Silent Crown

Chapter 211: Dig a Ditch, Add Some Dirt

From how slowly the fingers closed, there seemed to be great repulsive force between the two. But the air solidified and thunder boomed out of nowhere, as if giant stones were rubbing against each other.

Red and white light appeared. They were the red-hot flames and cold frost. They appeared out of thin air as the two fingers moved and converged as the fingers closed. Though they crashed against each other, they did not put each other out. Instead, they began rubbing even more intensely, creating explosive sounds.

In the stands, even the teachers could only gasp in awe. This technique of polarization from the School of Modifications was flawless! The aether had been manipulated hurriedly and was not very powerful, but the hidden manticore retreated quickly. It escaped the moment the ice and fire exploded.

Banner's expression changed. How did this b*stard know the manticore's weakness? When it suddenly dawned on him, he ground his teeth. It was the library! That guy was the manager of the library. As long as he had Dominic's permission, he could read about every musician school within Anglo…F*ck…why did it have to be him?!

The manticore became invisible by diluting itself and becoming a cloud of aether atoms, then melt into the environment like a chameleon. Because its body was so ghostly, no biological attacks could touch it. But if the environment changed too quickly, it would be unable to change with it and thus reveal its shape.

Furthermore, that white-haired b*stard had produced an alchemist armor from the School of Modifications! Any Modifications music score posed the greatest threat to an invisible manticore.

It was most wary of things as extreme as polarization. Once the extreme cold and heat exploded, it could cause the atomized manticore to lose part of its body. At that time, Banner would lose his opportunity and must put in great effort to project it back out. He might even face the manticore's resistance!

This was the biggest concern for musicians of the School of Summoning. Their phantom beasts were usually more powerful than they were. Controlling this overly-powerful strength and ensuring it would not go out of control and hurt the musician was already difficult, not to mention the backlash that would follow.

When Banner first inherited the beastliness, he had practically turned into a zombie trying to stop his brain from creating more creatures. Thankfully, all effort was worth it. He had already seeped through the manticore's surface awareness and branded it with his badge. The once-uncontrollable lion was now like his right hand.

The manticore only retreated temporarily. Soon, it charged forward again! Attacking while invisible was only one of the ways for the manticore to hunt…if it really wanted to kill, it would use its teeth and claws!

And the School of Royalty was best at…double majoring! Its unique rituals and techniques allowed the phantom beast to be modified and store music scores within. To the musicians who had become the 'descendant of the phoenix,' their phantom beasts were their instruments!

The giant phantom beast—as tall as a man—suddenly pounced, its body going up in flames. As it roared, lava flowed out of thin air like a waterfall. Covering its body, the lava transformed into a scalding dark red armor. The wild heat spread.

"Go die!" But in that instant, Banner saw Ye Qingxuan smile. The mocking smile gave him a bad feeling. The next moment, a whistle rang out.

"Goal for the history department!" the referee announced. Banner froze instantly.

Goal?! How was that possible?! The ball was—was right under Ye Qingxuan's feet…But then the ball under his feet trembled, blurred and finally turned into a round stone.

It was fake…

Banner roared and looked back at his goal. And saw that the goalie was hanging on the post and a little girl stood before the goal, panting for breath. The white-haired girl was covered with sweat and breathed heavily, but one could not tell what had just happened.

She seemed to have teleported there. It did not make any sense!

Everything had been flawlessly arranged in the game plan. Banner would deal with Ye Qingxuan. As for the rest, Cullen would take the two strongest musicians to attack the mysterious guy with the headgear; two would focus on the difficult Charles; he had even arranged for someone to block the dog…but he had overlooked the girl.

He had arranged for some to keep an eye on changes, but no one had expected that this young little girl with a ponytail would suddenly transform into a beast.

"Pomp and Circumstance," the principal sighed in the stands, shaking his head slightly. It was either a lament or praise. "As expected of that guy's student. As expected of Pomp and Circumstance."

When everyone's attention had been on Ye Qingxuan and Banner, Bai Xi had sucked in a breath. And then the players before her saw that the girl's eyes shone like the sun! The talent of the Dragon Bloodline, Zhaodang, had awoken.

A grand symphony had followed immediately after. The seal had been broken easily. Even though it was just the overture, even though it was just a few seconds…The girl had transformed into a saint crowned by the gods and advanced fearlessly with the holy power. She ran with the soccer ball, fast as lightning. And when she had reached the goal, she kicked.

The soccer ball had crashed into the goalie. Before he could react, he had been flipped over and hung onto the post. The electrified ball flew into the goal and practically broke through the net. That was when the ground-shattering resonance finally spread like thunder.

Everyone was stunned.

-

For the past few days, everyone had dug for information on the history department. This included the Eastern youth who had been in the limelight and offended countless people at the beginning of the year; Charles, who had been seen as a genius and then a failure; the evil dog that should not be crossed; and Bai Xi, who never went to class.

But no one had expected that the bad student who just ditched class to walk the dog was actually a Modifications musician! And she was such an expert that she could perform a heavyweight score like Pomp and Circumstance!

Everyone's jaws dropped and their eyes fell out of their sockets. In the stands, all professors glanced subconsciously at their similarly stunned colleague.

"Egor?"

"You taught her Pomp and Circumstance?"

"When did you…"

"That girl is your student?"

Faced with all the eyes and questions, Egor felt that his head was going to explode. "I didn't teach her!"

"Ha."

"Really?"

"Lying straight through your teeth is unnecessary."

It was obvious that no one believed him. Who else could teach Pomp and Circumstance in this academy, other than Egor from the School of Modifications?

"Shut up!" Egor was close to spitting out blood and had the urge to flip his seat over. "There are branches in Modifications too! That girl clearly played something closer to Classicism! It features God-given strength and becoming the physical embodiment of a saint!

"I inherited the school from Saint Liszt, which focuses on elemental change and transformation. There's nothing given by God! Even if I play Pomp and Circumstance, it will only feature the changes of the four elements and a thunderstorm. How can I teach a student Classicism?"

Seeing Egor's worked up expression, all the professors became more confused. Then who taught the girl? Abraham?

No way, that guy had come from the School of Abstinence, which naturally stood against all other schools. Even for the School of Summoning, he had just dabbled in it and did not count as an actual musician. It was hard to teach students…not to mention such a core music score from Modifications.

"Stop arguing." At the front, the principal sighed. "I know her teacher. He isn't from the Academy, but his status is sensitive, so just stop asking."

Hearing this, everyone shut their mouths, but they could not help but let their imagination run wild. There were crazy guesses—maybe she was the bastard child of some important guy, or the student of a grand master, or the seed of the School of Royalty…In the end, everyone's gazes landed on Abraham's empty seat and grew strange. What exactly was this old guy's background?

-

It was silent as death on the field as well. Banner held down the furious manticore and glared at Ye Qingxuan. "When?"

"Huh?" The youth's voice was hoarse and strange, as if he did not understand.

Banner stepped forward. His eyes were filled with anger. "When did you switch the soccer ball?!"

And so Ye Qingxuan laughed. When? It was from the start…

The ball had been kicked to Bai Xi when the beam of light flashed past. Then, the prepared Bai Xi dug a hole and buried the ball…Yes, she buried it right under her feet. When everyone's attention was on Ye Qingxuan, Bai Xi began to act according to plan.And so, she scored a goal logically and naturally. One point. It was so simple and so extremely easy, but no one else knew how to react.

"One thousand points." Across from Banner, the white-haired youth opened his mouth without a word, but revealed almost tangible mockery. Silent, Banner stared at his face and his own grew white as a sheet. He was just like a transparent wraith.

Angry fire continued to smolder in his beastly vertical eyes. The fury was sealed under his pale face and the fire hurt his brain.

That d*mn *sshole, that d*mn *sshole, that d*mn *sshole! That white-haired b*stard, lowly redneck, beggar in the palace…*sshole *sshole *sshole *sshole *sshole *sshole…

He covered his face, pushing down the wild beastly nature within. Once he could not retain complete sanity, he would easily be controlled by his beastly nature. The chaos was not completely bad though. It would at least make him wilder and more…powerful!

"Go into coherence with me." Banner revealed an emerald eye between his fingers. His voice behind his hands was hoarse and unclear. "Haydn's Symphony No. 8—Night!" His voice was like a choking beast.

"Haydn's Symphony No. 8—Night!"

Hearing Banner's voice, Cullen froze. All the players looked over. Cullen hesitated but he gritted his teeth and waved his hand. Do as he says!

The teammates were stunned, but they quickly followed the order. Instantly, melodies of the same frequency sounded from their hands. Their well-adjusted and arranged instruments played at the same tempo.

The aether between them worked in concert, connecting into a whole. The lack of a conductor resulted in some flaws, but they remained steady at the same frequency. Every player's breathing quickened, and perspiration beaded on their foreheads. The pressure arrived.

The manticore roared and stood before Ye Qingxuan's team, blocking their disruption. Banner's hand slowly left his face and pressed down in front. A gleam of light shot out from his ring and a gentle sound spread from it. But suddenly, a sharp cacophonous melody rose out of the stillness. Instantly, all instruments resonated with it and created a mighty sonority. As if nine ripples formed in the water at the same time, they overlapped, combined, and created turbulent waves. Light dimmed in the snap of a finger as the melody spread out on the field. The sun seemed to disappear quickly.Darkness followed immediately. Immense aether was summoned and assimilated into the darkness. It transformed into a curtain, blocking out all light.

"Hey, hey, how angry are they…" Charles wisely picked Bai Xi and Old Phil up, and hid behind Bench Guy. "Yezi, you taunted them too much."

At the front, Ye Qingxuan heard but did not listen.

Now, the entire field was pitch black. One could not see their hands before themselves. Only the mighty resonance and melody echoed. As the melody advanced, stars lit up in the sky. There was moonlight.

The stars were too far away and were blurry, as if there was frosted glass before them. Unable to resonate with the world, they were unable to borrow power from the outside world and create a real starry sky. But this darkness was already terrifying enough because the dark night had come.

The first movement of Symphony No. 8!

This was composed by the late Saint Haydn and was known as "Night." Its strength represented the arrival of beastly nature and night. If mankind lived under the sun, then the deep night was the beasts' territory. If Banner was strong enough to achieve Deva sensing and call forth a moon, then just the side effects of the wave of beasts in the darkness now would be enough to destroy the history department.

But in the darkness, the manticore at the midline suddenly trembled and howled, either in pain or happiness. There was the crisp sound of bone growing and skin cracking in the darkness. The manticore's body shook violently, but it grew bigger and bigger.

Its beastly nature increased in the darkness. The seed of wildness hidden in its aetheric body grew, sprouted, and developed toward its final shape. A fist-sized hole suddenly appeared where its spine was, like a whale's blowhole. Then came a second hole, a third, a fourth…

The moment its transformation was complete, blazing flames shot out from the holes. It was like the air had been distorted by the wild heat, or like blurry yet strange wings. The manticore had expanded multiple times its size. All critical body parts were covered with scales and dark green liquid seeped from the stinger on its tail…

It was known as the evil b*stard beast in its final stage. It was the king of demons with a body covered in scales, six pairs of fiery wings sprouting from its back, the ability to spit fire like a dragon, but with the majestic presence of a lion. But now, it was only in its beginning stage.

It was not the only one. On the field, the other phantom beasts transformed quickly as well. They rose to a another stage instantly. Menacing and terrifying, they radiated with the odor of rusting metal. The grass in the path of the pungent smell wilted, eroded by the almost demonic breath.

In the dark night, the five phantom beasts excitedly clawed at the dirt. They threw their heads back and howled like wild animals. The howls were filled with craze and hunger. It made one's pallor lose its color.

Actually, the freshmen in the stands did not understand why their professors constantly reminded them to stay friendly with the School of Summoning until Banner played Symphony No. 8. These people who controlled beasts could transform into things more terrifying than beasts at any given moment. In the stands, Ingmar—who had always disliked Ye Qingxuan's team—was not the slightest bit gleeful seeing that they were about to be destroyed. He just pursed his lips, furrowed his brows, and stayed silent.

"It looks a little out of control." The principal furrowed his brows in slight concern.

Sydney froze and coughed. "Yes, the psychological coaching for Summoning musicians must be increased…"

"Is that my fault?" Ludwig curled his lips. "Banner is from the School of Royalty, alright?" He meant, "The School of Summoning was not taking responsibility for this!"

