to the world, so much so that white roses and the common broom were able to bloom around the entire Burgundy kingdom. This was clearly not the first time Ye Qingxuan had to face the power of the sun but he never expected that the projection of the remains of the dead in aether could still bring him such immense pressure.
Thoughts were evaporating and memories were boiling. The body that had been formed by consciousness was burning. The newly-formed Symphony of Predestination had turned into new fuel, forcing Ye Qingxuan into the flames to be burnt into dust.
Even the thinnest camel was still bigger than a horse. Similarly, even if the King of the Sun had become extremely thin, he would not be a camel. Instead, he would still be a giant dragon, who would be more than capable of piercing through countless gold and metal or shredding all sorts of flesh and blood. In a moment of silence, there was no screaming in despair nor gasps of shock. Within the flames, the indifferent pair of eyes looked up. The Staff of Fate was raised up high.
Wham! There was only an insane determination and an arrogance towards everything else.
Wham! If there was mountain ahead, it would be cracked open; if it was a tree, it would be broken; if it was an enemy, his head would be crushed; if it was a sun, then the sun would just have to be dragged down!
Boom!
…
Within the hall filled with debris, Ye Qingxuan, who was sitting on the cushion made of weeds, suddenly trembled. Powerful beams of light shot out of his slender body and blood seeped out of his pores. Within the blood, beams of light that were the color of moonlight rose like flames. The music theory was in a state of unrest!
The expressions on all the Masters changed. The worst-case scenario was finally happening! Typically, something as extreme as this would never take place, as long as the Symphony of Predestination could somehow be put together. The counter reaction produced by the breaking of the music theory would consume life and body. Something like this would only take place if one took the risk of merging with a music theory that was completely against his own path, or if one formed the Symphony of Predestination without any preparation.
If problems were to occur in any other situation, the consequence would be a failure in leveling up. It might be fatal and probably one person might die as a result. At most, some innocent people might be dragged down too. But this was different! If one did not pay enough attention to such unrest, it could spread!
Any normal person who encountered a situation like this would be sure to keep a safe distance, but all the Masters at the scene only revealed a bitter expression. According to the covenant that they had signed with Ye Qingxuan, they could not stand by and do nothing to help him, otherwise, as part of their guarantee for the covenants, their Symphonies of Predestination or scepters would fall apart. All powers would be lost and they would never be able to gain the favor of aether for the rest of their lives.
To a musician, a scenario like that was worst than death. Besides, there was a solemn-looking “little girl.”
Arhat Mable did not seem to be aware of the thoughts that were going through everyone else’s minds. She merely toyed with the Fire of Nirvana in her fingers. In a situation like this, if any of them were to pretend to be oblivious to what was taking place or continue to be hesitant, Mable would be the first to turn that person into a small pill to serve as supplements for Prince Avalon!
663 I Don’t Care
As a subordinate of Ye Qingxuan, Mabel was protected by the contract. But intentionally or unintentionally, Ye Qingxuan had not stipulated whether or not his subordinates could attack the Masters.
Up until now, all the talents of the realm had just been reacting to the white-haired b*stard’s crazy ideas.
There was not one good thing in the whole freaking Anglo Kingdom!
The ten or so Masters glanced at each other and selected a few unlucky ones from their number. They did not dare to hesitate any longer. The unlucky ones could not help but grit their teeth and stamp their feet before walking unwillingly towards Ye Qingxuan. They pressed down on his limbs, chest, back, and forehead, using all their might to help him suppress the surging music theory, not daring to slacken even a little bit.
Seeing that others had taken care of it, those that were left behind couldn’t help but breath a sigh of relief. But in a few moments, they saw one of the old men begin to tremble all over. His eyes rolled over to their whites as he looked up and spat out a mouthful of blood. It seemed he couldn’t handle it!
Everyone was horrified and stunned.
It had only been a few minutes!
It was not that these Masters were not very used to helping their students supp
ress their music theory, it was just that no matter how big their problems were, it was no pressure for the Masters. And now, in order to ensure that nothing would go wrong five masters were suppressing the music theory of one quasi-Master, and they could not even stand it for five minutes!
