Silent Crown

Chapter 251: Bell of Original Sin

It was eight at night. The academy's auditorium was packed, and a dark mass amidst the commotion. All students, from freshmen to graduating students, had received the notification and grouped here.

The meeting had not begun yet but they already knew that the academy would make an official statement after the appraisal of the plagiarism scandal that everyone was caught up in recently. However, some people were not happy.

"It's just an announcement. Why are we forced to come?" a Revelations professor said coldly. "Ingmar did all that. Why do we have to be involved? We don't even dare to go out now. Are they still not satisfied?"

"Hey, that's not what you said when Ingmar was getting all the limelight." That came from a Modifications professor. It was just drama to him, after all.

The Revelations professor's face darkened. He glared at the other and did not reply. His eyes filled with disgust whenever he looked at Abraham's seat. "That guy is so annoying. He stirs all this trouble without doing anything."

"Just want to see us lose face, huh?" he muttered angrily. "We'll give him face this time, but that guy better not take it for granted."

His coworker coughed quietly, causing him to finally realize that the room was silent. He quickly shut his mouth.

Sydney, with a troubled expression, appeared onstage. The principal had not appeared yet. It was clear that Sydney had been tossed out by the school board to take the brunt. He was responsible for all the humiliating things. This was why he did not look well.

"We're here today to announce something." He pulled out his script and lowered his head to read it monotonously. The more he read, the lower his head went. Each word was like a painful slap to the face.

"After the Sacred City and Musician's Union's assessment, the claim 'Ingmar's results are plagiarized' is valid…Because the influence is too negative, Ingmar will now be relieved of his duties and be judged by the Musician's Union after he has healed. During this case, the music history department was wrongly accused and had their innocence proved with the support of the Academy."

Hearing him say this, the audience booed endlessly, interrupting him. He lowered his head and ignored them, continuing to stutter out the script.

"According to Abraham—grandmaster Abraham's own wishes, the new music history department building will stand on its original site and officially restart classes after the queen's honoring ceremony. Next, let us give a round of applause and welcome Concertmaster Ye, representative of the history department, onstage." Sydney gathered his script and looked backstage with a numb expression. Strange applause sounded as the audience split into two clear groups. One group was excited and clapped loudly. The other group was numb like clay figurines.

"The drama is here." Offstage, a student scoffed. "I'd like to see how he brags as an underdog."

"Don't worry. This Eastern concertmaster should be smart." The third-year concertmaster sat in the first row and picked at his fingernails. "If he still has a mind, he won't brag too much. Otherwise, he'd piss off too many people and the future will be hard. After all, the days are still long, right?"

"If he doesn't know his place, then it's not our fault."

"What's the most he can do? Don't forget, this is the Royal Academy of Music. He's not even an official musician. Does he think he's the best when he's just at Rhythm level? If he thinks he can do it, he can duel with me. Then he won't be able to say anything, huh?"

After they snickered, the graduating students at the back glared coldly at the podium. The long wait was silent. No one came out from backstage.

Bewildered, the audience looked toward the stage and began discussing. Onstage, Sydney with his frozen smile could not bear it anymore. He called someone over and quietly urged him. The man ran backstage but soon came back and blankly gave Sydney a letter.

Stunned, Sydney opened the letter and skimmed it. His expression grew uglier.

This guy had refused to come and only sent a letter? He had only won an appraisal and was already this arrogant? The entire academy was here but this guy was acting like a hot shot? The annoyed students became even more frustrated.

"Hello everyone, I am that Eastern freshman concertmaster, Ye Qingxuan. I couldn't make it due to personal reasons so I wrote a letter," Sydney gripped the letter and read woodenly. "I'm sure everyone has heard of the recent news. Thanks to everyone who supported me. I will remember each and every word said in support of my professor during this mess and repay you. However, I know that many people still don't like me." Here, Sydney's brows furrowed and his expression stiffened even more.

"To be honest, I don't care. I won't beg everyone to give me, an antisocial freak, the luxury of friendship, and I don't really want to interact with you all. I just hope that, through this, some people can stop provoking us meaninglessly. After all, there's no sense of accomplishment in dealing with these problems."

"Presumptuous!" The students with dark expressions were angered by Ye Qingxuan's attitude and began yelling. Exchanging glances with each other, they could not push down the anger.

Onstage, Sydney's expression grew even stranger. He had reached the end of the letter and stammered out each word with difficulty. "In addition, I hope that such things will not happen in the future. To help with some people's memories and remember this, I've decided to leave a small memento in a very obvious spot. I hope they'll like it."

Here, he froze and looked at the very end. "Your faithful friend, Ye Qingxuan."

Without a doubt, Ye Qingxuan's impolite tone had angered most of the students. The auditorium instantly fell into chaos.

That *sshole, was he using this chance to scold the entire academy? Who does he think he is? And what was that 'small memento?' This obvious warning made one want to laugh. Did he want to upend the entire academy or something?

But soon, they heard shocked cries from the back, as well as a sluggish silence. Onstage, Sydney seemed to have seen a ghost; his stiff expression shattered bit by bit and turned into one of shock. And so everyone looked back in confusion.

And saw that the sky outside the auditorium was pitch black, but in the black sky was blazing red firelight. Something was on fire? Where?

-

Under the same sky, a white-haired youth sat on a bench, bathed in firelight. The light illuminated his white hair, turning it red like fire. Before him, the main building of the School of Revelations bathed in firelight as well; it was dazzling. It was as those people had said—it had transformed into a torch that broken the darkness, illuminating the bright and mighty future of mankind.

The ancient texts, precious collections, and opulent furniture in Ingmar's office were submerged in the flames, turning into ash and cinder. They were carried by the hot wind and floated in the sky like beautiful and dazzling stars.

Soon, the professor on guard descended from his wind spirit. Seeing the burning building, he quickly raised the alarm. Then he saw the loitering youth and his brows furrowed. "What happened?"

"Simple. It caught on fire." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and quoted what the academy had said to him a few days ago, "The weather has been dry recently and the objects spontaneously combusted. It's normal."

He calmly looked at the suspicious eyes with an innocent and dazed expression. No matter what, the investigation results would be just that—the weather was dry and the objects spontaneously combusted.

This was just an accident, just like the last accident. Since people could accept the fact that the history department had an accident, it was reasonable for the same to happen to Revelations, right?

He sat on the bench quietly and looked up at the fire as if enjoying the most beautiful view in the world. He sighed, "So pretty."

A bell rang faintly in the air.

-

"Great tea. I didn't know the West would have such good tea." In the clock shop, Mr. Hu set down his teacup and sighed. "I haven't had tea ever since I left the East all those years ago."

"Get to the point." Across from him, Hermes clutched a box of cookies and munched. He looked at Mr. Hu with a strange gaze. "I'm kind of interested in seeing what that figurehead queen sent you to Avalon alone for. Is it to contact the revolutionary army and kill those treacherous ministers from both the inside and outside? If that's the case, then you've come to the wrong place. The entire world knows that the revolutionary army is hiding in the Dark World. You can't find anything in Avalon."

"Oh no, our queen has nothing to do with those rebels," Mr. Hu stated, waving his hand. "I am just here to investigate some things and find someone."

"Ye Lanzhou? Psh!" Hermes snickered. "You didn't regret anything when that guy Bai Heng committed a coup and killed all of the Ye family. There's no point now."

"As this is my duty, I beg you to tell me." Mr. Hu rose and cut to the chase. "Where exactly is Ye Lanzhou?"

Hermes rolled his eyes. "How would I know? Ye Lanzhou has legs and can go wherever he wants."

Mr. Hu sighed and pulled an old silver coin from his sleeve. Pushing it toward Hermes, he said, "I hope you can provide aid, seeing my payment."

Hermes furrowed his brow. "According to the rules, I have to answer your question if you give me something, but are you sure you want to ask this?"

"Yes." Mr. Hu nodded.

Hermes replied emotionlessly, "He's dead."

"Impossible." Mr. Hu shook his head resolutely. "I was ordered to find him, dead or alive."

"Tsk, why are you guys so stubborn?" Frustrated, Hermes tossed the cookie box to the side and took a large jar from a cabinet, slamming it onto the table. "Here! Here's the 'dead' you're looking for!"

Mr. Hu froze. After a long time, he reached out and lifted the dust cloth covering the jar. Dust floated down. Under the dust and cloth, a head was submerged in the amber colored liquid.

The stark white yet handsome head had closed eyes as if it was sleeping in the liquid. Long black hair floated in the liquid like seaweed. There was no handsomeness of yesterday, but he was calm as moonlight—serene and beautiful. He seemed to only be sleeping, rather than having died long ago.

"This is the head Bach personally chopped off. Take it if you want!"

Mr. Hu winced. He shook his head and set down the dust cloth, drowning the face in darkness once again.

"Why must it be like this?" He sat down heavily in the chair. After a long while, he sighed and no longer spoke.

A heavy bell rang in the distance. It resounded in the night sky, spreading in all directions. The bell had a mysterious power as if it contained the cheers and singing of countless people. The aether in its path swelled as if it too was dancing.

In the darkness under the dust cloth, the head seemed to awaken temporarily from his slumber. His lips seemed to curl into a fleeting smile.

Like a hallucination.

Like moonlight.

-

Thousands of miles away, the high tower of the Sacred City was illuminated with lights. It was the critical moment of defense changes at the ice field barrier close to Asgard, but the bishops dressed in red were arguing until they were red in the face.

"It has been six years since an abomination level natural catastrophe appeared. If we continue the alert status as if we're close to war, it will undoubtedly be a burden to both Asgard and the Church. There is a minimum expense of one-million pounds of gold per year!"

"It has only been six years! If something happens during the defense change and a natural catastrophe enters human territory once again, we might not be able to recover from the consequences in even six-hundred years! The nations flattened by the Silver Tide still yet to show any signs of life. Are these previous examples not enough for us to be cautious?"

"Sure you can talk but do you know the expenses of merely maintaining the stronghold? Furthermore, our research of natural catastrophes has not moved in decades. Not only are there no results in explorations into the Dark World, that b*stard Gaius and his revolutionary army are still roaming free!

"And of course the nations are all declining now. They have high internal expenses and cannot care about the scary things in the Dark World. Outside their barriers Psychological decay is more terrifying than material emptiness. If we continue, it'll be a knock-off product even if the stronghold remains!"

"The Church does not involve itself with national politics. Do not find excuses for these sinister actions!"