"Should we stop the game?" someone asked.

After a long pause, the principal shook his head. "Let it continue. I believe this is only a small episode." It definitely was just a small episode to the principal. The problem was…whose episode was it?

-

"Ye Qingxuan!" On the field, Banner ground his teeth and chewed on this name. His right eye glimmered with light as he stared at the white-haired guy who still was not retreating. He was still standing before Banner, unmoving. "Seems that you want to die!"

The white-haired youth's body stiffened. He shrugged and seemed to laugh bitterly. His voice was unclear and hoarse. He looked like a patient older brother who had been dragged out to play by little kids and embraced it with open arms.

"What are you waiting for? Come on, I'll play with you," he seemed to say.

The proud posture entered Banner's eyes, and even his fingers trembled in anger. He clenched his jaw and something cracked, as if he had ground something to pieces. Two of the most hateful figures seemed to have overlapped and he just wanted to rip them apart!

"It's going to suck for the Eastern kid." In the stands, Ludwig chuckled. "Is this a talent? Infuriating a musician from the School of Royalty to his breaking point without even a word…This is so interesting…An enemy with weakened sanity and increased fatality. Is he wishing for death?"

What Ludwig had said was true. Banner had fell into blind rage. He opened his mouth and howled. The face of the old manticore changed suddenly as Banner's rage appeared on it. In that wild howling, Ye Qingxuan said something. His voice was distorted by the howls, but one could vaguely hear that he was telling Banner to calm down.

The gentle words were now the stalk of hay that broke the donkey's back. The angry fire exploded. The manticore howled and roared; its voice was like a command, forcing the phantom beasts in its vicinity to listen. They immediately charged toward the lone youth. Everyone held their breaths.

In the next moment, the youth would be swallowed by the phantom beasts. But some saw him shake his head helplessly and pull something out of his pocket. It was a small aluminum bag.

Boom! The bag burned in his hands, swelled and exploded. The dark gray powder within melted into the flames and was ignited instantly, thanks to the combustion agent. Not even ashes remained.

A spray of thick white fog poured out of the youth's folded hands like a waterfall. The thick smoke danced in the air and flowed to his feet before spreading out. It quickly thinned, spread, and rose. In the end, his entire figure was shrouded in the indistinct fog.

No one knew when the youth suddenly put on gloves, but the steel gloves looked like a knight's armor and covered his arms up to his elbows. When he clenched his fists, sparks flew as his fingers rubbed against each other.

The fog surged and the fastest phantom beast rushed into it.

Boom! The well-prepared youth took a step back and raised his arm. The metal scales of the ice snake scraped past his arm, creating a dazzling spark. Then the youth reached out and grasped the snake.

All Summoning students gasped. The scales of a steel ice snake were sharp as knives. Touching it would anger it and force it into killer mode. Even an iron block would be turned into a distorted piece of metal from the thrashing of thousands of knives, let alone an arm that was merely protected by armor. But then everyone blanched. For some reason, the snake suddenly froze.

The hand gripped the fatal spot of the ice snake. A chain of booms followed, resonating from the five fingers. It was the electric light contained at the palm. The thunder resounded, completely damaging the armor, but also scattering the snake's scales. Even the snake's bones moved, making it unable to fight back. This was a textbook example of beast training!

The ice snake weakened instantly and was tossed out of the youth's hand like a whip. After whistling through the air, it wrapped around the incoming shadow leopard.

"No!" One could faintly hear shocked cries in the distance but the youth did not stop. He moved abruptly and stepped on the ice snake's tail.

Boom! The sharp noise of steel plates scraping together sounded. The ice snake's scales bristled instinctively, shooting out like blades. As the youth pulled, the 'snake whip' with blades constricted. The shadow leopard howled and blood spewed out. For some reason, it collapsed onto the ground without another sound. It did not even fight back? It was like a fraud product!

Two phantom beasts were defeated by him instantly as if they were domesticated animals waiting to be slaughtered. The youth waved his hands and his rings glimmered. Fire shot out as the melody played. It was a formula from the School of Modifications—the Fire of Soul Burial. It was a flame that erupted and extinguished in an instant, but the heat was strong enough to destroy an enemy's body, as well as his soul.

Above the youth's head, the fog demon that had appeared soundlessly now shook. When hit by the firelight, it shrieked and trembled. Half of its body had evaporated. It shot back with a scream and paced in panic.

The youth's body appeared and disappeared in the heavy smoke. The onlookers in the distance could not see what was happening at all. There was only smoke.

Smoke permeated the heavy darkness and no one knew what had really happened. They could only feel that all attacks were pointless. In the end, even the phantom beasts seemed to have become lost and could not find Ye Qingxuan. In the vicinity of Symphony No. 8, smoke continued to spread and covered the entire place.

The manticore paced outside the smoke. Sometimes, it would pounce, but it never succeeded. The enemy was like a slippery fish. It would always miss or brush shoulders with him.

It seemed that failure was only a matter of time, but he stood at the edge of danger without falling. It looked as if he was trying to ensue a time out, but it was taking too long. Slowly, the spectators grew numb. They no longer had any worries; instead they began animatedly discussing how long the Eastern guy could last.

But to Banner, this situation was horrible. Now, no matter what music score he used or how he controlled the manticore, it was all ineffective. On one hand, the beastly side had been awoken. After the beast lost its master's control, its reaction speed was affected. But on the other hand, it was because the enemy was truly too tricky. And this guy…when did he become a Modifications musician?!

He had not used a complete music score, but his wrist and technique, as well as the smooth and casual posture, were all so fierce and awe-inspiring. Banner no longer had any thoughts of immediate victory. He had sunk into this unexpected stalemate and his fighting grew more panicked. And the opponent seemed to know his moves like the back of his hand. Banner's well-planned actions were easily countered, as if Ye Qingxuan was…playing with a kid!

"How much longer are you going to hide for?!" Banner growled. "Get the f*ck out!"

The music score in the alchemy equipment around his neck was activated. It created a gale, blowing the heavy smoke apart. As the smoke spread, the world grew dark again, making one feel the urge to sleep. What the hell was this?

In the stands, Ludwig waved his hand and grasped a wisp of smoke. It floated past his nose. It smelled pungent, with a tinge of hidden Soma wine, which was exactly what he had predicted.

"He purposely made Banner lose his reasoning." Ludwig sighed. "…This is the Incense of the Lost."

Volatile substances, combustion agent, borneol, bovine marrow, incense, Suma wine, white orange wood, green salt…Summoning musicians had found inspiration in Indian spices and created this formula after decades of experimentation.

It was the best narcotic and hallucinogen to beasts. It was like opium for humans. It would make the crazed beast become confused with slow reaction speeds. Its abilities would weaken and sink into extreme fatigue. Just like how a cat would become excited with catnip, a snake would become drunk with dogwood…this was the beast's nature. When a phantom beast lost its musician's total control, and its beastly nature gained the upper hand, it meant that it would be controlled by its nature. If it was unable to receive its owner's clear orders, it would become drunk. It would be a miracle if the beast did not get into the way, let alone cooperate with the musician. Furthermore…

"This is your fatal weakness, Banner." Ye Qingxuan's voice floated over in the darkness. "Indeed, you've become an official musician, but what's the difference between an official musician that only has strength and an upgraded student?"

Yes, this was Banner's fatal weakness. It was just how Ye Qingxuan had practically no experience in face-to-face combat. No amount of sublimation rituals, heart mark inheritance and Deva sensing could make up for Banner's lack. He had no experience in using his power. Personal experience could never be replaced by coaching, learning, and reading. It was something that came from failures and defeat. Those that had never lost before would not know what was the most important in battle.

Furthermore, something as large as the manticore was too much for Banner. Indeed, it was the phantom beast passed down through generations of the Adrian family. It was also very powerful, but it was too powerful. In fact, even an official musician would have difficulty controlling it.

For a musician with barely any experience, this situation was like a child playing pretend. The Adrian family was too impatient and gave it to Banner too early. This strong power was enough to be a terror in the schoolyard, but was not much for his enemies, especially when he faced someone who made a name for himself in downtown by using sneaky attacks like Ye Qingxuan.

Hearing Ye Qingxuan's voice, Banner felt silent. A spider web of purple veins bulged across his pale face.

The melody halted before it began abruptly once again. It was the same symphony piece, but the melody was completely different from before. It was much grander, with brewing wildness. It had jumped directly from the first movement to the fourth?!

"Banner! Don't force yourself…" Cullen gasped. "Fully playing the symphony is out of your control."

"Shut up!" Banner's voice was like grating metal. "I want to crush them. I must…"

Under the coherence, the melody grew in intensity! A storm wind swept through as the melody surged once again. Another layer of dark clouds appeared in the black sky above the field. The layers of clouds were like frozen ice cubes with a charcoal gray color. But lightning flashed through the layer of black clouds. The faint electricity illuminated the giant figure hidden within. The gradually condensing and swimming shadow was like a humongous sea creature hidden in the deep sea. It appeared slowly out of the darkness, spread its wings and roared! It was a dragon's roar.

The fourth movement of Symphony No. 8 was referred to as a thunderstorm by the composer. It originated from the legend of the Dragon of Disaster. The giant dragon rode in the sky, spread its wings and brought about darkness. When it flapped its wings, it would bring a destructive thunderstorm. Calling forth the dragon's shadow was the fourth movement's power.

The dragon's roar was like thunder, making his own teammates pale. Even if they put their strength together, it would still be difficult to disrupt the sea of aether. Only resonating with the world could create that influence.

Even if they could only resonate with the sea of aether, this was still a Resonance level music score! Banner's joints cracked under the pressure of the aether's reactionary force, but rather than stopping him, it drove him even wilder.

An average musician would probably have broken down or gone unconscious under this huge pressure, but Banner was still fine. The manticore roared beside him. Its body became a bit smaller as it took some of the backlash from Banner.

The biggest advantage of the School of Summoning was not their human wave attack or their strange phantom beasts. Their most basic strength was in their extraordinary resilience against pressure. Unlike musicians from other schools who fought alone, they were able to share their psychological stress with the demons in their minds. When they reached the Scepter level, they could even have the phantom beast take fatal injuries for them. It was as if they had multiple lives. In the East, these musicians were given names such as "the cat with nine lives," Nekomata, and "seven-headed snake." But their enemies probably would not be so lucky.

Seeing that Banner was about to reach the climax without any care, Cullen thought of the consequences and gasped, "Banner, what are you doing?"

"Shut up! I don't need you!" Banner spun around and glared at Cullen. His eyes were the same sharp emerald as the manticore's eyes. He had been eroded by the beastly nature.

The realization dawned on Cullen, but it was already too late. He no longer had the strength to speak. All of his energy was put into fighting against the melody's pressure. As strength brewed in the clouds, the shadow of the dragon grew more consolidated and the pressure on the players grew as well.

Everyone trembled and forced themselves to endure the sharp headache. They used all their energy to maintain the melody. If they succeeded, they would only become sick. But if they stopped the coherence right now, the backlash of the music theory was enough to shatter their perception. The lightest consequence would be getting sent to the emergency room of the Whitechapel Hospital!

As the pressure grew, some were already at the brink of collapse, but suddenly, a new melody joined this chaotic music score. It entered the coherence like a savior at the most critical moment. The arrival of this new force lightened everyone's load. They let out a breath of relief, but they did not know who had helped them.

The melody fit perfectly with their frequency and reacted to their sudden changes, melding into the resonance. It took away most of the pressure and even then, the person did not seem to be losing control. The coherence technique was quiet and stable, and the melody flowed like water without a bit of hardness. It was flawless!

Overjoyed, Cullen looked over with his perception. He had never realized that there was such a genius on his team. This skill was something that others could only dream of. The man had saved the entire situation at the most critical moment. He had practically held up the sky and parted the sea! But when Cullen found the source of the coherence, he was completely flabbergasted.

Wait, wait a minute…what was this? Was it a hallucination? Had he suddenly teleported to some weird parallel universe? Was the history department fighting within themselves? The one who completed the music score at the most critical point and relieved everyone's stress, pushing the history department to the point of no return…Was Charles?

It was like the whole world was going wrong. Cullen blacked out and his ears rang. He was completely clueless as to what was happening. Why did Charles join in their coherence and work so hard to help them play the music, share the pressure, and help Banner to complete the movement? Was it because of his long-time hatred for Ye Qingxuan that he took this opportunity to kill Ye Qingxuan? Or did he want to betray his friends so that he could join in the student council? Or was he going to do something bad?