After losing one of their numbers, the other four quickly trembled and were on the verge of collapse.
“Monster…” The old man was panting. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and thought of that unimaginably frightening music theory that he had just witnessed. His face went pale as he looked at his companions. “Five people aren’t enough! 15, we need at least 15! A Scepter might be enough. Quickly! We can’t hold on!”
For a moment, all that could be heard was the sound of panting.
…
At the moment, regardless of the other Masters rushing over to help save him from this awful mess, Ye Qingxuan was already on fire in the illusion. If it hadn’t been for the group of Masters supporting him on the outside he wouldn’t have been able to bear it.
He didn’t know if this counted as a great irony or not.
A Grand Inquisitor who always sent people to the stake was being cast into the flames himself…
But for some reason, he suddenly felt less pain.
“Feeling” was a purely imaginary piece of vocabulary, unquantifiable and nonsensical. But right now, Ye Qingxuan was indeed experiencing such a vivid feeling.
The King of the Sun was weakening!
But what was most obvious was that he was not dead yet. Although he was a little frightened at first, after getting used to it he found out what it was like. After the initial burst of terror, it would not rise again quickly, but there would be a faint, unsustainable feeling. It was as painful as a blazing sun but as fleeting as a candle in the wind.
Ye Qingxuan raised his head with great effort and looked at the King of the Sun. His eyeballs that had been nearly turned to glass were huge and full of confusion and even a little disappointment that the expected abuse had not come. “Is that it?”
“…” Within the flames, the King of the Sun’s face was cold but also betrayed a bit of stiffness, and a trace of incomprehension. The flames were dying. Dying rapidly.
He was like water without a source or a fire without fuel. No matter what he did, his past invincible might that allowed to do as he pleased was beginning to dry up, and he would soon be powerless. Moreover, the other kings had not acted, instead choosing to do nothing. In the process of putting forth his power, his form began to wane.
The King of the Sun’s face was distorted in the twisting air. Although he could not see his face clearly, Ye Qingxuan was sure it must be quite interesting.
“Excellent.” Ye Qingxuan laughed hoarsely even as the fire burned around him. “What an interesting expression for the prophet who so ambitiously planned out the future of the world. All you kings who dominate the world can’t even handle an unrepentant scoundrel like me.”
The burning figure was as brilliant as the setting sun. He laughed, and in the laughter the flames swept out like crimson silk, revealing bones that had been bleached pure white. The skeleton was bathed in flames, like someone immersed in warm water. The silky muscles of his face twitched into the semblance of a pleasant smile.
The flame had not killed him.
He was alive again.
He stood before the ancient kings once more.
“Perhaps you think you can plan out the whole future, and that everybody is obligated to make concessions or sacrifices for your grand design. But that’s not how it is…” As he spoke with his hoarse voice, his flesh began to grow on his bones. Pieces of Ye Qingxuan’s face began to appear on his skull. The flame was rendered into pure white, almost silver hair that flowed out behind him.
“Just listen,” the skeleton whispered. An ear-piercing noise rang out from the flames. The skeleton stretched out his fingers and began to pluck at his rib-bones as if he was playing a stringed instrument.
The scraping of bone upon bone produced a shrill sound. It was like the friction of the Earth’s crust causing the mountains to cry out, or like a hurricane sweeping through causing the waves to crash, or like thousands of hammers falling at the same time.
At first, the sound was harsh and disordered and maddeningly chaotic. But soon, under the orderly movements of the skeleton’s fingers, the disordered tempos were merged into one, and in this natural and smooth harmony, a rhythmic and sonorous melody appeared.
Countless notes appeared on Ye Qingxuan’s skeleton, wriggling about like living things. A colossus loomed out of the turbulent illusions behind him.
An embryo of terror was gestating. A sleeping beast had opened one of its eyes.
It was the Symphony of Predestination that had been forcibly frozen!