"Idiot! Does procedural justice have any effect on the result?"

The arguments had lasted for three days without any outcome. But today, the figure seated at the end of the long table seemed to be deep in thought and did not listen to their opinions. He looked up into the starry sky where the sound of a bell resounded.

"Your Holiness! Your Holiness, may you please decide quickly?" The bishops looked at the silent pope with confused yet solemn expressions. Beside the throne, the servant called quietly, "Your Holiness, the bishops are waiting for your decision."

The King of Red raised his hand, blocking the noisy arguments so he could only hear the bell.

All was silent.

Save for the bell from the skies.

-

The bell rang in the long night. The massive bronze bell vibrated, shaking dust off and revealing a blazing bronze glare. It shivered like a flame as the bell resonated. The ringing spread in the air toward extreme distances. Riding the wild wind, it traveled tens of thousands of miles and echoed within the Dark World.

It shook the ice and snow of the northernmost barrier loose, it shook the signal flames of the eastern Great Wall, it lifted the sand of the southern clay walls, and it melted into the ripples of the northern sea. The bell traveled far and wide, ringing in every human's ears.

"Mr. Gaius, this is a report just received from Avalon."

In a secret room, an old man with white hair put on his glasses and perused the message under the light. After a long while, he smiled in satisfaction.

"Congratulations, Abraham," he murmured, looking in the direction of Avalon. "You've finally found your purpose in life as you had wished."

There was no reply.

Save for the faint rings of the bell.

One could hear the low and distant bell everywhere, whether beside a bonfire in the barren wilderness or in the city under a snowstorm.

"The Philosopher's Bell?" In the Dark World, Bach, who had been silent, looked up. The old crowned man traveling above the stars looked down at the Sacred City. Within the Holy Temple, the flames of seventy-six un-extinguishing lanterns trembled under the bell. The spirits of saints sleeping within them opened their eyes and exchanged glances.

"Forty-two years."

"The Philosopher's Bell has been rung."

"The Bell of the Original Sin."

"Humanity is nearing the truth of the Dark Ages."

"The shaking of the Originator shall arrive soon."

"The decisive battle is nearing once again."

The spirits in the lanterns murmured amongst themselves and finally closed their eyes, returning to their long slumber. In the darkness, only the lights remained.

The bell continued to ring.

-

Amidst the ringing, a drunken young man was shocked awake from his dream and moaned painfully. He picked up the bottle beside him and drank the last few drops. As the strength of alcohol coursed through him again, he pushed himself up from the table and panted heavily.

"Another nightmare, Charles?" Abraham pushed open his door with concern.

"No, Professor. Just drunk." Charles managed a smile and climbed up from the floor. "Ah, I accidentally got drunk. I'm really getting out of hand. If Yezi and others saw me, they'd probably scold me for half a day." He pushed open the window to diffuse the scent of alcohol in the air. Moonlight spilled on his face. Charles sat in the corner and felt around his pocket for half a cigarette. Lighting it, he inhaled deeply and managed to smile at the door.

But the door was closed and no professor was there. Abraham was not there either. Seeming to understand something, Charles looked away darkly.

"Still dreaming?"

Plumes of smoke rose out of his hand, dissipating in the moonlight of the dreamscape, and disappeared. Under the moon, the walls slowly broke down. Blood seeped out of the cracks of the ground like a spring. Countless hands embraced him from the blood, warm and soft like a mother.

A voice from his memory murmured in his ear, "Please tell him that I am happy."

The faint voice resounded in his heart emptily and went somewhere. He smiled and closed his eyes, still embraced by the dream.

"Mom, are you truly happy?"

-

Under the same sky, there was a silent white-haired youth before the firelight, a young man sleeping before a window, a young girl between rows of clocks. At the same time, a figure wrapped in a gray robe stepped foot into Avalon.

A crow landed on his shoulder as he listened to the bell. He looked up into the starry sky but there were no stars in his eyes—only an abyss-like darkness.

"The human world," he murmured hoarsely. "Humanity's…vileness!"

The bell resounded in the sky.

Who was it ringing for?

The tide reflected the fine moonlight. The cold moonlight crashed onto the reef, with the waves like splashing frost. In the long night, the tide mingled with the cries from the depth of darkness that wandered around the white city like a call from a dead country in the deep sea.

The scattered vapor rose from the sea, heavy and cold like the angry souls of the dead. The white mist was so heavy nothing could be seen. It submerged the whole city and swallowed everything.

There seemed to be a young boy singing softly in the mist. The song wandered across the streets and alleys. It could be faintly heard as long as one listened carefully, it.

"The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams. We have power and the sea so which direction should we wander…Oh ho, millions of pairs of hands raise the sails high. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we'll have eternal life…"

Under the chilling song, the patrol man with a lantern in his hand breathed coldly. With a chill, he sped up his patrol but the song followed behind him like a shadow, making his face pale.

Avalon late at night was by no means a good place. This glorious city, which shone brightly in the daytime, hid countless unknown truths within. No matter which of the tens of thousands of truths was accidentally seen, it was enough for the witness to evaporate and disappear totally. Every dark street was like a doorway to hell, calling out to the lone patrolman.

In the dark, the youthful singing sounded clearer and clearer. It wound around the patrolman's ears, making him shiver. It was as if something in the song lured him to march toward the sound.

His mind emptied gradually, gradually.

On the silent streets, only the sound of footsteps echoed.

The vacant-eyed patrolman lurched forward. The homeless, also lured by the song at some point, joined in as well. They walked toward the direction of the song. Water puddles reflected the icy pale moonlight and illuminated their dull and wooden faces. In the darkness, the little boy's voice twisted at some point, turning into the cackles of countless ghosts in their ears.

"Its key has been inserted into the box. The devil will realize our dream. The bell has already rung in the cemetery. Did you hear the eerie song? Respond to our calls, the blood debt will be paid…Oh ho, raise the sails, we'll return home. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we will be immortal in death!"

Boom! The lantern fell from the patrolman's hand and hit the stone steps, breaking suddenly. The oil and flames fell on him, igniting his body. The pain finally woke him.

He screamed in pain and found himself kneeling on the cold altar without realizing. The shadow of the sacrifice covered his face under the twisted firelight. The dark figure was clad in red. There seemed to be a hundred pairs of eyes under the hood of the shadow. They were full of compassion but also indifference.

The patrolman was overcome by the eyes. He could not help but pray on the ground, kissing his blade, and singing softly. "We will be immortal in death."

Blood splattered. The warm liquid flowed silently, spilling over the ground.

-

Two hours later, it was a deeper night. Lestrade walked out of the crime scene with a pale face. He gritted his teeth for a long time and pulled out a silver coin from his pocket. There was a vague face on the silver coin, as well as a name of darkness and secrets—Sherlock Holmes.

The silver coin fell from his hands and into the flames, shaking endlessly. After a long while, it suddenly collapsed into a ball of mist. A crisp sound came.

Ding. The buzzing sound swept past his ear and penetrated into the darkness. Cold wind blew in the night like the chuckle of the vengeful spirit. Somehow, the sound that was once so daunting was now so reassuring.

Lestrade lit his pipe and gazed into the distant darkness. He held down his fear and waited patiently.

After some time, a hoarse voice sounded behind him. "I've said before not to disturb me if it's not important. I hope you won't disappoint me." That husky voice clung to his heart like a sharp and cold razor. He shivered.

"According to your co-command… I should contact you if something strange happens," he stammered. Pausing, he took a deep breath and summoned up courage. "They're in there."

"They?" the shadow asked.

Lestrade swallowed hard and said, "I don't know how to describe those things…those things, I can't say."

The angry spirit standing in the mist pondered for a moment and nodded. "Lead the way."

-

"Recently, the capital is being secured secretly. The policemen patrol with alarm bells, and the police department check the situation through the big enchantment of Avalon at any time. An hour ago, we found out that a patrol officer was killed and when the forces were called out, it was too late."

Lestrade walked in front and wrapped his overcoat tightly as if he was afraid of the wind. Occasionally, he looked around, revealing a pale face.

Ye Qingxuan could not help but shake his head. "You never seem to be on time."

"You always need some time from receiving the signals to organizing teams and acting. Avalon is so big. A few minutes aren't even enough to pull the horse out of the barn."

"And you also need some time to react for those who work at night, right?"

Ye Qingxuan's rhetorical question made Lestrade speechless. His expression grew bitter. What cleverness was he pretending in front of this one? He was only clearer than Lestrade about those private activities.

"Anyway, when we arrived, it was too late." He shrugged and looked at the young man guarding the door, who was leaning against the wall, stooping to vomit violently. He had vomited all the bile and was now dry heaving.

Ye Qingxuan stopped and glanced at him before walking straight toward the scene. The other gatekeepers were totally unaware of his arrival, but forced a solemn expression onto their face and saluted Lestrade.

Lestrade paused for a moment, quietly watching the silent Vengeful Spirit beside him. The figure had melted into the mist, making him faintly invisible. It was as if he did not exist at all.

This was good too. He sighed out of relief. This saved him an explanation in case any clues and traces would be found.

When they entered, several others were lifted out with vomit on their pale faces. The people who held them looked bad as well and their legs were a little weak.

"Have they never seen dead people at the scene?" Ye Qingxuan asked quietly.

"That's not the scene." Lestrade lowered his eyes. "It's hell."

-

"Actually, I won't laugh at you if you puke."

"Shut up."

"You're expression's changing. It will be much better to puke it out."

"Shut up."

"Holding it in is harmful. You're going against your nature."

"I said shut up!"

And so Lola's voice disappeared.

Ye Qingxuan stood in the middle of the scene, looking around expressionlessly. A few minutes ago, he was still looking down on that bunch of cowardly and weak policemen, but now he had sympathy for them. Who would run into such a hell if it was not their duty?

In short, this place was littered with carnage. If one were to describe the details, one could write tens of thousands of words. Then it would be spread widely amongst the dark enthusiasts and receive critical acclaim. Unfortunately, the people who came here generally lacked appreciation for the arts, and were unaware of the vast business opportunities.

"How many dead are there?" Ye Qingxuan asked, furrowing his brows.

Lestrade, pinching his nose and replied, "The forensic analyst just told me that there are seventeen."

"Your forensic analyst should go back to school," Ye Qingxuan said slowly. "There are nineteen of them. One is hanging on the tree, and one is trampled under your feet."

Hearing this, Lestrade jumped back in fright and looked at his feet.