No, that was not right. The main control of the coherence was in the hands of Banner. Charles could only help after joining in. If he wanted to spoil it, he would be the one to take the pressure when the music theoretic balance was destroyed and be the first to die. So why did he do this?

Cullen's face paled instantly and every cell of his body was screaming, "Something's fishy! Fishy! Fishy! Fishy!" There must be something wrong here! They must have some kind of trick! But what was it? He wanted to call off Banner, but Banner was already immersed in the immense power, calling the shadow in the clouds, and had fallen into madness.

In any case, the fourth movement was nearly complete! The shadow of the giant dragon would be summoned to completely destroy the Eastern kid. Whatever Charles had intended to do, it was too late.

In the next moment, in the heavy darkness of the night, a rainstorm fell from the sky. Everything lost its color under the roaring thunder. Mighty was the nature's power.

Even people outside were shaken to numbness and were immobilized. They were frightened by the terrible pressure in the clouds. The clouds broke apart, from which the embryo of destruction was finally born.

Banner laughed because in the next moment, the dragon would descend from the sky and destroy everything.

"I haven't seen such a crazy student in decades."

"He's only eighteen years old but he dared to challenge the Resonance level and is even able to resonate weakly with the aether sea …"

"Is this a skill of the School of Royalty? It's really impressive."

"Although this is too bold, but his talent should not be denied."

On the stands, the professors exchanged views with each other and looked to Ye Qingxuan with some compassion. Perhaps this talented youth who recently became infamous would become Banner's stepping stone on the path to success?

Startled shouts also came from the spectators. Many graduates were pale with the horror of the horrible astronomical phenomenon. They were full of astonishment, fear, confusion, and exclamation. Was this the difference between geniuses and mortals? It was like they finally realized how shallow their abilities were. After such a long time, they had barely touched the edge of Deva sensing. How old was he? How was he able to reach the Resonance level?

Under all the troubled eyes, the clouds, dark as iron, cracked apart. A pair of ice-blue eyes opened within. They lit up with the majesty from the top of the food chain. The eyes were cold, serious, dignified, and high and mighty. It was the emperor sitting on his throne. Everything was only dust before it; all living things were his slaves.

Under the call of the music, the hideous shadow rose from the throne made by those iron clouds. Then it descended from the sky and uttered a thunderous roar, "Meow!" At this moment, whether it was on the field or outside the city, the bleachers or the auditorium, the locker room or even the entire Royal Academy of Music, it was all thrown into silence.

There was a deadly awkward silence. Everyone stared blankly at each other and could not believe what they had seen.

Only at the very edge of the field, Old Phil suddenly raised its head, opened its mouth excitedly and began barking.

"Is it the effect of the fourth movement from Symphony No. 8?" The bleachers were still silent as Egor asked weakly, "Or am I seeing incorrectly? Why do I see a…a…"

"Cat," Ludwig replied blankly. "Yes, it's a cat."

At this moment, everyone felt the limitations of their brain and suddenly felt that their IQ was too low. What the h*ll was going on? There was such a big buildup, such strong aetheric fluctuations, such an awesome prestige and majestic momentum…but all that was summoned was a f*cking cat! Next, was the most embarrassing, most difficult and darkest minute since the establishment of the Royal Academy of Music.

Countless people began suspecting their own eyes and sanity, asking themselves if they smoked too much mandala last night. How could they have such an illusion?

A cat?

Why was it a cat…

The gray cat had four pure white paws and a strand of white at the tip of its tail. It walked back and forth in the arena. Banner's face was pale as he watched the cat rubbing around himself sweetly.

The cat's face revealed a fawning expression. The expression was even more exaggerated than that of a human. It was b*tchy, just like the b*stard standing in the corner of the field, almost passing out from laughter!

"Hahahaha …" Charles was now rolling on the floor laughing, and had almost lost his breath. He pounded the ground with indescribable joy in his heart. After so many years of disappointment, he finally let others experience how he had felt before.

This world was like this. After one suffered, watching others suffer again was a great enjoyment. Especially for Charles, who was a b*stard that was best at feeding others sh*t, seeing this scene made him cry tears of joy.

As Banner's face twisted, Charles's laughter gradually spread like an infection until, in the end, everyone in the stands laughed involuntarily. Both on and off-field were suffused with this light atmosphere.

To quote Charles's dream talk about computer games, all the laughter lacked was someone saying "good game!" But this was not the end.

Three kittens fell down one by one, in the dark clouds which had not dissipated yet. After landing, they started torturing Banner's teammates like a windstorm.

Then came a strange pile of pots and pans, chairs, tables, grilled chicken with cheese and turkey. Finally, a cute yellow mouse fell from the black cloud. Then the war started…

As the autumn wind blew the fallen leaves, the yellow mouse and the gray cats began to fight, ignoring everyone else. Armed with various weapons, they frantically beat each other amongst the fossilized players. They looked so lovely and cute, but each was more brutal and bloody than the last.

They fought with such intensity that children would cry in fear if they saw. During the fight, the gray cat kicked the soccer ball that was in its way, and then grabbed a chopper and iron bar to chase the yellow mouse.

The ball that was kicked cut a sad arc in the air. It passed over the blank goalie, and finally fell into the net. The whistle sounded. The music history department got one more point…

Cullen's heart almost broke at the whistle. Two lines of tears rolled down silently and he practically broke down sobbing. Gavin gave his younger brother to him, so Cullen put so many of his best men into this team to help Banner regardless of the cost. But what was the result? They were beaten like dogs by amateurs of the music history department.

From beginning to end, Banner had not adopted any of his suggestions but held his own stubborn thoughts, aiming all hatred to that Eastern kid. He fought in full force early at the opening, and just now, he even directly absorbed the other's power.

This extravagant tactic was like the legend where a man used one-thousand green gold coins to kill a tiger. It was forthright and strong, but he had completely hurt himself and it was unnecessary. Moreover, the music history department had a set of strange skills. Ye Qingxuan, especially, was still mysterious. Was this guy trying to imitate the wolf disguised as the sheep? But it did not look like that!

Cullen still could not figure it out. Even with his years of experience, and was sly as a fox, he still had no idea what Ye Qingxuan was intending to do. He could not help but be so depressed he almost spat out blood.

Actually, according to the current situation, there was a more straightforward way—for example, they could bypass Ye Qingxuan directly to defeat the rest one by one, but Banner would never admit that he could not handle Ye Qingxuan.

Even if Banner tried to be like Gavin and pretended not to care about school matters, he still could not copy his elder brother's essence. Instead, he was so easily provoked by Ye Qingxuan's joking words before the game.

Cullen sighed. He suddenly looked up and shouted, "Referee, request for a timeout!"

-

The request was accepted and the spectators booed. Banner's face turned white and green. He looked at the others like a beast looking at its prey. His teammates were too afraid to look him in the eye, but Cullen stood still before him.

"Why stop?" Banner asked hoarsely. "I just need a bit longer because I…"

"Before you lose miserably," Cullen interrupted him with a solemn look. "Banner, don't be childish. You were played in his hands from the beginning. Don't you remember how Modifications died in the first round?"

"That's because they're too weak!"

Cullen frowned. "But you might not be strong either."

"You …" Banner fell into rage. He did not understand how the submissive guy who had always obeyed him suddenly become so brave. He wanted to yell but turned speechless in front of Cullen's eyes.

In the awkward stillness, Cullen lowered his voice and looked at him. "You are the leader, but don't drag the others down because of personal reasons. Gavin didn't tell us to help you embarrass the whole student council!"

Hearing his voice, Banner face turned white with splotches of lividness. Fury built up in his features, but when he looked at the players, he was forced to restrain his anger. Those players had no objection to Cullen's decision. In other words, they were practically cheering.

One must know that although the leader was Banner, all the players were the backbone of the student council. In their eyes, when Gavin was absent, the real leader was Cullen. Banner was after Cullen…If not for Gavin's orders, these guys probably would not even respond to him.

Having thought it through, Banner forced his anger back, chewed his thin lip, and lowered his eyes. "I…understand."

"Good. It's not too late to fix things." Cullen patted him on the shoulder with a sincere expression. "Don't be upset. Gavin is my good friend so I'll definitely help his brother. Don't worry, this time we'll win beautifully!" He cheered up and led his teammates to form a circle. He quietly cheered the frustrated students on. He might not have had Gavin's extraordinary influence, but Cullen's speech undoubtedly lifted the team's spirits.

"The next tactic is to secure the offense. Ignore the interference of the music history department and absolutely do not get affected by them. The best way is to turn a blind eye. Never get caught up in their rhythm, okay?" Cullen looked solemn. "…This time, at the opening, we'll bypass Ye Qingxuan and go straight to the goal. The white-haired girl is exhausted and there's no need to worry about Charles. The remaining players pay attention to the guy with the headpiece Follow our original plan and turn the tides in the second half! Are you confident?"

"Yes!" The players roared and their muscles bulged. They were energized with their morale lifted.

Cullen smiled and patted Banner heartily on his shoulder. "This time, Banner, you're still main offense. As long as you do follow the strategy, the victory will be ours!"

Banner's shoulders trembled. He lowered his head and said, "I know." In a place where no one could see, his eyes darkened. That green in his eyes was like frozen ice, hiding the deep abyss underneath. The manticore beside him felt his inner chaos. It turned its head and looked at him in bewilderment.

He smiled. "Don't worry about me."

He stroked the manticore's hair and thought, "It's just there are some facts that they can't understand…" His fingers were cut by the scales among the hairs, but he did not feel it. He just silently recalled that white-haired youth's face and chanted in his mind, "No one can look at me like that, no one."

"F*ck, Yezi, I think this is going to be bad." Faced with the opponents that were getting ready again on the field, Charles was a bit panicked. He said quietly, "They probably have another lowly and evil trick! You have to be careful."

Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "You think they can be lowlier and more evil than us?"

"Oh, that makes sense!"

"…" Ye Qingxuan did not want to bother with him anymore. He glanced at Bench Guy, who sneakily made a hand gesture to show that he was ready.

On the other side, Cullen was stunned. The history department's formation had changed. This time, the guy with the headgear had run to the front. Ye Qingxuan played center and they gathered their strength in the back for defense.

Cullen sank into deep thought. He actually did not care about Charles, Bai Xi, and Old Phil. Charles had his own limits, Bai Xi was already exhausted and sitting beside the goal, and Old Phil…Even the most powerful dog was still a dog and was nothing.

Ye Qingxuan had many tricks up his sleeves and was both evil and lowly. But if Cullen fought fairly against him, he would win naturally. Ye Qingxuan was just a bit annoying—he could not make up for the difference in skill, unless he pulled out a magical weapon now and turned the tide. But if he really did have a magical weapon, he could even fight all the way to the palace…if he had this power, why was he still playing soccer?

Therefore, the only trouble that remained was this headgear guy who had never revealed any clues or weaknesses. The man who Ye Qingxuan called "Bench Guy," had not shown his face even once. They could not even tell which school he was from. A mystery, a mystery.

Even Cullen, who had been the secretary of the student council for so many years and had seen many geniuses, had a thorny feeling when facing this guy. "Be careful of this guy later." He glared at the headgear guy and pulled out his instrument, playing a faint melody when he moved—it was a rarely seen organ.

Specifically created for musicians, this organ had forgone most of the pieces. After the makeover, it turned into geometric crystals that hovered around him. The silver crystals reflected weak light and manipulated the air pressure. Vibrating the springs of the instrument, it created a light and ethereal sound. It sounded as if a young boy was singing gently of God's glory.

After the spirit of the music score was awoken, it let out the echo of a hymn on its own accord. As the song spread, rays of light fell on the spectators. Their spirits instantly began recovering.

There seemed to be incense burning in the air, bringing with it an ineffably mysterious and distant smell. It made one feel as if he was in a temple.

In the Academy, Cullen was one of the few who chose to study the School of Choir. His family had close connections with the Westminster Chapel. He had been a choir apprentice as a child and learned about temperament and music theory from the hymn singers. Thus, he learned the most classic mass from the School of Choir.

The serial code of this mass was Op. 35. Its name was nothing special and had no holy characteristics. It was very easy too, but became widespread due to its ability to help others recover their spirits. Used here, it was perfect. It energized everyone, helping them quickly recover from fatigue.