Now, this Symphony of Predestination that had only existed in his drafts and conceptions was about to be completed, just as the giant sleeping in the layers of ice began to slowly open its eyes. There was a loud roar, and white cracks began to spread through the ice. At the same time, the illusions of the kings were continuously flashing, like candles in the wind, their power spent.
Their existence was being repelled.
A pair of formless hands forcibly ripped them out of the projection of the Ultimate, breaking the arrays that they had set all those years ago and wiping away all hope of an invasion. But they were hidden deep in the Ultimate’s source of essence. There was nothing they could do in response. They fell silent.
A roar sounded out from the illusion.
Outside the illusion, countless detailed alchemy arrays began to appear on the broken stone plate. They trembled and emitted a burning glow.
The silent kings tried one final attack, setting off monstrous waves through Ye Qingxuan’s body and consciousness simultaneously. They had no hope of victory. This was purely to cause destruction, even if it meant they perished together.
After all, they were nothing more than duplicate projections here. And since the battlefield was Ye Qingxuan’s body, even if they had no way to win they could still thoroughly wipe everything out.
The King of the Sun was the only one who moved. He stretched out his hands and collected the shadows of the other kings to him, gathering them into the brilliant sunlight that surrounded him.
The kings were all ignited by the blazing sun, making it even larger and more dignified than ever before, as if it had sole dominion over creation and destruction.
“We will never let you have a hand in this world’s future!”
The sunlight that was so brilliant one could not look at it directly launched an all-out attack on Ye Qingxuan’s as yet incomplete Symphony of Predestination.
Opposing this was a pair of unwavering dark eye holes that stared back like cold eyes.
“You outdated trash can stay here yourselves,” came the soft, hoarse reply. “I don’t care!”
The notes began to shake violently as countless strains of music theory were gathered together in one place. Innumerable chaotic modifications were completed in an instant, until finally, Ye Qingxuan’s Rubik’s cube-like Symphony of Predestination quickly became unstable under the immense pressure, began to overlap on itself, and started changing wildly as it engulfed his broken bones and then it suddenly slammed into the blazing sun!
It was like a moth throwing itself into the flames.
At the moment of impact, all went silent.
664 Eulogizing in the Ashes
At the instant of collision, everything was silent and no sound could be heard.
But in the Physical World, Ye Qingxuan’s body suddenly shook violently. His corporeal body alternated rapidly between the states of aether circulation and blood circulation.
Sometimes his flesh and blood blended into the stream of light, but the fascia and bones remained. Sometimes half of his body was ethereal, but blood and sludge spewed out of the other half. The nature interference that had gone out of control spread to the surroundings, radiating to the
entire dilapidated hall, making everything descend into a strange wonderland-like state.
The stones were burning, the weeds turned into steel. The air was frozen, emitting a bone-chilling cold, but lava was flowing on the dome overhead.
And such were only observable phenomena on the surface. The actual turmoil that was caused by the music theory that had gone out of control was hidden under the surface, but its scale far surpassed hundreds of times that on the outside.
In just the blink of an eye, a horrifying torrent erupted from the Symphony of Predestination, causing the 12 masters around to scream miserably. Their palms were repelled from Ye Qingxuan’s body. However, upon closer inspection, one could perceive a terrifying amount of heat radiating from the gaps between the five fingers.
It was as if the bones had become charcoal, the blood fuel, and the skin firewood.
Their hands were burning.
Their palms had been transformed by the elements entangled in Ye Qingxuan’s music theory. Had they not been repelled by the horrifying pressure, at the moment, they would probably have started to burn like Ye Qingxuan.
Yes, Ye Qingxuan was burning. Fire emerged from his mouth and nose, from each pore, from the skin that seemed almost colorless under the illumination. It was as if lava was rolling around furiously in his blood and veins; like his body was placed in molten steel. His silver hair was instantly charred, and his body burned vigorously.
He had been ignited.
The power of the elements of the King of the Sun had infiltrated his Symphony of Predestination via his consciousness, instantly igniting countless strands of music theory of his completely, then radiating from the movement to the body.
Consciousness, music theory, flesh, aether…