Ye Qingxuan plucked the baton from his waist, put it into the pool of blood, and lifted piece of skin filled with black scripture. It was new, hot, and exciting.

Seeing the skin with hair dangling on it and blood dripping from it, Lestrade's face changed. He covered his mouth, ran to the corner, and vomited violently.

Another one had failed.

All in all, the scene was almost like an accident where a wagon carrying dead pigs crashed into a wagon laden with rotten tomatoes. Then, one-hundred and eight cooks came to cut the pork stained with tomato sauce into mince meat, while also leaving some scraps for frying and other tricks. Moreover, there was so much evidence left at the scene.

"It's none of your business anymore. Report it to the Royal Musician Division." Ye Qingxuan patted Lestrade's shoulder. "It is the ritual of Hyakume's followers."

Lestrade paused. It seemed that he had not made the connection yet. But when he really understood the meaning of that name, the already-pale face got paler. "Hyakume?"

"Yes." Ye Qingxuan took his baton and poked it in the eye sockets of the corpse. They were empty with only blood flowing out.

"You see, all the bodies' eyes have been dug out. These guys gathered here to please their gods by sacrificing mortal lives and pain. It seems that the ceremony was a success."

Lestrade's face was ghastly pale. "Wha—what do they want?"

"How would I know?" Ye Qingxuan answered indifferently.

Lola's chuckle sounded in his ears again. "Little Yezi, you're really cute when you lie."

"I let you borrow my eyes, not to just watch the show," Ye Qingxuan responded coldly. At this moment, the more serious he was, the more easily he would be played by the evil Lola. The best way was to ignore her and change the subject.

"Don't waste time anymore time. Have you decided?"

"Pretty much." Lola seemed to see into Ye Qingxuan's mind and chuckled. "Then let's get to the main event."

Ye Qingxuan instantly felt dizzy as a strange auditory illusion sounded in his ears and faint numbness spread through his body. This was the phenomenon of an outside force controlling his body.

His vision went dark before it brightened again. There seemed to be moonlight before his eyes.

"How is it? Are my eyes nice to use?" Lola asked.

"They're okay," Ye Qingxuan said with mocking indifference. His brows furrowed as he looked around.

Under the gaze of those eyes, layers of distorted music notes appeared on the blood-covered walls, ground, and withered corpses. The notes wriggled like maggots. Having lost control and support, they were gradually fading. One could vaguely see the original large structure—countless black music notes pierced the poor slain men, stringing them together as if on a string, creating a vast ritual.

An extremely strange insignia was carved in the center of the ritual, at the heart of dozens of concentric circles. There seemed to be dozens of sub-eyes in the single giant eye. They wandered and swallowed with chilling eeriness. It was the Eyes Within the Eye.

"It's true, Lola." Ye Qingxuan squatted and studied the insignia of Hyakume. "The parliament has gotten together with Hyakume's believers, and they are starting to think of ways to open the path."

Lola fell silent. After a long time, she sighed quietly. "No, perhaps…it's worse than this," she said. "They have a mark too and had just sent a group of people into Avalon's Shadow through this ritual."

"Mark?" At that moment, Ye Qingxuan felt heat in his arms. The blood-colored shell began trembling and shone dimly. A song sounded within the shell. This song seemed to come from thousands of miles away. It wrapped around one's ears, faint but clear.

"The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams…"

"Lola, did you hear the song?"

"What song?" Sensing something wrong, Lola was instantly shocked. "There's power remaining from the ritual. Be careful, don't reply to Avalon's calls."

"Too late." Ye Qingxuan looked down and chuckled dryly. "I think this thing is automatic." In his hands, the blood-colored shell grew hotter. A warped gleam of fire shone faintly, singing by its own accord. The song grew closer and closer, but Lola's voice was quickly becoming distant. The connection was becoming blurry and broken until he could only hear static.

In the silence, thick fog surged like a tidal wave, swallowing him. He was surrounded in ghastly white. Something seemed to be hidden inside but he could not see clearly.

The fire within the mark grew brighter. It chased away the fog, allowing him to see clearly the river of blood under his feet.

The Blood Path.

Lola had given him the road mark so he could use the nightmares to practice the basics of the School of Mind. It was also an abnormally effective amplification tool. It could magnify the effects of music scores from various schools. But he had not expected to be pulled into this again.

"Huh? What do you mean by 'again?'" Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself. He could not help his habit of talking sh*t. How unlucky was he to keep getting pulled into this place?!

The thing that the guys at the parliament dreamed of was just unavoidable to him. But there was no way out of this now. The only fortunate thing was that the connection between him and Lola was not completely broken. After all, she had sucked so much blood from him. She could use the mark as a fulcrum when needed to enter coherence, allowing Ye Qingxuan to use some of her strength.

Today was a full moon. Lola was at her strongest.

Someone prepared to enter the Scepter level and was above the Resonance, Interference, and Distortion level was behind him. He actually felt a little safe.

"I can't hear what you're saying but there aren't any other ways. After all, I'm already here." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I'll go first and then we'll see if there are any ways to leave. Maybe I can beat them. Just pay attention and help me when needed." He repeated it four times and Lola seemed to have heard. The static faded gradually and a faint message traveled over.

"Uh, I'll just take it that you told me to be careful." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and activated Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. The long-awaited steel black hand snapped out and knocked against the stones under the Blood Path with a heavy and clanging echo.

"Now, let's start the amazing adventures of the Vengeful Spirit. Uh, there'll probably be at least eight books if this gets turned into a comic. People would love it."

He raised the road mark of the Blood Path. Using the sliver of light, he walked down the road. His steps stopped abruptly as he walked. A bubble-shaped glow appeared when he snapped his finger. It illuminated the ruined wall beside him, as well as the extremely smooth crack on it. It looked like the claw mark of some beast, but also like the mark from the full-out effort of a terrifying weapon.

Ye Qingxuan walked forward emotionlessly. He reached out to touch the crack and could not feel any other cracks. It felt entirely natural, as if it had always existed on this wall, had been planned since the beginning, and had existed on the blueprint.

But it was not—It had been clawed out by bare hands.

If Ye Qingxuan had not remembered incorrectly, someone he knew had this talent.

"The Ripper?" he muttered. "When did she get together with the Parliament?"

This was undoubtedly bad news. Raising his guard, he continued on the Blood Path. In the end, the fog thinned, revealing faint blue moonlight that fell onto his shoulders.

It was the Blue Moon

The moonlight that represented catastrophe and destruction shone on the youth as well as the silhouette of the fierce city in the distance. Under the moonlight, the city that pierced into the sky slept in darkness. It emanated with eeriness. The rusted iron gates of the black city opened, and a rotting scent blew in with the wind.

Everything, from the organization to the details, had the same contours as Avalon. It was as if he had instantly traveled millenniums and witnessed the city immersed in death and disaster.

"Yo!" Ye Qingxuan stared at the dark city before him and waved. "We meet again! How've you been?"

No reply.

Under the moon, the black shadow of a giant bird suddenly rose out of the darkness. It swept across the moon and hovered in the air. The silhouette looked like an oddly shaped moth. It screamed in the air and fell back into the darkness.

The Blue Moon hung high in the sky. The moonlight in Ye Qingxuan's eyes brightened a bit as well. Using the light, he could see the ripples of aether on the strange bird even from a distance away. The ripples were strong and aggressive; it had a faint wildness that could spread out at any time and tear apart any living thing. The air around it was slightly distorted.

The aether's strength forcefully distorted reality, upending everything. Otherwise, how could the bird fly with these strange wings? Ye Qingxuan did not know what it was, but if it was under the Resonance level, it would definitely die if it tried anything.

"I haven't even entered yet and they're already trying to scare me off?" Ye Qingxuan murmured, stopping before the entrance.

He gazed at the darkness within. The city felt too strange to him, as if it was a living thing that had opened its mouth greedily, waiting for anyone to enter so it would swallow all life into its stomach.

Anyone with some common sense would reconsider if they wanted to go in and die, but no matter how Ye Qingxuan thought about it, he still felt unsatisfied. If the parliament could go in, why couldn't he?

What a joke!

Chuckling, the youth rested his cane on his shoulder. Humming, he stepped into the moonlight and Blood Path, and entered the gates. A bell rang from the deepest part of the dark city as if welcoming the guest, as if it was crying, as if it was pleading.

-

There was only temporary darkness in the city's tunnel, but Ye Qingxuan involuntarily let out a sigh of relief when he re-entered the moonlight. The darkness was too sticky and slightly suffocating. Walking in it was uncomfortable, like walking in a quagmire; however, the strange road after the city gates was not any better.

The Blue Moon hung high in the sky. The buildings on either side of the street were dilapidated and sad. Though they managed to retain their original form, they were definitely ruins. Corpses were littered all over. Ye Qingxuan could vaguely see a destroyed stand and the frame of a carriage.

It was as if all living things had disappeared in an instant and left the city behind to decay for a millennium. But in his memory, Avalon was still bustling in the daytime. Comparing the two, one instantly felt dazed and unsure as to which was real.

In comparison, the corpse hanging before Ye Qingxuan felt friendlier.

Yes, a corpse. It was clear it had not been dead for long. It should still be warm if Ye Qingxuan touched it.

Under the cold moonlight, the corpse with a red robe hung on the wall from a rusted chain, swinging in the breeze. The withered arm seemed to be waving at the latecomer.

The Eyes Within the Eye—Hyakume's insignia—on his chest had been torn apart. All that remained was a charred mess. He swung in the wind during this endless night. The lower jaw under his lowered neck swung as well with the song in the wind.

The voice sang quietly, "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams. We have power and the sea so which direction should we wander? Oh ho, millions of pairs of hands raise the sails high. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we'll have eternal life…"

Receive eternal life in death.

The song rode the cold wind but instantly disappeared, giving Ye Qingxuan the chills.

The guy hanging on the tree was clearly sent by the parliament. Before coming, he was definitely like a tiger and could take on ten enemies at the same time. Now, he had become a corpse for some reason and hung from the tree like a ragged doll.

All his blood had run dry and flowed into the Blood Path. His corpse was dry as a matchstick. Ye Qingxuan looked at the 'matchstick' and the 'matchstick' looked back at him. He looked and looked, and a sticky tear rolled out of the dried out eyes.

"Save me, save me," the mouth without a jaw stammered. He begged with a muffled voice, "Please help—no, kill—kill me…"

He was still alive?