His teammates cracked their knuckles and stared at the history department across the midline. Anyone could see that these guys had finally stopped underestimating their opponents' strategy and had grown serious.

"This is going to be interesting." In the stands, the principal whistled. No one knew why he was excited.

In stark contrast to him was Ingmar, in the faculty seats. His face had been gloomy this entire time. He said nothing and just stared at the players on the field. The only thing in his eye was the reflection of the student with the headgear. He murmured something quietly.

"Start!" The referee blew the whistle, creating a sharp sound.

As if they had prepared beforehand, Bench Guy instantly stepped back. Walls and shields shot up in front of him. Colored lights followed immediately, shooting across the air. The shields broke continuously in the resonance. It was the instantaneous attack made by the student council. It was so aggressive and explosively fast that everyone was astonished.

Just behind the midline, Bench Guy had no time to steal the ball. The shields around him rose and crumbled continuously, suppressed immediately. He could only defend passively.

The suddenly activated attack caught Bench Guy by surprise too. It was difficult to handle at the moment. But in the midfield, Ye Qingxuan just stood in his spot. He gazed at Bench Guy, who had been surrounded, and muttered something. He waved his hand and light fell down into the dirt under his feet, forming a shapeless bump. Instantly, hundreds of light spots scattered in all directions under Ye Qingxuan's murmur.

One must admit that Ye Qingxuan was highly skilled at music note variations. Note variation application was only a slight increase of difficulty for students, but rarely was anyone able to create so many variations in such a short period. There was barely any pause between each note, and each was perfect.

Hundreds of notes became touch-activated traps after modification. They created "ditches" all over midfield. Even if the opponent was well-prepared, they would be in trouble once they stepped onto one. At that time, the opponent's formation would be thrown into disarray and Ye Qingxuan's team would find an opening.

Off field, not even the strictest professor could help but nod. It was as expected from an Abstinence teacher's student. His music theory foundation was firmer than regular students, but unfortunately, his teacher could only help him this much.

In the midfield, the light spots in Ye Qingxuan's hands flowed out like a faucet and scattered in all directions. The speed was incredible. The energy usage was large, but the effects were fast as well. Within ten minutes, the entire field was covered in traps. The touch-activated music notes connected with each other, creating a mind-numbing formation.

Under the student council's full-out attack, Bench Guy finally showed signs of breaking down. He began retreating and dodging those students' forceful music. After all, he would be forced off the field if he was not careful…

Finally, as the student council began closing in, Bench Guy sighed helplessly. He retreated and no longer blocked their attacks. If he continued, he would probably cut his lifespan in half.

Seeing that he moved to the side so easily, the spectators suddenly felt a pity for him, but he had already worked hard enough to face them alone for so long. No one thought that he was slacking off.

Seeing that Bench Guy had given up on stealing the ball and had given them a free pass, Cullen ignored him and went straight for midfield. If he kept dragging things on, there might be more problems. Who knew what tricks the Eastern kid had?

The student council finally released their crushing power and recovered their aggressive attitude. Their fans in the audience instantly began cheering, but when they saw the dense traps, they grew hesitant. The notes were all single-use notes and were not very powerful, but would be troublesome once activated.

The white-haired kid was also especially crafty with the formation. They were basically all connected in a domino effect with no blind spots. Stepping on one would cause a whole area to explode. It was as if nails had been strewn all over the field, but Cullen did not have the time to worry about them. It would take forever to undo the notes one by one.

Cullen glanced back at his teammates. The student who had already undergone Deva sensing and was a formal musician moved past Banner, who had the ball, and ran to the front. He charged straight into the traps! Explosions sounded instantly.

But before that, a melody wrapped around his body and played abruptly. Under the passionate music, the student's skin turned into a metallic rock color. His height instantly shot up and transformed into the rock giant Gigalith. The melody intensified again as he roared. A shapeless burst of air spread from his body.

Boom! The explosion of air swept through, instantly activating all the traps. Frost rays, air, fire, erosion, ice, explosions…Hundreds of music notes were set off instantly. The power from the explosion converged under the guide of the chain reaction. It was comparable to a regular music score.

But had the musician really chosen to forcefully absorb the shock? The string of explosions and light instantly swallowed him. When he rushed past the danger zone, his body was covered in wounds. His melody had been interrupted too, and the backlash of the music theory made him dizzy. He stumbled and could not move after a few steps; he sat down and panted in exhaustion.

He had not cared about any restraints, targeting or dodging. He had just charged forcefully. No wonder he was from the School of Modifications! He had taken everything in stride.

The trap zone had been devastated too and completely emptied. On the field, Egor nodded lightly. He was not angered by the practically mindless tactic, but sighed as he looked at the exhausted musician. "What a determined child."

As an important figure in the team, sacrificing oneself when needed was one of a musician's responsibilities. Cullen had made the decision in an instant to use his main force here in order to destroy the history department as fast as possible. Clearly, the student council was very determined.

Seeing their ferocity as each rushed over with almost suicidal determination, even Ye Qingxuan with his tricks felt a headache coming.

"Yezi, what should we do?" Charles asked.

The youth thought for a moment and sighed. "Seems like I underestimated them." Soon, the white-haired youth moved away from the student council. He did not block them at all and just let them charge forward. "Senior, move away. Let them have this goal." Having witnessed the student council's determination, he gave up on the pointless defense and sighed. He had grown naïve after the recent success and thought that everything would work as he had planned. But once his opponent took things seriously, he did not know what to do. Whatever! He would just see it as treating them to dinner. He gritted his teeth and thought, "Welcome and come play!"

Confused noises sounded in the spectator stands. No one had thought that Ye Qingxuan would just move aside like this! But then a piercing roar sounded behind them, giving them no time to marvel over anything.

The beastly roar sounded out of thin air. Then, with a rumble, something soared toward the white-haired youth's back, which was completely unguarded and open in the attack! Instantly, everything fell silent. Everyone looked toward midfield in shock. It was Banner, who had completely transformed into a beast.

What…was this?

The moment the beastly roar had sounded, Cullen's scalp went numb and he knew that things had gone wrong. When he saw that Banner, who was at the front for offense, had rushed toward Ye Qingxuan, he knew that it was too late. It was over.

His vision went dark and he felt heavy remorse. Banner had not planned on listening to any commands since the beginning. He had sunk too deeply into hatred and could not see anything else. And so, he had used the taboo technique of "beast fusion!"

Under the crazed and disorderly melody, the manticore roared and transformed into a writhing black shadow. It slammed into Banner's body and Banner's eyes instantly turned red as he roared like a beast. The thin youth had instantly transformed into a giant demon with fiery wings and black fur!

This was "beast fusion"—a technique that musicians had taken from werewolves. The Romulus people had wandered across the world after their country had been destroyed by a natural catastrophe and were known as the wolf people. Because they were cursed by the natural catastrophe and lived in eternal pain, their bodies contained hundred times the beastly nature than the average man.

The beastly nature would awake once per month and turn them into crazed werewolves, unable to resist their thirst for blood and death. After dissecting and analyzing many werewolves, Summoning musicians extracted the technique from them and modified it for themselves.

By forcefully fusing themselves together with their phantom beasts, they could instantly receive the beastly strength and transform into a killing machine. But the beastly nature was too powerful, and one could easily fall into darkness and turn into a dark musician. Thus, this technique soon became forbidden, but many Summoning musicians would learn it secretly and use it at the most critical point or…just in case.

But no matter what, it was a taboo and something Summoning musicians should never be allowed to touch. No one had imagined that Banner would know this technique and use it in broad daylight just so…just so he could rip the youth before him into shreds!

Cullen had thought that he was reasonable and that Banner would listen to him, but he had forgotten that Banner was not his follower—Banner was Gavin's brother. This guy had never cared about Cullen's warnings…There was no time to be angry. He tried to stop Banner, but it was too late.

Too late.

Too late.

It was already too late.

He saw Ye Qingxuan turn around, his pupil reflecting the beast that was Banner. The large shadow swallowed Ye Qingxuan before he could even struggle…

There was a fulmination and the wild waves of aether transformed into a hurricane, lifting the broken grass from the ground. The fire that shot out of Banner's mouth blinded everyone's eyes. They could only hear the continuous roars from the beast, and the cracking sounds that followed.

An explosion, and an explosion, and an explosion, and another explosion.

There was the fanatic music score, the piercing melody and finally, the youth's hoarse roar.

The audience's faces paled instantly. Some girls already started screaming in fright. In the stands, Egor jumped up subconsciously. The power of the four elements wind, water, fire, and earth shone and spun in his hands, forming a faint black hole. Dazzling light brewed in the darkness of the hole. He disliked the history department's ways, but he could not allow a student to be killed in such a cruel way in front of him.

Ludwig's eyes shone with the light of a beast as well. He growled and summoned a dragon eagle out of thin air. It flew down to force them apart.

Ingmar did not move. There was no joy in his eyes, but rather more and more…anger? "A joke." He stood and left with flapping robe sleeves.

The principal did not move either. He sat in his chair without any movement. In fact, he even forcefully stopped the two coaches' interferences.

Egor looked at him in shock. "Mr. Principal?!"

"Don't worry." The principal chuckled. "Something interesting is going to happen."

-

On the field, there was an instantaneous boom and dust rolled. Fire, light, and the beastly roars shot out continuously. The fierce single-sided killing at centerfield finally ended. A scorched figure rolled out of it all.

Everyone yelped in surprise as they stared at the wounded figure. Soon, there was uproar. No matter if it was coaches or the spectators, everyone yelled in shock. The one who was scorched and covered in wounds was…Banner!

He rolled pathetically on the ground, as if some terrifying power had tossed him out. He crashed and practically rolled off field. The manticore jumped out of his body and the beastly fusion was forced to an end. The phantom beast disappeared soon after, dissipating in the air.

He raised his head in anger and roared, staring at the rolling smoke. When he looked at the figure walking out of it, his eyes were filled with terror and confusion, rather than hate. "You aren't Ye Qingxuan!" he growled hoarsely as he glared at the figure slowly walking out. "Who…are you…"

The man walked out of the thick fog without any hurry. His clothes had been burnt and he coughed because of the smoke. "Who am I?" The figure walked out of the dust and revealed his white hair. "Aren't I the unlucky b*stard that you want to kill?"

The wounded youth shone under the sun, revealing the shadow hidden behind him. With a flash, the face and white hair grew blurry, as if it was behind a blurry lens. With another flash, the illusion broke down completely.

Finally, the man under the disguise showed himself. Under the sun, the burnt concrete block around his head showed signs of cracking and crumbling.

The crowd cheered and booed.

It was Bench Guy!

"Impossible!" Cullen could not help but yell when he saw the man clearly. How could he not be Ye Qingxuan?! He had clearly seen that it was definitely Ye Qingxuan! Why was it that Ye Qingxuan had been hit, but the one who walked out of the fog was…

"F*ck!" He spun around to look in the direction where Bench Guy had been. Directly behind them, beside their goal…the youth with a concrete block on his head was clumsily kicking the forgotten soccer ball and strolling toward their goal.

"Yo! Did you finally realize?" Sensing their gazes, the student with the headgear looked back, waved and kicked!

Goal! The referee was too shocked to blow the whistle, but no one would deny that the history department had scored another point! But, what was this?!

Under everyone's stunned eyes, the "Bench Guy" slowly took off his headgear, and revealed the trademark white hair and mocking smile. "It's just a headpiece. There's no reason to be surprised, right?"

Finally, everyone realized that Ye Qingxuan had changed identities with Bench Guy at some time…and no one on the field could tell the difference!

"As the saying goes, it's the darkest under the light." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "I have the same uniform, the same body, and height, but how come you guys got mixed up when I put on a headpiece?"

"When…" Banner gaped at him with red eyes and roared, "When did you switch?!"

Ye Qingxuan gazed at his crazed expression and shook his head, sighing in sympathy. "Idiot, of course, it was at the beginning." The one who had fought Banner, in the beginning, was not Ye Qingxuan! "You thought too highly of me." Ye Qingxuan walked over and looked down on him. "How can I fight against the manticore or all those phantom beasts…It's just that you mistook Bench Guy for me since the beginning."

"Illusion trick?" It finally dawned on Banner but he still could not accept it. "How can it be an illusion? The manticore can see through any illusion! How did you…"

"Maybe, but you couldn't. You thought Bench Guy was me at the beginning. Even if the manticore saw through the illusion, it wouldn't find anything odd, right?" Ye Qingxuan shot him a glance. He shook his head and turned to leave. "The bottom line is, humans can only see what they want to see."