The moment he spoke, his withered body suddenly swelled as if dozens of rats were scuttling within him and chewing something. It swelled larger and larger. In the end, something ate the last bit of his flesh and broke through!

Boom! There was a muffled sound. Ye Qingxuan quickly retreated but he still felt his vision going black. Then he felt something pounce at him.

With no time to think, he raised his hand. A complex music note appeared out of thin air. Instantly, hundreds of notes were flattened and were complete at the same time. They formed a music score and shot forward.

The melody overlapped, transforming into a hoarse murmur that announced gravely, "Do not turn the three realms into ashes!"

The darkness was torn apart by the wild electric light. The electricity shot out like a flood. Heat surged, swallowing the thing coming toward him and that corpse. Ye Qingxuan did not dare to hold back during this moment. He used his strongest weapon at once—Indrah's Eye.

After the sublimation ritual, his power had finally reached the lowest threshold and no longer needed to use his blood to activate the Eye; however, it was harder.

Indrah's Eye was the best at destruction. Even if there was a third level musician clad in full armor and shield, he would still be destroyed. Soon, the moonlight in Ye Qingxuan's eye brightened again, breaking through the darkness.

The hanging corpse had fallen onto the ground in pieces. The weird thing that had jumped out of its stomach rolled on the ground, already charred.

It looked like a child, but it had four long and thin limbs. Its burnt face was like a beast. As it writhed on the ground, its burnt body cracked open and something dust-like floated out of it. The dust melted into the wind.

Soon, it stopped moving. It fossilized and then broke apart, turning into powder. The powder disappeared quickly as well. All that remained was its skeleton and the stunned Ye Qingxuan.

He soon snapped out of it. After pondering, he took two coins out of his pocket and hurled them toward the deep end of the street. The coins flew through the air and landed with a crisp ding.

After the small sound, Ye Qingxuan saw the dust around the coin rise up for no reason, converge, and swallow the coin like a living thing. The dust scattered quickly but the coin had already lost all luster. It had been eroded into scrap metal. Then, it broke into a few grains of sand without anyone touching it, and rolled into the darkness with the wind.

Ye Qingxuan was covered in cold sweat. This truly was a black zone. The so-called black zone was actually a general term for the Dark World on the map. The safe zones for living were white zones, unstable areas were yellow, and dangerous areas were red. The black zone was the area of death.

In actuality, not even the Dark World had many places that could truly be called a black zone. In a black zone, the aether had already mutated and was uncontrollable. It had eroded the environment, turning it into unreliable and abnormal territory.

Any sound could create unpredictable reactions and consequences. It was like causing an avalanche by coughing on a snowy mountain but worse. To a human, it was an entirely different world. Just like now…

According to Ye Qingxuan's guess, any outside interference could lead it to be eroded and assimilated by Avalon's Shadow. In other words, it would become one with Avalon's Shadow.

This was probably what had happened to the guy who had been hung. He most likely awakened the sleeping darkness and instantly fell to the painful state of not even being able to die. His companions did not dare to help him and abandoned him.

Ye Qingxuan was terrified too. Thankfully, he did not fully activate Indrah's Eye. Otherwise, the crack of lightning would be enough to kill him, or at least skin him. Any music score would probably create unpredictable consequences here.

But he was not exactly safe, even if he did not make any sound. The flash of light just then had attracted many of the…weird things living here.

Crackle…crackle… Amidst the broken crackles, some things appeared under the broken tiles behind the decayed wall. Sticky black aura emanated from them. Under the pale moonlight, they latched onto everything and transformed into primates, formless ghosts, water demons and other unstable figures. They solidified and came from all directions.

Red eyes looked toward Ye Qingxuan. They froze and then burst into roars because there was nothing there. Hearing the screams behind him, Ye Qingxuan sped up.

He ran—of course he ran! Why would he wait for those things to come fight him as if he had run into a beehive? Who knew what would happen if they got into a fight if things were already this bad? Life was short and he did not need to try that.

Ye Qingxuan did not stop until he had run far enough. Gasping for his breath, he just felt that Avalon's Shadow was too weird. He was far into downtown now. The farther he went, the slower the connection between him and aether. Like a fish out of water, the connection was getting weaker and more broken.

A musician's roots had been taken away. If he was a regular musician, he would probably be like an average person now.

"This sucks. If you're so powerful, then give me something even worse and I'll respect—" Ye Qingxuan muttered. Suddenly feeling something wrong, he looked up.

Pairs of red eyes looked down at him from a withered tree. The eyes were cold and the things opened their black wings, shooting up. Sharp caws followed immediately after.

What was worse than angering a beehive?

Angering a crow's nest!

Hundreds upon thousands of these sinister birds flew up from the withered trees instantly. They hovered around Ye Qingxuan's head like a black cloud that screamed like a siren.

Broken sounds rang out endlessly. They were the demons that had been attracted by the calls of the birds that announced death. Amidst the cries, darkness flowed like a stream. Demons crawled out of destroyed homes and wells, surrounding this place seamlessly. They charged toward the shocked Ye Qingxuan without needing any commands, but the youth laughed rather than become angered.

"You think you can eat me, huh?!" Gritting his teeth, he raised his cane and made two slow circles.

Boom! A heavy yet majestic horn sounded out of thin air. Aether rippled and quickly converged toward Ye Qingxuan. Unexpectedly, he could still use aether in this messed up environment!

So what if he could not sense it? He never used sense to play music scores! He had never relied on the outside environment. The translation method was a music theory created by Abraham, using his experience in the Dark World, in the first place. In terms of adaptation, it was suited for every environment.

No matter if it was a black or white zone, as long as the essence of aether was the same, he could still use the translation method to play and retain basic fighting ability. Now the formulas that Ye Qingxuan had memorized, the five-hundred plus ancient records, the books that no one had been able to organize fully…they finally proved to be useful.

Now, it was… Night on Bald Mountain!

The majestic horn sounded abruptly, followed by a thunderstorm-like melody. The melody was like demons singing in the fire, and countless witches and satanic followers dancing around the bonfire. Because dawn was arriving, they were filled with unprecedented craze.

The demonic shadows instantly froze in the air. Invisible ropes extended through the air, restraining them.

Immediately after, the horn sounded again. It contained the strength of a blazing sun and had a realistic glow. This was Avalon's Shadow. There was no sun here, but at this moment, a blazing light was illuminated in the dark downtown area.

It was firelight—the light from the burning stakes.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Countless black crosses shot out of the ground like a forest. They were already red-hot and covered in purple-blue flames. Invisible strength pulled the demons and nailed them onto the crosses. They screamed in pain as flames shot from their limbs, mouth, nose, eyes, and ears!

The firelight chased away the darkness. Even the downtown district had sunk into silence. At this moment, there was only the sound of the fire of punishment and the horn of judgement. In only half a minute, all demons were burned to ashes. The dark aura had been eternally purified and disappeared. The crows fell from the sky, landing in the embers and burning.

This was Night on Bald Mountain, the trademark score of past inquisitors that caused countless demons to tremble in fear!

Then Ye Qingxuan's vision went black and his legs gave out. He was a bit exhausted. This purification score had a range wide enough to target hundreds of demons. Though Night on Bald Mountain had helped, Ye Qingxuan was only at the edge of a third level musician. Even with Lola's aid, it still took a toll on him.

Resting against the wall, he panted heavily and glared at the shadow of the distant city, flipping it off.

"If you're so powerful, come at m— oh f*ck, I'm sorry! Don't do that!" Before he could even finish, a thunderous sound rang in the distance. Wild pressure shot out of thin air. Ye Qingxuan just wanted to slap himself. Why did he say that?!

The pressure was getting stronger and stronger; it felt as if his bones would break. Even with the distance, he could sense a pair of dead eyes lock onto him. And then war stallions neighed!

What was that saying…kill the minions and attract the big boss?

He cried inwardly. If he knew this would happen, he would not have used such an attention-grabbing move. Unfortunately, he had no alternatives and there was no pill for regret on this world.

The walls at the end of the street suddenly shattered. Steel hooves pulverized the tiles. The shards flew and were lit by the sparks from the horses' hooves, turning into flying embers. The crazily dancing embers illuminated a giant black stallion.

Black gas wound around, solidifying into the shadow of a menacing head for the headless stallion as it screamed. The demons in its path were forced to the ground by the aggressiveness and shattered.

This was only a domesticated stallion, yet it was already this powerful. The knight on the stallion was covered in heavy armor and held a long sword. A pair of deadly eyes in the darkness underneath the helmet was filled with murder.

Ye Qingxuan could not help but swear. He recognized the armor clearly. Anyone who had read Illustrated History of Anglo would know in his heart that this was the Round Table Knight that had been a decorated warrior under King Arthur, killed countless demons when expanding the kingdom, was remembered by all for his loyalty and bravery, and was finally beheaded by King Arthur!

"Percival!" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth but he felt an invisible strength push his body. He crashed against the wall with a thud and was pressed deeply into it, unable to move.

It was just from the gaze—the gaze!

The war stallion whinnied. Percival rode the huge headless horse as if he was riding a wave of darkness. He stepped on thunder and roars sounded. Amidst the wind and lightning, he unsheathed his sword. The blade vibrated with a sharp echo.

It was only an echo but it cut the music score that Ye Qingxuan was preparing. He could not even fight back!

In that instant, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and growled in his mind, "Lola, if you keep watching, I'm going to die!"

No one replied.

Stunned, he looked up at the dim moonlight. He had gone too far without even knowing. "It's just going to end like this?"

In the next instant, Percival's helmet was already too close. In the pair of dead eyes, the sword blade's reflection was lifted, cutting the moonlight apart.

And then…It swung down!

The moonlight shattered and the youth's head flew up.

He had died with his eyes open.

Ye Qingxuan saw his own head fly from his shoulders. It flew into the sky and fell onto the ground, rolling into a corner. Stunned, he felt his neck and then his head. His neck was fine and his head was still in its original spot. There didn't seem to be any problem.

Then whose head just flew off?

"My illusion can't fool him for long. What are you waiting for?" Lola's voice sounded again. "Hurry up. He's already become one with Avalon's Shadow. You can't kill him here!"

The Blue Moon's glow in the sky grew stranger, with a tinge of sultriness in the dimness. Just looking at it made one dazed. Relying on the resonance between them and the road mark, Lola used the Blue Moon's glow to forcefully send her power into this world.

The distortion level. This was definitely the distortion level.

In that instant, she used the moonlight to erode the sword blade and assimilate it. The steel blade turned into illusory light. The moonlight and the youth passed each other. They did not make contact, but a thin line of blood appeared on Ye Qingxuan's neck. He did not expect Lola to use the extremely uncommon 'thought realization' method. She could make the illusion tangible or turn real objects into illusions. She had combined the School of Illusion and Mind together. It seemed that Lola did not choose an easy level for her Scepter.

Ye Qingxuan was thinking about random things but he had no time to hesitate. The moment Lola's voice rang out, he spun around and ran.

Percival was fooled by the illusionary head and did not notice the youth that melted into the moonlight. Becoming one with the Blue Moon was a strange experience. It felt as if he had lost all physical weight and floated in the air. His speed was unimaginably fast too. He crossed dozens of meters with one step; it was as if his legs were the wind.

But after two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around, running back!

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"He came from that direction and had blood on his sword. Whose blood do you think it is?" Ye Qingxuan passed Percival and sprinted toward the direction he had come from. He could practically here Lola gritting her teeth.

"Ye Qingxuan, do you want to die?"

"Haha, you're funny," he grinned and uttered. "What have I done in Avalon that wasn't flirting with death? I finally found a trace so let's talk after I find it!"

A pair of eyes appeared in the moonlight and they rolled in displeasure. However, Lola's power did not dissipate. Instead, it wrapped around the youth even tighter, transforming him into the omnipresent light.

A small breeze blew from the ruins.

Ye Qingxuan soon stopped because he had seen a horrible corpse. Clearly, a sacrifice left behind. The poor guy had probably taken Percival's sword straight on. Half of his body had evaporated.

Yes, evaporated. He had seriously evaporated.

Half of the medium-rare corpse lay on the ground. It was cut into large portions by the surrounding demons, who were thinking, "The benefits of Avalon's Shadow are so bad. It's been so long since there was a hot meal. Eat it when it's still hot."

This time, Ye Qingxuan did not need to speak for the moonlight to flow like water and melt the strange creatures. Seeing it gave Ye Qingxuan the chills.

"What are you still waiting for? You came to see and you saw it. What now?"

"What else?" Ye Qingxuan tugged his leather gloves. "You're not as good as me at collecting evidence. Just watch."

He had not used his skills in this field since he participated in the school day trials. He was a little excited to be able to use them now. The moonlight in his eyes blazed and swept across the corpse. His vision went through the messy flesh and looked to the broken bones underneath.

"From the bones, I think he's around forty-years-old. The aether in his blood is heavy. He should be a musician. His race…" He picked up the incomplete skull and nodded after studying it for a while. "From the brow bone, cheekbones, and structure, he probably isn't from Anglo. As for his upper body…aha!" Lifting the clothing on the corpse's chest, he saw the distorted design on it—he was Hyakume's follower. "Lola, can you tell which natural catastrophe this guy signed a contract with?"

"There's scale-like soft tissue under the skin, and residual signs of webs on his fingers. Behind his ears, there aren't any gills, so it shouldn't be a pure aquatic catastrophe. It should be a demonic mutation of the amphibious type."

"Oh?" Ye Qingxuan pondered deeply. "Forty-years-old, dark musician, has the ancestral protective charm that border countries like, has harp as his instrument, is mutated from an amphibian. There are only three on the wanted list that fit these characteristics. One died last year, one is a girl, and the last is probably this one before us. He's the 'Kirin' that has been on the list for twenty-one years."

After a long silence, Lola asked, "So?"

"So nothing. I was just acting cool."

Lola did not bother replying. Ye Qingxuan speedily moved around the corpse until he finally found a hand-drawn map from the corpse's bag. A large portion had been torn and only one third remained.

Thankfully, the crude map marked their destination. However, there were no related words and it was pretty useless. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes to think. He compared the routes endlessly. If this Avalon's Shadow really came from Avalon, things would be easy.

Avalon's overall layout had not changed in centuries. Therefore, if he used the exhaustive method, he might be able to find it. But soon, his eyes flew open as confusion flashed through his mind.

"What's wrong?"

"This isn't Avalon's map. It's weird." He began to think while holding his chin. "There are many similarities but they're all insignificant. It's so weird. Did the parliament risk so much to send people in just to send them into the incinerator? But the layout here is similar to Avalon. If this isn't Avalon's map, then what is it?"

"Well, hurry up. I can tell that Percival has seen through my illusion."

Just as she finished, an angry roar sounded in the distance. Following immediately was a solid pressure that spread, causing the moonlight on the youth to flicker. But Ye Qingxuan was not listening; he was deep in thought. He subconsciously paced back and forth until he kicked something. Flinching, it dawned on him.

"Lola, this isn't Avalon's map." Bending down, he looked at the manhole before him in shock. "This is the map of the sewage system. There are too many dangers on the surface, so they traveled in the sewage tunnels."

The angry sounds of Percival's horse's clattering hooves neared. It was already difficult just for Lola to maintain the illusion on Ye Qingxuan. "Whatever, just hurry up and move!"

"No problem." Ye Qingxuan jumped into the sewer without hesitation. In the darkness, he heard the angry fulmination above him and a string of explosions. Another large creature seemed to be infuriated and jumped out of the darkness, fighting Percival.

Amidst the roars and screams, Ye Qingxuan sprinted without thinking of looking back. No matter what those things were, he would be dead if it just looked at him.

The sewage tunnel was extremely quiet. It did not have any of Avalon's dirtiness and was abnormally clean. Walking in it was like walking in a tomb.

He walked into the deepest darkness step by step, walking toward death.

Ye Qingxuan used the moonlight in his eyes to walk and quickly discovered traces of others being here recently. There were also signs of fighting, and he found two incomplete bodies. There were many demons but Ye Qingxuan used the moonlight illusion and sneaked past without any trouble.

In the middle was a fork in the road. It was completely dark without any trace of life; it was quiet as a dark abyss. For some reason, Ye Qingxuan began feeling chills from a distance and did not dare to get close.

After hesitating, he bypassed it. He heard Lola's voice in the long silence, "Ye Qingxuan?"

Shocked out of his thoughts, he replied, "Here."

"Talk so I don't think you're dead."

"Sorry, I was thinking about what they want." Deep in thought, Ye Qingxuan said, "If I'm not wrong, their destination should be the Royal Musician Division."

"The Royal Musician Division?" Lola's reply was shocked. "What will they have in Avalon's Shadow?"

"I don't know. Maybe there's a group of demonic musicians," Ye Qingxuan half-joked, but he fell silent quickly. His thought scared himself.

According to his knowledge, Avalon and the Shadow were the same on the surface and corresponded with each other. However, there were demons rather than civilians on the street. So the musicians of the Royal Musician Division here…would become what?

He did not know and he did not dare to think.

"Ye Qingxuan, I won't be able to help you if you keep going." Lola's voice was fatigued with a tinge of apology. "Forcefully crossing the sea of aether is too exhausting. I'm not at Teacher's level yet."

"Who can reach the level of the 'moon above the sea,' other than freaks like him? Forceful resonance across the borders is already difficult. You don't need to feel bad." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Leave everything to me now. Don't worry, I'll find a way out."

After a long silence, Lola sighed. "I'll wait for your return."

The moonlight on Ye Qingxuan's body immediately began to shake. Finally, it became solidified on his body like thin crystal. Lola used her last strength to lock the illusion on his body, hiding his breath and trace. Then the resonance ended.

Ye Qingxuan sucked in a breath, relaxing the faint fatigue from his limbs. Thankfully, Lola had taken most of the pressure and he was mostly unharmed. Lifting Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, he closed his eyes. He had not practiced in a long time. It would not be unfamiliar, right? An undetectable melody sounded, melting into the silence and spreading.

Bolero.

Water vapor quickly converged, forming strands of perception threads. They extended in all directions, growing and growing until stopping at the fourth measure. He had four-hundred meters of perception.

It was not that he could not continue, but that the melody would go from hidden to sonorous if he continued. He would not be able to keep restraining it. It would not be worth it if he caused Avalon's Shadow's weird mutations.

Four-hundred meters was already out of the regular detection range for the complicated sewage system. It was enough.

Ye Qingxuan quickly discovered many touch-activated traps. He gathered his spirits; he was close.

The parliament probably did not expect for anyone to follow them into Avalon's Shadow. Their traps were very simple. They would be set off if a demon passed by, but they were easy for a musician to undo. It was easy as pie for someone like Ye Qingxuan who used the translation method and was an expert in music theory.

To be safe, he checked repetitively. Confirming that these were not chain reaction traps and nothing strange was hidden, he sneaked past. Who knew what would happen after he undid the traps? He still had to be careful.

The Bolero threads soon perceived something. Someone was guarding the front.

He was living.

The youth closed his eyes and sensed in the darkness. From the perception thread, he could feel the figure behind the corner two-hundred feet away. The man was guarding an entrance to the sewage. Aether rippled around his body; he was a musician.

This was the deepest part of Avalon's Shadow, yet he could still communicate with aether. He should be at the top of third level musicians. According to the perception threads, he had covered his body in different equipment for this situation. From the messy aether waves, there were at least three pieces of equipment. He may be a dark musician.

There was no one around him and the entrance behind him had signs of being opened. He should be the one left behind to guard the entrance, so he must have something to send emergency signals.

The perception threads lay above the dust and extended quietly. Ye Qingxuan could feel the countless traps and alarms around and on the man. It was obvious that the surroundings had been changed into a battleground. He could feel the slightest movement. It would be difficult for a sneak attack. But if Ye Qingxuan tried to fight him directly, the enemy could send an alarm when given the chance and reinforcement would come quickly.

Taking on dark musicians who were all more powerful by himself… Ye Qingxuan could not even bear to think of the end. He could only find another way.

After thinking, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Let me see," he pulled Jiu Xiao Huan Pei out and looked down, "just how much emotional trauma has Avalon's Shadow left you?"

-

Herbert sat on the ground in the darkness with a deer-head instrument, deep in thought with his eyes closed. He played the instrument mindlessly but there was no sound. However, the seeds he planted grew quickly. The roots dug into the rock and they sprouted. The thin veins grew across the stone tiles and wall.

The thin vines were mutants he had developed with care. They were not eye-catching but were filled with numbing poison. It could numb a mammoth in an instant and paralyze it.

This was his most infamous tactic. Using the development method and music score from scripts passed down his family, he had killed many musicians and stolen their research material and inheritance. Because of this, he was able to go from a folk musician with no background to such a well-developed state. But when he gathered enough materials to become an official musician, he realized that he was a jack of all trades, not sophisticated in any one topic. It was difficult to continue on the path of becoming a musician.