-

He and Bench Guy had switched identities when he had released the beam of light and blinded everyone in the beginning. It was not just the soccer ball that was switched—he was also switched. The entire time, it was not Ye Qingxuan who had fought with Banner, but the disguised Bench Guy. This was the strategy he had discussed with Bench Guy yesterday.

He knew clearly that Banner saw himself as the mortal enemy and would do anything to attack him at the beginning. Thus, he let Bench Guy, who was more powerful and had better attainments in music, take the beating; so that Ye Qingxuan could have the space to move.

To do so, he must be prepared to quickly switch identities at the critical moment. All Ye Qingxuan had to do was put on a headpiece, which was easy. It was hard for Bench Guy to turn into Ye Qingxuan though because he had never learned music from the School of Illusion. But that was okay.

At that time, Ye Qingxuan had laughed and waved a thin booklet. It was what Lola had given him and was the piece he had just learned—Winterreise- Die Nebensonnen, the phantom suns. Now, people finally heard the faint melody in the wind. It faded in and out of existence, resounding like a song in everyone's hearts.

"I saw three suns in the sky. I stared at the long and hard, and they stared at me too, as if unwilling to leave me…" The spiritual chant was like Cullen's hymn. The aether echo would only appear after grasping the movement's essence and be able to sing the mournful melody.

Winterreise was Saint Schubert's composition and was a highly regarded piece from the School of Illusion. It was comprised of twenty-four different movements, each with a different theme and power: Die Krähe, the crow which brought the premonition of death; Der Wegweiser, the signpost which made one lose direction; Der greise Kopf, the gray head that eroded the will to fight; Täuschung, deception which cast one into a trance…its last piece was Der Leiermann, the hurdy-gurdy man which, if played in full, could force someone down the ranks and become an unsuccessful, good-for-nothing musician for life.

The penultimate piece was Die Nebensonnen, also known as the phantom sun. It represented "a nonexistent fantasy." It could make one see what they wanted to see, even if it was a nonexistent sun. As long as the viewer did not suspect anything, he would quickly be drawn into it. In the end, he would be in too deep and completely unable to extract himself from it, no longer able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. The phantom sun, the nonexistent sun, the nonexistent hope…

The School of Illusion referred to the essence of a music piece as the "fulcrum." The illusion was able to exist in this world thanks to the fulcrum. And the fulcrum of Die Nebensonnen was pain. The pain that was brought forth by life had the name of Helplessness.

Helpless. As long as one had this feeling, one would quickly be captured by the illusion and unable to escape. This was why Ye Qingxuan had said so much to Banner at the beginning to humiliate him. When Banner's actions hurt Cullen and his teammates, they fell into the illusion as well.

Therefore, the phantom sun shone on them, letting them see what they thought was real. Under all of this support, Ye Qingxuan's illusion was practically perfect, as long as he did not speak.

This was why Bench Guy did not say anything directly to Banner. If he did speak, he imitated the unclear and hoarse voice…because if he did speak and revealed his own voice, the enemy would sense his identity.

Only Ingmar had realized instantly because the School of Revelations was the School of Illusion's nemesis, but he could not do anything other than watch the student council be played by Ye Qingxuan. In the end, he left because he could not stand it any longer.

-

When Egor learned of this, he sucked in a cold breath involuntarily.

"This kid…does not seem like Abraham's student at all," Ludwig lamented.

"Yes." Egor nodded. "No one would have thought that an Abstinence teacher could have a student that likes to make illusions."

"You misunderstood. That's not what I mean." Ludwig shook his head. "Even beasts have inherited genes. A dragon's child is definitely a dragon. A venomous snake's offspring can spit venom as well. But that Abraham is like a dying lion and he produced…" He paused and glanced at the youth on the field. He seemed to see an invisible web under the youth's feet, as well as the enemies trapped in the web. They could not move no matter how they struggled. The prey's energy was sapped bit by bit until they did in the asphyxiation—before that, even death was a dream.

"…a student like a spider." Ludwig sighed and looked away. Hopefully, it was a misconception.

-

Soon, someone broke the silence by slapping the chair's armrest in fury. Hearing his angry voice, all professors felt a chill go down their spine and spread through their body. They looked toward the front in fear. It was the principal who was furious?

"Enough! This is too much!" Maxwell stood and yelled angrily. Everyone blanched, but his next words made them incredulous. "How is this soccer?!" Maxwell demanded. "All of you are competing with music scores, but what about soccer? Where's your soccer playing?! Where's the soccer we agreed on? All of you are brutish. Where are your soccer skills? These ugly techniques are worse than stuffing the ball into the goal with your hands!"

With that, he suddenly paused. As if he had thought of something, he sank into deep thought and murmured, "Picking up the ball…stuff it into the goal…wrestle…it can work!" He looked up with bright eyes. "That's a good idea. Everyone can put on armor, pick up the ball and toss it into the opponent's goal…What if we do that for next year?"

Upset, everyone looked away. The principal was going crazy again and had let his imagination run wild.

"Principal, please stop before things worsen!" Sydney, whose patience had been tested during the entire game, finally exploded. He glared at the excited and determined Maxwell with unwavering anger. He stated seriously, "If this continues, the prestigious reputation of the Royal Academy of Music will be ruined in your hands! The school board will not let you do this! And what is the significance of this type of child's play? It will only increase the students' pain and hatred! Where is the educational significance? If this continues, the academy will become a vortex of hatred!"

Maxwell was taken aback. He glanced at Sydney with a slightly arched brow. "Oh?" He chuckled. "So you think that this is just child's play?"

Stared at by those ancient eyes, Sydney did not know what to do. The just and responsibility in his heart vanished, replaced by vague regret. Maxwell patted his shoulders like coaxing a child and pressed him back down into his chair. Sydney froze. He wanted to struggle, but the hands on him felt like a vice, immobilizing him.

Before him, those deep emerald eyes were like the deep ocean. They contained hidden currents and indescribably scary things. Maxwell looked at Sydney's stunned eyes and caringly helped him tidy his collar, stating, "I really like your straightforward way of speaking. Your brash suggestions are cute too, but for some suggestions, I hope that you can think more carefully before you stand up. Don't forget who you are and don't forget who they will become."

Sydney did not know what to say. He did not understand what Maxwell meant.

But Maxwell just studied the students on the field, off the field…looking at those faces, his eyes grew compassionate.

"These are future musicians, gentleman. These are heroes that are born from the cradle that is the Royal Academy of Music. Since we are a cradle, we shouldn't talk about those fake and polite things. Since they want to become heroes, they should not expect gentle treatment either. You are all teachers—you are their educators. If you want an infant to become an adult, you must be cruel. If they cannot even win in this 'child's play,' then how will they fight against demons? Actually, I don't mind if your students embarrass the academy, but please consider their lives and safety."

No one spoke in the silence. Pushed into the chair, Sydney's shoulders trembled. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out in the end. It was fortunate for him that he did not say it.

"Let the game continue," the principal ordered lightly.

Everyone exchanged glances. Someone stood out and asked cautiously, "What should we do about Banner using beast fusion?"

"The matters of the School of Royalty should be taken care of by the School of Royalty." The principal waved his hand without any care and swept away the nuisance. "We'll talk about other matters after the game."

-

The game continued, but it could be said that it had long ended. The student council's dignity was destroyed the moment Banner had attacked. Plus, he had not been successful. No one had realized that everything they did was part of someone else's plan. If not for Banner's surprise attack, they probably would not have noticed it was an illusion until the very end, right? It would have been even more embarrassing if it was revealed at the end. This game was completely humiliating.

No matter who spoke now, they would be unable to gather their morale. Everyone went through the actions as if their heads were not in the game. Banner had been forced off the field by Cullen and sat in the replacement spot wordlessly. His eyes were blank, like a mental patient who had been injected with an overdose of stabilizer. He mumbled something, but no one could hear clearly.

The game ended ten minutes later with three to nothing. The history department had won and entered the final round.

Naturally, Ye Qingxuan chose to quit. He announced that they would leave the game and not participate in the next round. After paying the fee of two thousand points, they were still first place. It was all thanks to the points from Banner.

"What a good comrade," Ye Qingxuan thought, shaking his head in lamentation.

Then he transferred four-thousand points to Bench Guy, who accepted it without a word. But Ye Qingxuan still felt guilty. "To be honest, four thousand isn't a lot, but it's all I can give you to ensure the ranking…I owe you the rest. If you need any help, you can find me at the history department at any time. Even if it's something outside the school, I have some connections to help you."

Bench Guy smiled and shook his head, rejecting him politely. "But can you help me with something inside the school?" he suddenly asked. "I need your promise."

"What is it?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "I'll help you, as long as it's not too hard."

Bench Guy was about to speak but stopped as he looked behind Ye Qingxuan in confusion. Ye Qingxuan turned back and saw the pale and frail student—Banner.

He had shaken away his teammates and walked over. His eyes were eerie and his lifeless face was filled with hatred. He tried to grab Ye Qingxuan's collar, but the youth dodged his hand.

"Banner!" Cullen growled behind him, trying to force down his anger. "How long are you going to keep up the tantrum?"

Banner froze. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his hand back and glared at Ye Qingxuan. He rasped, "Do you think you won? It's not over yet!"

"Why don't you think about how you'll face the school's interrogation?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Beast fusion is forbidden."

"You think I'm destroyed like this?" Banner cackled in anger. "Stop dreaming! The School of Royalty won't let anything happen to me! I'll just disappear for a few months until everything is over. I won't lose a hair! But you, you'll pay for what you've done!"

"Ha." Ye Qingxuan just scoffed and was too lazy to say anything else.

Seeing the totally annoying smile, Banner practically lost all control. His face was white and also had the eerie wildness of a skeleton. He jabbed at Ye Qingxuan's chest and muttered in his ear, enunciating each word, "Listen, I'll do everything I can to make you, your failure senior, and that other white-haired b*stard disappear. I'll make your teacher, that old dog, get tossed back to his steel cage…Everything you took from me, I'll take it back from you in thousand-fold!"

Ye Qingxuan did not reply and kept smiling, as if he did not hear anything. His eyes silently grew cold though.

Crack! Banner's voice stopped abruptly. The crisp sound shocked everyone, including Cullen, who was behind Banner.

It was a slap. A crisp slap. And it had come from the man with the headgear who had not said a single word.

"Enough, Banner!"

"You…" Banner's movements slacked and he gaped at the man.

The headgear guy hid Ye Qingxuan behind him and said harshly, "You've disgraced the Adrian family!"

The voice was so familiar that Cullen froze and forced down Banner's anger. They gaped at the man before them in disbelief. Under everyone's eyes, Bench Guy lowered his head and slowly took off the headpiece. He revealed a hard and cold face. His features were sharp, as if he was a statue carved from marble, and were awe-inspiring. The most eye-catching feature was his steel gray eyes, which had an unusual dignity and solemnity.

Everyone fell into silence instantly and began doubting their eyes.

"Ga…Gavin?" Banner finally processed everything and stared blankly at him and Ye Qingxuan behind him. "You—you…stood on their side?"

"It's you who didn't stand on my side, Banner." Gavin looked at him with disappointment and retorted, "How many chances did I give you?"

"Chances? You gave me chances?" Banner laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke. He suddenly raised his voice and roared, "I'm the one giving you chances! I'm the one who can represent the Adrian family! Not you!"

The onlookers gaped at the argument between the brothers. No one dared to step forward.

Emerald and steel gray, the two brothers stared at each other. One was filled with eeriness and wildness, the other was filled with extreme disappointment. They were so similar and yet so different.

A bored youth sat in a quiet little courtyard in the corner of the academy. He sat on the bench where the two first met, lazily basking in the sun, humming softly and waiting silently. Hearing the footsteps in the distance, he raised his head and smiled.

"Did you finish educating the kid?" Ye Qingxuan, looking at the newcomer, expression sympathetic. "You must be tired."

Gavin sat beside him, sighing wearily as if he was tired. After a long time, he asked quietly, "Did you guess it?"

The youth nodded. He raised his finger and gesticulated. "Just a little bit, like the bench you pretended to be."

"I…What's the flaw? I paid so much attention to everything."