This was why he accepted the parliament's invitation and traveled so far for this exploration. He wished to find precious texts and methods from the Royal Musician Division. However, he realized that it was not as perfect as he had imagined when he arrived.

This d*mn place was nothing like Anglo's capital. Instead, it was even eerier than the legends of the Dark World. What was in King Arthur's scepter that had created such a group of demons and such a strange place? And he could not help but get goosebumps and cold sweat. There was also that d*mn freak on the horse. Was King Arthur crazy enough to turn his knights into demons too?!

Just one strike, one strike… Six layers of protection had been split apart. A dark musician known for defense and resilience had been pulverized. Herbert had almost been cut in half from the wind. If the leading musician had not used a secret trick to muddle the knight's mind and won the chance to escape, they would have all died.

The one who had invited Herbert to join had died when they first entered the city. Herbert had not even dared to get close and just watched him get eaten from a distance. Now, he no longer hoped for any texts or rituals. He just wanted to leave this d*mn place safely.

This was why he chose to be the guard—it was safer. He could call for reinforcement if anything was wrong, or escape quickly if there was a problem inside.

It had already been an hour. His original tension and fear had relaxed, but he still did not dare let his guard down. He continuously planted his seeds, ready to fight at a moment's notice. However, a doubt that he could not face kept appearing in his mind.

Was this really useful against these creatures?

There seemed to be a soft chuckle in the darkness. Herbert shot up, gripping his alarm. "Who's there?!"

No one replied.

He looked around repeatedly in defense, but after a long while, all he could hear was the chilling wind from the cracks. It sounded like someone chuckling and singing. The voice wrapped around eerily.

It was wind. It was only wind.

He sighed and his trembling finger finally became stable, but he quickly heard a laugh in the wind again. The wind came from the far distance and had the aura of disaster.

The sound…the sound…was it the sound of a war stallion neighing?!

The horse's hooves sounded from far away. They clattered on Herbert's heart—those were the hooves, the hooves! They were like thunder and lightning beating against the earth, causing the earth to shake and dust to fly. Even the poisonous vines curled slightly.

The hooves pounded against the tiles. They had instantly become close. The almost-tangible pressure surged in like a tide, rushing into his limbs like solidifying cement until he was immobilized. Herbert was practically suffocating in that instant.

Was it it? It was…that d*mned creature!

Boom! The wall at the end of the tunnel before him crumbled. Broken tiles flew and darkness surged in. The headless stallion neighed in the darkness. On its back, the fallen demon knight unsheathed his sword. The heavy sword vibrated and sliced through the wind with a dragon-like roar.

Percival!

Herbert subconsciously pressed the alarm in his hands but he could not press it down as if it was broken.

Press! Press! Press! Press! Press… But there was no reaction no matter what he did!

Screaming, Herbert threw it away and grasped his deer-head instrument, strumming it harshly. The eyes of the sleeping deer-head flew open. Strange green light shone from its eyes.

It opened its mouth and screamed out a hoarse melody. The poisonous vines between the rocks shot forward to wrap around Percival. But Percival vaporized abruptly and re-solidified after it passed the vines. The dragon-scale sword roared in his hands and it swung down! It was over…

Herbert felt his vision go black.

Thud! As if a siege hammer had been rammed into his chest, he flew up and crashed against the wall. Immense pain spread from his chest to all his bones. He had broken at least four ribs, suffered internal bleeding and a concussion, and lost all sense of aether. But…why was he not dead?

"I'm not dead?" he murmured painfully, opening his eyes wide in confusion.

Before him, the wild dark knight dissipated, disappearing in a puff of black smoke. All that remained was an eerie shadow. He stood before Herbert with a cane, staring coldly. His left hand moved nimbly; the alarm that Herbert could not press had been torn to pieces, falling to the ground.

"Good evening, sir." Ye Qingxuan pressed the cane against Herbert's throat, forcing his chin up so he could look at Ye Qingxuan. "The weather's good tonight. It's a good time for a chat, don't you think?" Under the black hat, the youth's lips curled into a cold sneer. "I believe you'll tell me everything you know."

-

It was Die Nebensonnen in the beginning. Using Herbert's fear of Percival, Ye Qingxuan had caused him to panic merely by mimicking a horse's neigh. He then successfully guided Herbert to hallucinate the dark knight.

Then, bearing the burden, Ye Qingxuan took advantage of Herbert's panic to control his fingers with the perception threads, making him unable to press the alarm. Thankfully Herbert was already frightened. If he had any determination to raise the alarm even if it meant sacrificing himself to forcefully set it off, Ye Qingxuan would not have been able to win so easily. After all, an illusion could not kill.

The final success was the 'sighing' arm. He punched through all defense with one fist and smashed him into the wall. In half a minute, Ye Qingxuan used all his tricks to control Herbert. Thankfully the shoes Charles had made had thick rubber soles. The vines could not pierce into the robe either. Otherwise, Ye Qingxuan would be paralyzed on the ground now for anyone to kill.

Unfortunately, other than the deer-head instrument that required special playing techniques, this guy only had a few bags of seeds. However, he also had two rings with shield and attack effects. Ye Qingxuan took them without hesitation.

After asking a few questions, Ye Qingxuan could not help but sneer. "The parliament, as expected. How many people came? What level are you all?"

After the torture from Black Friday, Herbert surrendered easily. "Four—fourteen. Five died already, nine are left. There are eight without counting me. Two are Resonance level and the leader is Disturbance level."

"How did you enter?"

"Avalon's Shadow will wake soon. One of us is Hyakume's priest. He opened the path with the god's power."

"And you came in to die?" Ye Qingxuan laughed coldly. "How do you plan to exit?"

"I don't know. The leader has all the methods." Herbert shook his head bitterly. "I'd escape long ago if I knew how to get out."

"Why did you come to the Royal Musician Division?"

"Why did you come to the Royal Musician Division?" Ye Qingxuan regretted it as soon as he asked because the guy's face was filled with confusion. The shock of "What, this is the Royal Musician Division!" was written all over. He did not know anything! Then what use did he have?

Furrowing his brows, Ye Qingxuan was about to speak, but the broken alarm by his foot suddenly trembled with a strange sound. It traveled far instantly, causing his expression to darken.

"N-not me!" Herbert yelped when he saw Ye Qingxuan's face change. "I didn't do it! It's someone else's alarm! Someone else!"

The cane on his throat pressed down, almost suffocating him. The hoarse voice said, "You have five seconds to explain."

"This alarm connects to another touch-activated trap. I don't understand either." Tongue-tied, Herbert screamed but his eyes suddenly brightened. "I know, there must—must be other people who followed us in!"

"No sh*t, I did!" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. But when he heard the faint crashes and shuddering above him, he understood what Herbert meant. Did someone have the same idea as him? Regardless, he did not have much time. Looking down at Herbert who was crying pathetically, he could not help but sigh.

Seeing Ye Qingxuan like that, Herbert froze. Understanding something, he yelped, "Don't kill me! I can give you the secret implantation technique of the School of Choir to you…and money. I have sixty-thousand gold coins in my account. Sixty-thousand!" He looked at the youth and forced a fawning expression onto his face. "I've heard of you before. You're the Vengeful Spirit, right? You don't kill people."

"Yes, you're right. I can let you go." The youth lowered his eyes and slowly moved the cane on his throat away. Herbert was ecstatic, but then he felt a hand on his forehead. "But you've done so many immoral things with those dark musicians. Are you really innocent?" The youth's voice was filled with pity and overlooking coldness. "I can let you go, but will the people who you killed let you go?"

Herbert froze. His relieved eyes changed, the fawning smile and politeness disappeared, replaced by sinister eeriness. He looked up at the youth but his gaze was dragged into the youth's eyes.

Those eyes…seemed to be filled with hellish pain. Flames licked inside them—that was the resentment of the dead burning with heart-stopping beauty. Then a black river rushed over and swallowed him.

Herbert fell onto his back under the plaintive melody and sank into an endless nightmare. Ye Qingxuan slowly retracted his hand and left. After two steps, he paused and looked back. Having a mental breakdown, Herbert spasmed continuously but his body turned gray bit by bit until he stopped moving in the end.

He had turned to stone.

Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows at the strange transformation. He did not know his music score had this odd feature. If it was not him then there was only one answer.

The youth looked around in the darkness. Wind blew past, bringing with it a faint laugh. It seemed that there had been someone watching him ever since he entered Avalon's Shadow, being happy or sad for him, cheering him on. Perhaps this was a hallucination; perhaps it was not. Anything could happen in this f*cked up place. He decided to stop scaring himself now.

-

When he crawled out of the narrow opening, he found himself in the backyard of the Royal Musician Division. It used to be a garden but it was clearly not anymore. There were only shriveled and dried rhizomes stuck haphazardly in the dirt. They looked like an odd art piece made of steel wire under the faint light.

Light—there was light here.

Ye Qingxuan looked up and saw a lantern hanging on the wall in the near distance. The light was weak and the lantern was covered in dust as if it had been burning for a millennia.

Under the dim light, the barren garden had an unsettling atmosphere. Using the marks in the dirt, Ye Qingxuan found signs of people leaving as well as some alarm traps. These dark musicians really were careful. They had left traps after arranging sentries.

Under the seemingly-average traps, the perception threads sensed a chain-reaction of explosive traps. The aether within those was enough to blow half of the garden into the sky.

Just as he was sneaking around the trap area, the ground suddenly shook. A fulmination sounded by the door in the distance. The shaking almost set off the traps; Ye Qingxuan's face paled in fright! It would be really sad if he died for these stupid reasons.

He quickly ran to the safe zone and closed his eyes in deep thought. He pulled the perception threads into one spot and floated toward the source of the sound. After going past various buildings, the threads began to sense the scene.

The perception broke the moment it was created. The water vapor threads had evaporated due to the terrifying power at the scene.

Ye Qingxuan's forehead throbbed as if a hammer had hit it. He opened his eyes; his body was covered in cold sweat. For a moment, he could not see anything. He could only feel the darkness that hovered like mist.

The darkness was burning. If he had not cut off the connection simultaneously, the burning would probably have rushed into his mind along the perception thread. Then things would be fun.

If he had died because of this, it would probably be number one in "The Hundred Thousand Ways to Die in Avalon's Shadow." Of course, the prerequisite was that someone was bored enough to write a book like that.

It was clear that the Parliament's brash move had attracted something terrifying and big. It was now ramming against the enchantment around the Royal Musician Division. The enchantment, long abandoned, would not be able to survive for long. Ye Qingxuan and the dark musicians of the Parliament did not have much time. So what did these guys want?

Fleeting moonlight appeared around Ye Qingxuan once again, causing his body to become thin and difficult to detect. He followed the marks quickly. He was getting excited at the thought of putting a leg in this dramatic event, stirring things up, and feeding those guys some sh*t!

-

Dim moonlight swept under the eerie building. The illusion Lola put on Ye Qingxuan's body was clearly very high level, and contained music theory from the disturbance level. The distortion level was the peak of the resonance level. Going from 'resonance' between the musician and the world, to limited 'disturbance' of reality, to 'distortion' of the laws of physics—this level was power was the peak for a musician. If one went further, it would be the path to becoming a scepter and saint.

Especially since Lola was focusing on thought realization and could switch between reality and illusions by choice, she would enter the territory of 'nothingness' and 'not nothingness' if she continued to rise. Though this path was difficult, its power was incredible.

Moonlight covered his body and dragged him into another world where there were no obstacles. While it was exhausting, he continuously passed through various barriers and enchantments. Most of the enchantments set by the Royal Musician Division were nonexistent before the moonlight.

The more he traveled the more chills he felt. He became more and more cautious. He was now at the heart of the Royal Musician Division building and should be in the side hall. Though this ancient building no longer had any life to it, the lanterns were still lit.

After burning for who knew how many years, the lanterns still had a trace of kerosene. It was clearly out of the ordinary, but black zones were had always been out of the ordinary. This fact was strange but not unacceptable.

This entire time, Ye Qingxuan had not met anyone else, but he had seen many strange things, such as statues.

Whether he was in the backyard, the garden, the halls within the building, or even the servants' resting room, he could see these realistic statues. They smiled and stood in different places, maintaining their action at that moment. It was as if they had been transformed into stone at that moment. There was a strange smile on their faces rather than terror. Their eyes could still move.

From the distance, they could see through Ye Qingxuan's disguise. The stone eyes rolled over; nothing was in their empty eyes except for his face. They watched him come and watched him leave.

They had not done anything but Ye Qingxuan shuddered. What was with these weird things?! The entire way here, he saw signs of forceful cracking of the codes and traps. Broken statues lay in the center of the road. Fine red sand flowed from the cracks, floating in the air as if they were dancing in the dim light.

Ye Qingxuan covered his nose and bypassed them. He quickly caught up by using his understanding of architecture of familiarity of the Royal Musician Division and got ahead of the dark musicians—this was all thanks to Ye Lanzhou.

Ye Lanzhou had not stayed in the Royal Musician Division for long but he had taken his song everywhere. Ye Qingxuan still remembered how to go from the conference room to the bathroom. However, the more he remembered its original appearance, the more unsettled he felt.

The statues along the way were all dressed like servants or nobles. No one wore the robe of the Royal Musician Division. Where did all the musicians go?

During his rushed walking, his steps suddenly stopped. He looked up and saw that the clock on the wall had stopped moving. It was forever paused at that moment.

It was 8:10 at night. Eight ten… Ye Qingxuan quietly memorized this time. He compared the direction of the parliament's dark musicians and finally locked onto the final destination—the banquet hall on the third floor.

"You've come this far just to have a picnic at dinner time?" he could not help but mutter as he looked toward the stairs. "Too much time on your hands?"

Boom! An explosion sounded from the direction of the front hall. Smoke rose; the smell of rusting metal sand traveled with the cold wind. The enchantment had finally shattered.

The dust-covered steel gate suddenly shook. The black aura around it danced, scraping past the musician's face like a blade, causing sparks to fly.

Before the steel gate, a burly and unfamiliar man raised his hammer. The strange and muscular skeleton enlarged his body. As the strange music played, he expanded to more than three meters tall. The ragged red robe around him showed signs of battle. There was also the Eyes Within the Eye before his heart.

A distorted song came from his chest as if his internal organs were singing. His already-exaggerated muscles bulged once again amidst this song. His hammer swung down but there was no sound!

All the power had been poured into the single nail, forcing it through the thick steel gate bit by bit. The dark cloud around the gate weakened a bit with each inch the nail dug in. There had already been six nails hammered into the gate. This was the last one.

Enchantment-breaking nails. These were alchemy items used for unearthing ancient ruins. By pushing the nails made of alloy into the node of the enchantment, one could disrupt the flow of aether and force an entrance into the enchantment.

"Eziz, hurry up," said Aloise, the dark lord clad in a red robe behind him. He held an aether ball the size of a fist in his hand.

Silver spots shone on the ball, representing the surrounding aether waves. In the distance, a writhing ball of darkness approached quickly. The darkness changed but no matter how he tried to investigate it, he could not see what was truly under the darkness. An abyss was approaching quickly, choosing prey to swallow.

One must know that even a Round Table knight who had transformed into a dark knight after falling would be revealed on the aether ball. So what demonic thing was this?! To be honest, he did not want to know at all. He just wanted to finish his mission before this thing arrived and then use his powers to escape.

Narrowing his eyes, he recited the god's name, pushing down the unsettled feeling. He had entered the Disturbance level long ago with Hyakume's blessing, he still felt unsettled here—after all, Avalon's Shadow was where the late King Arthur's scepter was. And why did the Royal Musician Division turn the banquet hall into a fortress? What did they hide inside?

"The door's almost open. Everyone, be careful," he ordered quietly.

The six dark musicians behind him emanated with an aura of destruction thick enough to be tangible. The black zone completely immersed with negativity was their paradise. Merely entering here had increased their power, practically allowing them to pass a whole level.

The steel gate vibrated lowly but the darkness around it scattered. The seal had been forced apart by the enchantment-breaking nails!

Pop! There was the sound of a bubble popping. The area surrounded by the seven enchantment-breaking nails shattered abruptly, flowing down as steel sand. A rotting odor thick enough to be liquid spewed out from behind the door!

At the very front, Eziz's expression changed abruptly. He squatted and rolled, barely missing the attack. The gray air instantly moved through the hallway and disappeared. Eziz climbed up from the corner with difficulty. Seeing the grayness crawl up his skin, he quickly grabbed a bottle of medicine from his waist and poured it onto himself.

Sizzle! After the sounds of corrosion, the rusting scent disappeared but the muscular arm and half a chest had been corroded to the bone. Eziz's face twisted. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his ragged red robe tightly, covering the bones that made up his body. He had been lucky and dodged the attack, but his companions were not as lucky.

Lord Aloise had been swallowed completely. Gray mist snaked around his entire body as if Avalon's fog was wrapped around him, eating away his body bit by bit. His body changed dramatically under the grayness.

He transformed into a large werewolf instantly. After the werewolf was corroded by the grayness, the wolf quickly caved in and shriveled into a short and ugly dwarf. When the dwarf was corroded, he changed again, this time into something half-eagle and half-man.

This transformation survived longer but still could not fight the grayness off. Having already lost two bodies, he took off a bell from his waist with difficulty and shook strongly.

And so the sharp cry of an eagle sounded out of thin air. The apparition of a man with an eagle's head and two wings appeared behind him. It waved, dissipating the rusting odor, murmured something, and disappeared.

Aloise knelt onto the ground and fervently recited a scripture. He did not look back until his god's physical incarnation had been sent away. Of the six dark musicians behind him, only three and a half were still alive.

Two had been completely turned to stone after being shrouded in the gray mist. One had abandoned his body. In his last moment, his head had been yanked out of his neck, along with half a spine, with feet sprouting out like a centipede. Now he wandered aimlessly, still in shock.

"Let's not waste any more time. We must grasp the timing." Aloise coughed hoarsely and held his aether ball. He crossed the crack after confirming that there were no more dangers inside.

The gentle light fell onto his face. His wizened face was covered in wounds and blood seeped out; it was a mournful sight. But when he saw the inside of the banquet hall, deep fear appeared on that face involuntarily. Who were the true dark musicians who worshipped Satan?

"What did you do exactly?" he muttered hoarsely.

-

The banquet hall finally had new guests after such a long time. It was still filled with light; the chandeliers hung above the room, untouched by dust. It was a glamorous sight with pure white walls, pillars covered in gold foil, finely embossed and luxurious tiles, and gentle music that still echoed.

The melody was gentle and beautiful. It wrapped around one's ears, causing one to feel peaceful and serene. But here, it gave one the chills. This was not a melody that should appear at a banquet—this was Requiem No. 6 that Anglo musicians only played at funerals!

"With the aether above, the dead would not decay." Of course their bodies did not decay. The noble guests sat on either side of the only table in the room. Not a thread was out of place on their formal wear; their expressions were dignified and lifelike.

There was the leader of the thirteen orchestras of all Anglo musicians. He was a Distortion musician, second only to a saint. In the center was the commander of the Royal Musician Division. He wore a crystal crown and white clothing and sat elegantly in his seat. His expression was serious and awesome.

However, everyone was constrained to their metal chairs by heavy shackles. The shackles had been nailed into their bones and extended from their joints. They had become one with the heavy metal chair. How were they a group of musicians?

They had been treated like a group of rabid dogs, but their expressions were so solemn, demanding respect and awe. Time seemed to have stopped at the moment they raised their glasses to celebrate and drank the wine. The glasses were still in their hands but they never moved again.

Aloise looked at his companions. Someone went forward and cautiously stuck a finger into the glass. He dabbed a bit of the dried powder and tasted it. Crackles came from his throat instantly. He doubled over and began vomiting out fossilized flesh. The blood and flesh dropped onto the ground with echoes.

"Drug of Penglai," the man said with difficulty. "F*ck, where did they get so much of this? Many of the plants went extinct before the Dark Age ended!"

Most dark musicians studied the School of Choir to transform their bodies, so many were experts at drugs and medicines. Some had even contributed to the School of Choir and were pioneers in the forbidden field of mutations as well.

Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed. According to legends, the drug of Penglai was the key to immortality, but everyone knew that that was bullsh*t. No one on this Earth could be immortal—no one.

In the beginning, alchemists and herbalists from the East had wanted to create a drug that could help one sense the Originator. They had succeeded and those that took the drug received the power to undergo sublimation in the Originator. The cost was that they would lose their body and life. Their flesh would turn into stone and never decay as if they were immortal.