"No, your disguise was perfect from beginning to end. I could not figure out your true identity until you uncovered your head. Unfortunately, you're too strong. Sometimes I couldn't see through you at all. There are few people in this school who can give me such feeling."

"Just because of that?"

"Moreover, I can tell that you have brilliant attainments in Modifications, but there's no one like you in Modifications. Therefore I thought that maybe you just minored in it. The majority of the people who minor in Modifications are from the School of Royalty. Only they study two departments before becoming a musician…"

Hearing this, Gavin looked bitter. "And I'm the most famous one among them."

"Yes, you haven't appeared all along, right? They said that you're too proud to compete with other students, but I thought…there must be another reason."

Gavin sighed. The two of them basked in the sun without speaking. It was a long silence, but it was made from tacit agreement.

-

After a long time, Ye Qingxuan had enough of sunbathing and asked, "The second day, was it you who made us come up empty? The student council has this right, but, generally speaking, shouldn't the student council's president be the school board's pet?"

"You should always set your sights further. Sometimes if you see far enough, you'll find that it's very stupid for the school board to only put their efforts into the school. "

Ye Qingxuan was amused, "You aren't afraid that they'll give you a hard time?"

Gavin shrugged. "I've already graduated. What could the school board do to me?"

"Did you sneak into the history department just to slap your brother?"

"I just want to know more about you."

"…Me?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "How am I worthy of the student council president's interest?"

"Don't underestimate yourself. It's only been three or four months since you started school, isn't it? But you've become everyone's nightmare, the Eastern demon, the disgrace of the academy…As a good brother, I have to at least make some preparations for my brother when he enters the school after I leave."

"So you came to me just to be a good brother?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head, totally not believing it. "There must be another reason, right? Is it necessary for you to lie in front of the disgrace of the academy? Or did you really do all this for your brother?"

Gavin was silent. His steel gray eyes were troubled and filled with self-deprecation. "If there's any other reason, it's probably because…you live freely?" Gavin looked up at him. "To tell you the truth, when I first saw you from the podium, I was very envious…because sometimes I really want to live like you."

"What's so good about this kind of life?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "You said before that, as the disgrace of the academy college, the Eastern demon, I would be challenged wherever I go. Moreover, the school board sees me as an eyesore…It's horrible, alright?"

"Would you like to switch with me then?"

"No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resolutely without any hesitation.

"Exactly." Gavin arched an eyebrow and chuckled. "There's nothing good about being the student council's president, right?"

"No, no, no. You've done well as the student council's president. Everyone can see that. Unfortunately, you may not be able to be a 'good brother' anymore."

Hearing his words, Gavin's expression immediately became melancholy. "You and Banner actually could have been friends. I've arranged so many opportunities…if only he was friendlier…"

"To be honest, you overthink."

"Perhaps." Gavin smiled bitterly. "At least, don't hate him. Banner isn't bad in nature…He's just stupid."

"I know." Ye Qingxuan nodded, "A priest once told me that no one wants to be bad. That's true, isn't it?"

Gavin nodded. "But if everyone in the world wants to be a good person, then why is there so much misery?"

Ye Qingxuan understood Gavin, so he asked directly, "The promise you want from me is that you hope I won't make things harder for your brother, isn't it?"

Gavin nodded. His expression grew powerless. "But now, I'm ashamed to say so."

"Rest assured, I promise you," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "His IQ is so low. He won't make me feel threatened."

"…Thanks." Although he felt many emotions, Gavin still thanked him politely.

"You're welcome. You know what, your brother sometimes reminds me of a friend."

"Friend?"

"Yes, my friend." Ye Qingxuan recalled the figure of that young man and smiled. "He's also the kind of guy who shouts all day, 'In the future, no one will dare to look down upon me!' but he's actually totally different from Banner. He knew why he was being looked down on, although what he thought might not necessarily be right. To be honest, that guy has a lot of flaws, many of which…I couldn't stand, but he probably saw me in the same way."

Gavin sank in thought. "In this case, there must have been many conflicts between you two, right?"

"Yes, but that's what so-called friends are like, right? To tolerate each other, and tolerate and tolerate until there's no bottom line to speak of between friends … Luckily, he never made me give up my bottom line. I think that's what a good friend is like, right?"

"Yes." Gavin was a bit dejected. "That's a good friend."

Ye Qingxuan laughed gleefully. "Are you jealous?"

For some reason, Gavin wanted to hit him. "It's getting late, I'm leaving." Shaking his head, he got up to leave, "The school board asked me to attend a meeting to deal with the mess you guys left behind. Meetings are always annoying."

Ye Qingxuan waved goodbye lazily and said, "Remember to say some good things about me to those respectable old people, Mr. President."

Gavin looked back at him, speechless.

Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Well, please, Bench Guy."

"This sounds better than Mr. President." Gavin smiled, and turned away, disappearing in the afternoon sun.

Ye Qingxuan sat on the bench in the warm sunshine. He yawned tiredly and almost fell asleep. Half asleep, he could not help but recall the figure of that youth. How was Victor now? Was he successful now? Was he all right? Ye Qingxuan sighed. He kind of missed him.

-

The First National University of Burgundy was known as the cradle of future statesmen and elites, was under the same afternoon sun. People crowded into the auditorium. They feverishly looked to the podium and raised their voices with the young man's speech, shouting in response. The speech was nearing the end.

"My friends, don't you understand? Our motherland is in a crisis!" The young man clenched his fists. His voice was loud and strong, full of anger and pain. "The administrative system is bloated; the ruling party is irresponsible; the fatuous royal family only knows how to exploit people. And that group of socialists who occupy the Parliament can do nothing but blow their horns.

"Spit on the fat bureaucrats who neglect their duties! Spit on those incompetent bastards who can only escape from the reality! Spit on the defeatists, the anarchists! Because of them, the economic is getting bleaker and bleaker; the border patrol is morally deficient; farmers have lost their own land and become slaves…Our motherland is humiliated and our sun is about to be quenched.

"Tell me, my friends, what should we do? What's the fate of our motherland? Should we put our hopes on those high and mighty musicians? Should we wait for a savior to fall from the sky? Should we wait for those greedy foreign capitalists to squeeze enough profit from us then turn away while wiping their mouths, and push the country into the abyss of misery?

"No. Absolutely not! Those musicians never care about the miseries of the regular people! There's never been a savior! Those capitalists would never stop their greedy plundering!

"We can't wait for others to show their mercy to us, to save us. If we want to let our motherland rise, we must rely on our own power! Rely on you, on our advanced policy agenda and on the people's strength! We can't keep silent anymore! We can't let this country fall and cry! Everyone present is the best of the best. You are the future of this country…Should we stand by and be silent?

"No, absolutely not! Friends, we must stand up. We must be responsible for this country! Who would love our motherland, other than us? Who can save it, other than us? We must unite, my friends—we need each other's strength! I believe that with the help of our strength, our motherland will rise and walk out of the shadow of recession! I believe that our days of glory will soon arrive.

"At that time, I will take the flag of Joan of Arc and charge the frontline for this great country! Just as she once led fearless warriors to kill the enemy, I will fight until my last breath for this great country. If I die, I'll be worthy of the ancestors; if I die, then there must be the next hero to stand up and carry my flag!"

In the large auditorium, the young man's emaciated figure was like a giant. He cried out in the eyes of countless fanatics, "God bless Burgundy! God bless the National University! God Bless the great people! Long Live Burgundy! "

"Long live Burgundy!" There was a roar like thunder.

It was applause, it was the cheering, it was the frantic shouts and praises. All the students shouted his name, raised their hands, and waved vigorously, responding to his gaze. The young man stepped down, and the students rushed to embrace him, feverishly roaring, "Long live Burgundy! Long live Burgundy!"

"It was a perfect inaugural address, distinguished Mr. Don Juan!"

Under the podium, the student council's secretary came forward, holding his hand strongly with an overly excited expression. "You're the first to give such an inspiring speech among all the student council presidents…"

"I just expressed everyone's thoughts." The youth who was called Don Juan hugged him with grace and said sincerely, "From now on, I hope that everyone in the student council will support me as we work hard together."

The secretary nodded excitedly. "For Burgundy!"

"Yes." The young man named Don Juan smiled meaningfully. "For the motherland."

And for myself.

It was afternoon at the Royal Academy of Music. The school board held a routine meeting every week. The large conference room was silent. Draping red curtains blocked the blinding sunlight and the weak light illuminated the dim room.

Other than the coaches of the major schools, there were also some guests sitting on either side of the long table. They did not belong to the Royal Academy of Music, but what they represented could not be overlooked—they were all agents of important figures of the board. They represented the will of the families, institutes and grandmasters behind them. These lawyers, personal secretaries and housekeepers were all responsible for solving the trivial matters for the masters, ensuring that their ideas could be realized smoothly.

Before them, Sydney could only sit in the lower-ranked area. Beside him, there was another seemingly young representative at the meeting. His eyes were steel gray and his features were handsome yet determined. He looked like a twenty-something student.

It was Gavin indeed. He had used his skills and performance in the student council to receive the board's recognition. As the Adrian family rose once again after their decline, he was absorbed by the school board and became a member. Now, he finally expressed his thoughts on the recent troubles of the school board after a long silence.

"Gentlemen, we must admit that we've mismanaged the academy recently. We've used the wrong countermeasures, especially in some areas." He paused and stated gravely, "We are creating enemies for meaningless reasons and baffling purposes." Here, he gazed at Ingmar, coach of the School of Revelations. Ingmar did not say a word, but his expression turned ugly.

One representative looked at the report. "Are you speaking of the matter with the history department?"

"Correct." Gavin nodded. "To be honest, I still do not understand the strife between the school board and the history department, as well as why the department must be abolished. They have not wasted money or gone against our decisions. They have not disturbed us, or even participated in our arguments with the principal. Why must we turn them into our enemy? Are we not trying to unite any force we can to protect the glorious tradition of the academy?"

"Gavin, you are still young. Do not question the school board's decisions," Ingmar said coldly. "Cutting a meaningless department from our overly bureaucratic academy will increase our efficiency. This is also part of our job."

"Meaningless?" Gavin furrowed his brows. "Excuse me, but are you saying that a department that can produce a concertmaster and receive such an impressive score at the school day trials without any funding or support is meaningless? Then what about the four schools that make up more than ninety percent of the budget? Are they tumors? Then what about the School of Revelations that was completely destroyed by the history department this year?"

"Watch your language, Gavin!" Ingmar's expression darkened even more. "Even if you're about to become a royal musician, you have no right to point fingers at my school!"

Sydney began coughing violently and kicked Gavin secretly, telling him not to confront Ingmar, but Gavin did not stop. He just looked into Ingmar's eyes and stated, "Furthermore, do you insist on abolishing the history department to raise our efficiency or because of your personal grudge? I hope you won't bring your feelings into this meeting."

"Blasphemy!" Ingmar spat in fury. Images of stars, the sun and moon, and black holes flashed past his eyes. The air of the entire conference room seemed to thin. The angered Starry Eyes disturbed the reality and vaguely changed the environment. He glared at Gavin and said in an ice cold voice, "How dare you question me? Gavin! Do not forget that you are here because the school board appreciates you. I see that you've become arrogant and proud recently!"

"I'm just speaking the truth," Gavin stated and turned toward the representatives. "I'm sure you all will see that this suggestion is illogical, based on my report. Perhaps the history department itself is not enough for us to place importance on, but what Abraham once represented, and his student's letter of recommendation…I hope that you all will consider it more carefully and not push them to the other side."

In the silence, Ingmar was too angry to speak. The other representatives flipped through Gavin's report and began discussing with each other quietly. Finally the secretary that was chosen looked at him carefully. "We've heard of related rumors but they are not credible enough to be proof."

"If you don't know if it's true or not, why don't you treat it as if it's true?" Gavin asked in reply. "If we settle things with the history department, then even if the rumors are untrue, all we need to give in is a bit more budget. They only have four people and one dog in total. How much can they spend even if they feast every day and spend lavishly? But if the rumors are true…"

The representatives understood before Gavin even finished speaking and began pondering. If the rumors were true, what more needed to be said? They would have hit jackpot!

After a long pause, the old housekeeper looked up and nodded slowly. "Perhaps this is a mistake."

"We must reconsider our actions toward the music history department."

"At least, we should not push them to become our enemy…"

The representatives quickly exchanged their opinions. After reaching consensus, the housekeeper looked to Gavin. "This is your suggestion and I'm sure you have already made the necessary considerations. How do you think we can express our good intentions?"

"It's simple." Gavin smiled. "I am about to graduate and enter the Royal Musicians. I will unfortunately be unable to attend the board's routine meetings as the transcriber for five to six years. Before leaving this position, I recommend Ye Qingxuan as my replacement. His abilities and talent are comparable to mine. I believe he will bring much to the school board."

Hearing this, the representatives fell into deep thought.

"Would this be too deliberate? The school board might lose its dignity…"

"There won't be any big problems at the routine meeting, correct? It is just the position of a transcriber, without any real power. It's just to show the board's well meaning. You need not worry about qualifications. As a concertmaster, he naturally has the right to take on the position. If we prove the rumor during this process, we can reward Ye Qingxuan's phenomenal contributions to the school board and bring in the entire department…" Gavin shrugged and continued with a smile, "From the beginning to the end, all we need to put in is some kindness."

Hearing his words, the representatives were all moved, but Ingmar exploded in anger. "What are you saying?" It was rare for him to lose his temper. He slammed a fist down on the table and rose, demanding from Gavin, "Abraham? It's the limit of my tolerance for that cannon fodder and quick product trained for a few months in the army to stay in the academy for retirement. How dare you let him be our equal? In your dreams! No music academy in the world will let this defective mass produced product become part of the school board! Those guys are a disgrace to musicians! Do you want our academy to become a laughing stock?!"

The furious Ingmar stunned all of the representatives. They stared at each other, but Gavin remained silent, not saying a word.

Ludwig, who had been yawning and spacing out the entire time, finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Ingmar. "You can't say that, Ingmar…" Ludwig asked lightly, "You should know if he really is a quick mass produced musician, right?"

"What do you mean?" Ingmar's expression changed.

"He means that there's something wrong with your brain." Egor tossed a file to Ingmar with a cold expression. "I'm sure you've seen this file long ago. I went to the library to check. It had been destroyed, but the backup attachment was still there. If not for Gavin's reminder, I would never have known that you've done something like this before!"

Seeing that Egor had thrown down that file, Ingmar froze, but expressions flitted past his face—that was Abraham's file. When Abraham had reported to the School of Revelations to become a miscellaneous teacher, Ingmar had personally destroyed the file. He saw Abraham as an eyesore since that day, but he had never guessed that there was a backup file…F*ck!

Indeed, the incomplete remains of the file recorded that Abraham had voluntarily joined the military as an engineer. Because he learned quickly and was agile, he joined the military's program for quickly producing musicians. When the training ended four months later, he became a military musician. The next thirty years of files were incomplete, but merely the first part of his resume was shocking enough.

Yes, the musicians trained by the military were mass-produced defective products, discriminated against by mainstream musicians and seen as amateur students…But the musician title that Abraham received after training was not the one irresponsibly given by the military—the ones who were given that training could go no further than the Student level.

But what Abraham received was the official Musician title, recognized by the Sacred City. He was an official third level musician and had been given his own title by the Sacred City!

In other words, a quiet engineer soldier had become an official third level musician within three months of the military's crude training…Who knew what he could achieve in the future?

When Egor and Ludwig saw this file, they finally understood that they had been tricked by Ingmar—the man had used the school board's power to suppress talents. He had even encouraged the other two to charge to the front and act for him!

Thanks to Ingmar, so many years had passed and Abraham was more than fifty years old. He had long passed the golden period for musicians and might never reach the Scepter level now…

"You hate him?" Egor scoffed and said directly, "No, you just fear him. With his talent and the support of the Royal Academy of Music…you would have no place in the School of Revelations."

Ingmar was silent for a long time before spinning around in anger and leaving.

-

Sparse sounds traveled from the bedroom. Through the door, it sounded like the sticky air blown through a rubber tube. The sound of a hookah was also thrown into the mix, as well as occasional coughs. The coughs were low and wet.

In the late night, Gavin walked down the quiet hall and exhaled a breath of cold air, feeling the slight chill. He reached out and wiped away the dust gathered on the windowsill. It finally looked better.

He took a deep breath and lightly rapped against the door. "Father, I'm back."

He pushed the door open and the hinges creaked. The man with thinning hair sitting on the patient's bed behind the door looked up. His hair had practically all fallen out; age spots and wrinkles covered his face. He was only around fifty years old, but he looked like a withered skeleton—it was the backlash of the music theory. He was the head of the Adrian family.

Six years ago, he had tried to complete the levels without care for anything else. In the end, the shaking of the Originator broke down his heart of sound and he could no longer use aether.

Now, he could only survive with the help of machines and medicine. From then on, the Adrian family began to fall, but miraculously started reviving in recent years.

It had been six years…the years were so long and dreary. Gavin became lost in his thoughts.

A scoff sounded. Before the window, Banner was holding the old man's hand. Seeing that Gavin had come, he glanced over in distaste. The old man murmured something and Banner nodded. He rose, brushed past Gavin, and left.

The room fell silent. The old man with the respiratory only stared coldly at the ceiling.

"Father, I'm back," Gavin raised his voice. There was no irritation in his features.

The old man's chin trembled, showing that he had heard. Gavin moved forward and lifted the bed's headboard. The old man was raised up in this way.

He gazed at Gavin in silence for a long while. Gavin looked down, his expression tame. Bits of the majesty and coldness from before remained on his face, but before the old man, this genius musician respectfully lowered his head and waited for the expected scolding.

"Today…" the old man uttered. His voice was like wooden chips trembling, mixed in with the sound of blisters popping. It was both piercing and scratchily unclear. Gavin stepped forward and put his ear closer to listen carefully. But then he froze.

"Today, the Royal Musician Division brought over a musician robe. You already have one, so I decided to give it to Banner." The man looked at Gavin. "Banner was treated badly outside. As family, we should care for him. There will be no second time, understand?"

Gavin looked up in shock. He knew about that robe. It was a musician's armor and what gave the performer the prestige. The robe that the Royal Musician Division had brought over was one-in-a-million alchemy equipment. Many music scores were inlaid in the inside and it was practically like an instrument on his body. It ensured that the musician would not be in danger in any situation.

"But, Father…" He opened his mouth to speak, but the old man was suddenly angered. The withered hand hit his face weakly, but it cut off his voice.

The man glared at Gavin and panted. With a turbid and hoarse voice, he said, "You're the elder! Why are you fighting with your younger brother?" he reprimanded harshly. "The decision has been made."

Gavin was stunned but he quickly lowered his head. Rubbing the corner of his worn robe, he replied quietly, "Yes, Father."

"I heard of what you did at the school board meeting." His expression was extremely displeased, but he did not continue. He just said, "You're leaving the school soon. Don't interact with those lowly people and ruin the good tidings for no reason, understand?"

"Yes, Father."

"And when you join the Royal Musician Division, do not do stupid things and disgrace the Adrian family. Remember, mention your brother when you have the chance. Don't just think about yourself."

Gavin hung his head. "Yes, Father."

"Good." The old man's angry expression softened a bit. He said coldly, "You can go now. I want to rest."

Gavin nodded and left politely without arguing. But when he looked back, he glanced at the old man, seemingly without meaning too. Seeing the aged face, rheumy eyes and rheumy irises that were totally unlike his…

"We're really not similar." He sighed inwardly, closed the door and left.

-

The old man on the patient's bed closed his eyes and fell asleep.

After a long while, the sound of a bird flapping its wings traveled from outside the window. Something had come in the night and appeared out of thin air. In the heavy darkness, one could vaguely make out its blurry silhouette and white color. It was a white raven.

-

-

"Professor, are you here?" Bart knocked on the door, but there was silence. He waited for a long time and called again.

Finally, a cold voice sounded from the office. "Come in."

Bart pushed open the door, but he froze—the room behind the door was nothing like the elegance and finesse from before. It was in ruins, as if a tornado had swept through. Even the porcelain that his professor loved had been shattered to pieces.

"What are you waiting for? Come in." Behind the office table, Ingmar's expression was dark. He was dignified as always, without a single strand of hair astray, and was fear-inducing.

Seeing that his teacher was in a bad mood, Bart did not ask or look. He lowered his head and stood before the table, saying politely, "Professor, do you have any tasks?"

"Go to the history department for me in a few days." Bart could not believe Ingmar's words. "Ask Abraham if he's willing to return to the School of Revelations. I can give him the treatment of an associate dean."

Dumbfounded, Bart gaped at him. "But…but…"

"I told you to go, so go! Why do you have so many questions?"

After hesitating for a long time, Bart finally said, "Professor, aren't you afraid of leading the enemy in. If he accepts…"

"Then wouldn't it be great news?" Ingmar sneered. "The history department is too influential now. We need a new plan…If he knows his place, he'll be obedient. Otherwise, I have one million ways of dealing with him in the School of Revelations!" He looked down and said lightly, "Genius, so what? Once I publish my findings, he'll have to look up to me for his entire life! Even if he returns to Revelations!"

Bart froze, but then happiness appeared in his features. "Professor, did you make a breakthrough in the explanation?"

Ingmar looked down at the drafts on his table. After countless years of blood, endless hours, and even setting aside the breakthroughs and research in music theory, he had finally completed this masterpiece. Once this was published, Abraham would never be able to compete with him. An amateur from the School of Abstinence should not even dream of being equal to Ingmar from the School of Revelations!

"So what if the school board fosters him?" Ingmar muttered. "After two months, when the Sacred City Summit is held, I'll become an internationally recognized grandmaster. Abraham can only be forced under my feet!"

"Cheers!" Charles, who was already drunk and sitting beside the dining table, cheered.

Bai Xi sat beside him with Old Phil and rolled her eyes helplessly. Ye Qingxuan chuckled and continued his dinner. Abraham had surprisingly been dragged out from the library to celebrate with them. After surviving the first two rounds of the school day trials, it was quite certain that Charles would have enough points to graduate. No wonder he was so happy—he had never thought that he would graduate one day!

"Anglo, I'm coming! World, I'm coming! Pretty girls, I'm coming!" Charles yelled. He ran around the table in excitement. Annoyed to the max, Bai Xi stuck out a foot and tripped him.

After falling, Charles was finally a bit awake. He stuffed a napkin up his nostril and went back to the table to continue eating. He was already full, but it was rare to have meat, so it would be a shame to waste it!

Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Senior, don't get happy so fast. There's still the last round in two days."

"The last round is just for looks. What are you scared of?" Charles whistled. "Don't worry. With me, we'll definitely win!"

Done eating, Ye Qingxuan put down his utensils and asked the question he had been avoiding. "How exactly is your product for the graduation work exhibit on the last day?"

-

The last trial was the graduation work exhibit. It was a fixed show. It was actually an easy task because one could make whatever one wished. Most would not be too harsh either. Even if it was made horribly, the student would just lose some points.

For musicians, the graduation works of each academy were completely different. This was decided by the local culture and aim of the academy. For example, the graduation works of the Asgardian Iron Rock Academy was a demon captured by a musician digging through the glaciers with a hook.

In India, the students would have to use the form of a debate to discuss music theory with the guru of their monastery. In some places, the graduation work was to…kill their own teacher.

Of course, the Royal Academy of Music was not this cruel. Instead…its process was—uh—"unique."

Two hundred years ago, when the graduation work was still "composition," a waterway mechanic learned by himself…The academy accepted this self-learned mechanic as an exception and he graduated with high grades. But because he did not have much foundation and could not compose, he used a different way to show his learnedness on music theory.

He requested to use the Requiem Illusion and then created something new…Yes, it was the illusion that everyone used for hide-and-seek on the first day, but hundreds of times smaller. In the illusion, the musician must use music notes to guide a waterway mechanic through challenges, defeat various demons and the demon king, save the captured princess…

At the time, this work was critically acclaimed and well-liked by all the students. It almost created a craze in the musician world and trended in every academy around the world. In fact, some students quit school because they were so obsessed. In the end, alchemists even implanted the work as music score into aether balls—the tool that never leaves a musician's side—so musicians could play when they were bored.

To the academy, this work not only displayed the creator's achievements in music temperament and grasp on music theory. It also touched on aether usage of the Resonance level and the mechanic mind of the creator and more…

Anyway, Ye Qingxuan did not know what happened, but all graduation works were changed to be that type after that. Because of the amount of work, graduation students usually teamed up. Each school would have their own proud work. The best would even be sent to the Sacred City, receive critique from all the musicians, and spread widely.

Being in the limelight like this as a student, it was the best way to make a name for oneself. Outstanding works had been created continuously through the years.

Most started preparing one year in advance for their work. Charles, who had never thought about graduating, did not even think in that direction. Even if he worked quickly, Ye Qingxuan was not sure that he had enough time.

"There are only two more days. Will something go wrong?"

"Don't worry. It's basically set!" Charles drank alcohol and pounded his chest. "The music theory within is practically impeccable and shows my glorious spirit. Through this graduation work, I've expressed the impermanence of life, changes of the world, and the troubles of fate. It also has the dreary feeling of being forced into a dead end, with nowhere to escape but to fight. There's no way I can't pass!"

The more Charles bragged, the more Ye Qingxuan felt doubtful. "Anyway, just show us first."

Charles smiled mysteriously and snapped his finger. He maneuvered the enchantment using the temporary creator authority given by the school.

Boom! There was a muffled burst.

An iron box, 1.5 meters tall, suddenly appeared in the room. It looked like the refrigerator that had recently been invented. There was a suspicious lever on the right side. There were also three runners going down the middle of the box. Colorful designs were drawn on them. It seemed that the runners would turn with a pull of the lever. There was also a circle of slightly-dazzling colored lights around the knobs. All in all, it did not look like something good!

"What the h*ll is this?" Ye Qingxuan felt a headache coming.

"My graduation work! Look, I'll show you!" Charles moved forward and abruptly pulled the lever. The machine began playing a horribly cringe-worthy kid's song. The lights around the turntable lit up, blinding everyone. Then the three wheels inlaid in the machine began rolling wildly. The designs on them changed quickly before gradually slowing. Finally, the clanging sounds of coins falling traveled from the box. As the lights flashed wildly, a giant pile of coins fell from the opening.

Ye Qingxuan was fossilized. "That's it?"

"That's it." Charles nodded. "You can use it if you pay some points. If the designs on it create a group, you can receive different amounts of points. I haven't connected it to the point calculator though, so I replaced it with coins. Anyway, I played a bit after finishing it and I couldn't stop. I almost put all my drinking money into it and still haven't taken it out."

Ye Qingxuan felt his vision going dark. There were no words to describe what he felt. Walking around the machine, his gaze fell on the three runners. "What…is drawn on it?"

"No wonder you're my junior! You always get the main point." Charles whistled. "Look, it's the pineapple from the backyard of the School of Revelations, banana from the School of Royalty, cherry from Modifications, and this—this is my best work—I drew a five-pointed star with one stroke! What about it? Aren't I awesome? If you want, I can teach you!"

"Uh…why does this dog look like Old Phil?"

"Because it is!" Charles slapped his knee and said excitedly, "I drew each stroke while looking at Old Phil! What do you think? Doesn't it look like him? It's the biggest prize! If you get three Old Phils, you can win a hundred times the school points!"

"Senior, your drawing skills probably haven't improved since you were eight!" Ye Qingxuan thought, but he had no strength to speak. He just wanted to get drunk, but Charles kept holding him and rambling about his design, this thing's bright future, and finally ended on the name.

"Oh, I named it the Blood Lion. Don't you think it's really mighty and domineering?"

"Why does it sound like bad news? And there isn't any blood or lion."

"Then let's call it Destructive Duke."

"No."

"Dark God of Destruction Four."

"You want to graduate after ten more years? And you don't even have one, two or three!"

"Half a Lifespan Three?"

"Shut up!"

After talking on and on, Charles finally stopped. Ye Qingxuan already felt dizzy as his intelligence dropped like a diver. To save the academy's students and save their points, the youth slammed a fist on the table and announced, "Anyway, this thing won't work!"

-

They soon returned to the dining table. Ye Qingxuan sighed and said, "So you used one month to create a gambling machine?"

Charles panicked. "I'm sure it will have a good future! When it comes out, we'll be able to live happily with just the money given to use it!"

"…Senior, don't you want to graduate?"

Ye Qingxuan's words hit Charles in the guts. He sighed in pain and abandoned the idea. "But I can't redesign something. Where do I find a new script?"

"Script?" Beside them, Bai Xi grinned. "I have it."

"…"

"…"

Ye Qingxuan and Charles stared at her as if looking at a ghost. Bai Xi was a little scared by their eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that? I want to contribute sometimes too!"

"Yezi…" Charles sighed with teary eyes, "Bai Xi is all grown up."

Ye Qingxuan's eyes were slightly red too and he dabbed at the corners. "Yes, I'm so pleased."

What they got in reply was the double performance of "source" and "frost." A large basin of freezing water poured from the sky, chilling them to the bone.

"Are you done?" Bai Xi glared at them. "Leave if you don't want it!"

"We want it!" Ye Qingxuan nodded quickly. It was rare that Bai Xi was willing to help. Even if she could not, her thoughts were enough to make him and Charles touched.

With their coaxing, Bai Xi finally described her plan. "This graduation work is called Soul Warrior. In Indian, it's called Soul…"

In short, Bai Xi's work was in her usual style. It was simple, straightforward and crude, totally unlike a little girl's work. She had practically included all of downtown Avalon's violence and gathered everything that would make a man's blood boil. According to Bai Xi's description, the work would be like this:

Musicians would control two strong men to charge bravely with crossbows. One wore blue pants and the other had red pants. They were shirtless, with a weird ribbon on their head. They would descend from the sky and land on an island taken over by revolutionary soldiers.

Killing the entire time, they would kill the soldiers, kill the more important figures, kill the demons, kill the monsters, kill everything living, and finally kill the general who had already fused with a natural catastrophe.

They would succeed when there was nothing left to kill. Then, they would board a plane and leave the poor island that sank to the bottom of the sea after exploding. Bai Xi had also designed eight secret underwater challenges for the players to find.

However, the difficulty level was extremely high. The two shirtless guys would die from just one arrow or being hit by an enemy. The player had three respawn chances. After that, they could only restart the game…But Bai Xi was the creator, so…she hid a command within. If they inputted the right music note, they would have thirty respawns!

"I told you, you can't leave a creator's cheat!" Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head. "You're a little girl. Why are you so violent? Everything is about killing, but can't you think of something more heartwarming?"

"Heartwarming? Sorry, but I can't." Bai Xi rolled her eyes. "Why don't you try?"

"Like a game where a little girl travels the world and changes clothes?"

"Changing clothes for girls? Are you a pervert?"

"Maybe seven girls stood up to save their soon-to-be-abolished academy and after much hardship, they finally became musicians?"

"How is it interesting if no one dies? Why don't you say they went to India with a monkey to collect music scores?"

Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He really did not understand what Bai Xi was thinking. "Anyway, this won't do."

"Why not?!"

"One, it's too violent and doesn't contain technical skill. Two, the procedure is too long, the mission is too big, there's too much content, and there's not enough time. Three, some of the content requires high-level music theory and complex structures for support. Probably only a Resonance musician can complete it, but Professor is busy. So, no."

"Psh." Bai Xi glared at him. "You don't want this, you don't want that. Why don't you just get rid of everything and make a graduation work with nothing?"

"How is that…" Ye Qingxuan suddenly stopped speaking halfway as if stunned. No matter what the others called him, Ye Qingxuan began murmuring something to himself with furrowed brows and a solemn face. Seeing him like this, Charles wrinkled his forehead and fell silent too, sinking into deep thought.

Seeing that those two had gone crazy, Bai Xi curled her lips and ignored them. She grabbed Old Phil and went to play.

Ye Qingxuan looked up after a long time. "You're thinking the same thing as me, right?"

"I think so."

"…Having nothing at all might work."

"If everything goes according to plan."

"The process is short but can be dragged on."

"Even though the structure is complex, you just need to repeatedly use a single music theory. Even a Rhythm level musician can complete it."

"I did some calculations. It shouldn't be much work."

"How should we do the specifics?"

"I have a new idea, but we need to split the tasks."

"With just the two of us, working together shouldn't be a problem, but I have a new idea. What if…"

The two became immersed in brainstorming. As they exchanged ideas, they began drawing music notes on paper and experimenting then and there. Abraham quietly watched as they discussed seriously. After a while, he smiled and left without a sound. Maybe this was satisfaction.

-

It was late at night, two days later. In the workshop of the School of Royalty, Cullen sat down heavily in his chair. With bloodshot eyes, he opened a can of beer and downed it in one shot, letting out an exhausted moan. Beside him, his teammates also drank coffee tiredly as they added last-minute touches to their work.

"We're almost done. We can do it!" Cullen patted a friend's shoulder. "I'll treat everyone to breakfast when we're done."

"To be honest, I just want to sleep." A teammate raised his tired eyes. "Can anyone give me the energizer? I want the increased amount."

The guy beside him tossed over a beam of frost without even looking. The frost landed on his face and even his hair turned to ice. He woke up immediately.

"Thanks," he said with chattering teeth. "Cullen, are you done with the difficulty control? If yes, come help. I'm the worst at balanced music theory. I think I'm going crazy."

Hearing this, Cullen chuckled bitterly. "Wait a sec. I'll come over after I do one last thing." He wiped the sweat on his forehead and gathered his spirits—music theory was just like math equations. Sometimes, having one wrong note or being a little offbeat would create drastically different effects. Plus, he was responsible for the most troublesome part of the process—difficulty control.

The last trial of school day was the day after tomorrow. At that time, all graduation works would be presented and the other students would use points to experience them. All points earned from that would belong to the production team and be added to their test grade.

Of course, many teams would give some points to the winners to entice students to try their works. This was the only way for people to come try, and the more players, the better. Of course, the teams had to make sure the works were not impossible to play, and that they could personally succeed in the game.

That led to a problem: how could their raise the difficulty while ensuring that they could pass through the obstacles themselves?

This then led to another question: how could they tempt more people to play after ensuring the high difficulty?

This was something that gave all graduates headaches. They must reach a balance between difficulty and attractiveness. If it was too difficult, most people would be scared away. If it was too easy, they would lose too many points. Therefore, the control of difficulty must be calculated many times. During the long test, time passed second by second…

-

In the basement of the music history department, Charles held his notebook under the lone light and wrote, "4:30 a.m., first test…" Soon, he lifted his head and said, "Start."

Ye Qingxuan nodded and pressed a button. And then…Boom!

Redness swept through and the entire building shook. The basement became a mess. Ye Qingxuan and Charles turned ashy and were slammed into the wall by the explosive air pressure. Thankfully they had protective measures and were unharmed.

In the wall's human-shaped dent, Ye Qingxuan spat out dust as his ears rang. Charles picked himself up from the ground and looked around dazedly.

"What happened? It exploded?"

Ye Qingxuan did not reply and just glared at Charles.

Charles instantly became dejected. "Junior, you can't look at me like that! It's not my fault it exploded! You can't blame me, right?"

Ye Qingxuan sighed and rechecked the information on the Requiem enchantment. He soon found the reason. "Okay, there's a conflict in the music theory of the overture. It continuously created unnecessary notes in this structure, which entered the second movement and created an endless loop." Holding his chin, he looked at the music score. "The interval's structure isn't stable enough. We need to change it."

But changing it was annoying. It was one of the important intervals in the beginning. Changing it meant adjusting the rest of the music theory. They would basically be starting all over again.

"What about this?" Charles had been looking for a long time. He reached over and gestured on the music score, adding a legato and repeat symbol. Instead of fixing the root of the problem, he had chosen to fix the surface and moved the endless loop to where it was not a problem.

Admittedly, this was cheating and definitely not a proper solution, but with Charles' quick thinking, he made it work. Ye Qingxuan was stunned. Grinning, he gave a thumbs up. "Nice!"

Charles nodded and stepped back carefully. "Then, let's start our second test."

Ye Qingxuan nodded. He stood to the side and pressed down the activation button.

And then…Boom!

This time, even the light was blasted away. Charles and Ye Qingxuan were pressed into the ceiling beside each other. They could not even get out… Thankfully they had used temporary Requiem enchantment to create an isolated zone. What happened in here would not affect the outside world. Otherwise, Bai Xi would be kicking down the door now.

"Junior, what's the problem now?"

Ye Qingxuan hacked out his lungs and wiped the corner of his eyes. He stammered, "The six—sixth interval, why is there a glissando?"

"…Okay, that's my fault."

"It's always your fault. Why don't we add a natural notation?"

"It can work. Then, third test…"

Boom!