For a moment, their minds were able to cross through the limitations of time and see the distant past and future, see the stars in the sky and the demons behind the stars, or see the fire underground and the sins hidden inside the fire. Perhaps they melded into the Originator at the end and reached all-knowing enlightenment. Perhaps they had merely died. Who knew?

No one knew…

No one knew why this group of musicians that made up Anglo had joined here at this time and chose to swallow this drug to commit suicide.

Expressionless, Aloise walked past the musicians on either side and stopped before the solemn leader. He reached out and picked up the thin piece of paper before him that had degraded through time.

The names of the thirteen men and their last words were written there: "Here, we sacrifice our life to the almighty and all-powerful king. May the gods protect the kingdom and may my king protect me."

A breeze blew past, crumbling the paper to powder and blowing it away.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The entire banquet hall suddenly shook. Cracks appeared on the walls. An enormous object seemed to be charging against the wall on the other side of the banquet.

It was a ball of burning of darkness.

It had come.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The entire banquet hall suddenly shook. Cracks appeared on the walls. An enormous object seemed to be charging against the wall on the other side of the banquet. It had come…

"Everyone, stop wasting time and hurry up!" Aloise commanded loudly. "The object is here. Hurry and find it! Otherwise, we'd have sacrificed everything for nothing."

The remaining 'three-and-a-half' men quickly began moving without needing his command.

Eziz took his bag off and flipped it over, dumping out a pile of metal plates onto the ground. The music scores carved onto the plates flashed. They absorbed the aether and transformed into hundreds of spiders. The teeming metal spiders spread from him and combed the ground, looking through everything carefully. The others showcased their skills as well. Even the musician with only a head was looking nonstop.

The ceiling, walls, corners, tables, cups, the fossilized royal musicians… Soon, the entire banquet hall had been searched over but they did not find anything except silver utensils!

Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing…There was nothing!

"Search again!" Aloise roared. He began hacking at the floorboards in hysteria, searching for the object that did not belong there and destroying everything he touched.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The crack on the wall grew bigger and an almost-tangible black aura seeped in from the crack. The seal of the entire banquet hall had collapsed. Time that had been at a standstill for a millennium began flowing again. It transformed from a small trickle to a waterfall. Years flashed past in a snap of a finger. Everything began aging, eroding, and turning into dust.

The gentle melody now transformed into a howling and wailing cry. It broke down and dissipated. All opulence quickly faded, turned obscure, and became rubbish. The bodies of the thirteen musicians at either side of the table quickly cracked as well. The solemn faces caved in, wrinkles growing.

They instantly became aged. Their hair turned white and fell, revealing the ugly scalps. Wrinkles covered the fossilized flesh and decayed, revealing white bones. Everything turned to flying dust. Flying dust and smoke.

Boom! The wall collapsed!

Eziz turned in shock and saw it, and his upper body disappeared. All that remained were two legs standing on the ground. However, Eziz did not feel anything. He just looked at the guests of the banquet hall in ecstasy.

Something shone within the thirteen weathered skeletons.

As the skeletons shattered, the glow hidden within reappeared with the wind and burned like fire. As if sensing the reappearance of the glow, the clock tower at Avalon's peak abruptly began ringing. The bell was grave and awe-inspiring. The corpses dissipated; the light shot to the sky and transformed into meteorites, flying in all directions of Avalon's Shadow.

"Capture them!" Aloise reached out and his ten fingers left his hands. Blood spewed from his fingers like living snakes and enveloped the scattering light with a wild melody. The other dimmer rays of light had scattered in all directions, but four beams were caught. There was a solemn sword, an odd black hat, a crystal eye, and an ancient scroll…

"Here!" Ecstatic, Aloise grasped them. "You're here! Oh, God bless!"

"Really?" Someone smiled in the darkness. "Then, thank him for me."

A beam of moonlight suddenly shone in from outside the steel gate's crack. It rushed toward the four meteorites stopped in the air. This sudden change caused everyone's expression to change. The youth's speed under the moonlight was incredibly fast and he flew into the sky instantly.

"Stop him!" Aloise yelled.

The bodiless musician flew up. He sang a dark hymn and swelled into a strange bird that rushed toward the youth's face.

Boom! In the air, the human figure waved and a flame ignited on the arm's armor plate—the Sighing Shake!

The strange bird was hit squarely. The power enough to siege a city stronghold poured onto him without restraint. Six levels of defenses crumbled instantly. Being so small, the bird exploded. The newly-born feathers fell to the ground. The hairless bird caved in, turned into a ball of ground meat, and was slapped onto the wall. One could not even peel it off.

Immediately after, the human figure raised his cane toward the other preparing musicians with an odd smile. With a shake, the cane narrowed and a mist of blood seeped out, dying the amber tip red. Chaotic lightning brewed inside the bloody red.

"Do not let the three realms turn to ash!"

Blinding light shot out, a scalding flood surged, and electricity flew. Thunder dragons plowed through two musicians in the way and finally converged on the cane, tearing apart the surroundings of the blood light. The four beams of light instantly flew in all directions.

In a hurry, he randomly snatched the closest one and found that it was the strange hat. Though it was old fashioned, it seemed durable and easy to clean. The inside was also carved with music scores and had strong waves of aether. This suited him well!

"This hat is nice. It's mine now!" The youth laughed in the air and rolled onto the ground.

Aloise had no time to bother with him. Abandoning everything, he pounced onto the crystal eye shooting toward the wall. A ray of blood light flew out of his aged body, shedding the flesh like taking off clothing.

He transformed into a sinister demon with a man's body, eagle's head, and two wings on his back—he was clearly a soldier transformed by a natural catastrophe! Using all his power, his speed was unbelievable and instantly caught up to the eyeball that was about to fly out the wall. But…did he forget something?

"Garbage, back off!" Outside the broken wall, a sharp roar sounded in the surging darkness. A translucent jade-like hand clawed at his face. They were meters away but his five sharp claw-marks appeared on his body, practically ripping him apart. Blood shone and his wounds could not heal. It was as if he was naturally incomplete.

Firebird! It was Firebird?!

Aloise screamed instantly, ordering the two others to protect him. The two dark musicians were forced to transform into their true nature and pounce on the creature attacking from the dark.

The darkness swallowed them and there was no more sound from them.

In the blink of an eye, Aloise had the crystal eye in his hand, quickly swallowed it, and rolled onto the ground. The two dark musicians that had charged into the darkness finally reappeared. Their corpses rolled out from the darkness.

They were completely broken as if they were wearing many layers of clothing. One layer was skin, one was flesh, one was internal organs, one was bone. It was as if they had been sent to the surgical table, were quietly dissected by dozens of doctors for hours until each organ was dissected, and were now placed neatly on the ground.

They were a beauty and joy to look at…as if!

"No way!" Ye Qingxuan muttered.

Seeing the corpses roll out, he was tongue-tied. He looked toward the ball of burning darkness. It danced and thinned, revealing half a scaly claw from within. It was a slim yet wild body. The white clothing had been dyed red. For a moment, the figure was beautiful, dazzling, and flirtatious.

The Ripper!

"What drug did you take? How are you suddenly this powerful?"

Ye Qingxuan's entire body froze. Those two dark musicians were many times more powerful than him, but had been turned into that state instantly. If the Ripper was this powerful last time, it would not be enough for her to play with even if Ye Qingxuan had two hundred legs!

"Dirty." a hoarse voice sounded in the darkness as if in reply or just a monologue. "Dirty again, dirty again…Purify, must purify…purify the outsiders…purify disgrace…purify garbage, purify, purify, purify, purify, purify…"

"Hey, can you say something else?" Of course, Ye Qingxuan was not stupid enough to say that aloud but it felt good to mutter it silently. It was clear that the Ripper found him dirty and wanted to clean him out.

"But isn't it tiring to clean the entire Avalon's Shadow? When will you even finish? Won't you go crazy? Wait…the Ripper's probably crazy already." For a moment, realization flashed through Ye Qingxuan's eyes and he felt pity. It was so sad that she had gone crazy from cleaning.

To be honest, he was impressed by himself for being able to talk nonsense to himself under this kind of situation. However, it was clear that he was not the Ripper's main target. It was Aloise, Satan's soldier who had a much darker aura. That guy's destructive aura was almost thick enough to be juiced. If Ye Qingxuan was the Ripper, he would be the first to go! But what happened next was totally unexpected.

On the ground, Aloise watched as the Ripper walked toward him. He suddenly laughed and shook the small bell in his hand. Ding dong~

The crisp sound was mixed with the odd cawing of an eagle. The blood light around him shook, left his body, and flowed into the bell, which shattered immediately. It transformed into a bloody vortex. A hand reached out and pulled him away.

He escaped? Escaped! That *sshole had activated Avalon's Shadow's exit and escaped!

Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded.

"F*ck, where's your dignity as a musician? Aren't you afraid of embarrassing your god by running without a fight?! And if you ran…then what am I going to do?"

Not only was his wish of leaving shattered, his body began trembling before he even had time to fear, because the Ripper looked over in the darkness, as if looking at something dirty. The cleaning was about to begin…

Not only was his wish of leaving shattered, his body began trembling before he even had time to fear because the Ripper looked over in the darkness as if looking at something dirty. The cleaning was about to begin…

Frozen, Ye Qingxuan stared blankly behind the Ripper. His eyes were in despair. "Percival?"

In the silence, the Ripper did not look back. Unmoving, she just stared at Ye Qingxuan.

Ye Qingxuan froze, swore in his mind, and ran. "This is horrible! Even psychotics didn't fall for these distractions anymore! How can I live anymore?!"

In that moment, he felt the moonlight on his body shake violently. A large majority of it was used up in an instant. It was dim like a flickering candle in the wind. A shallow claw-mark was scratched onto his back. The burning darkness chased after him like a sarcoptic mange.

Panicking, Ye Qingxuan could not worry about his body anymore. He adjusted the steel skeleton within his robe to the most extreme mode and shot forward like an arrow. Each step taken was as painful as doing a split, but his speed had increased by three times.

And it was thirty times with the help of the moonlight. His body transformed into a shadow and rushed inside the Royal Musician Division's building. He did not look back as he ran crazily but fulminations sounded continuously behind him.

He did not dare to look back—he was scared that if he did, he would see the Ripper right before his eyes, reflecting his pale face in hers. In situations like these, he should just focus on running until he ran out of energy!

The moonlight was used up quickly, dying away like a candle in the wind until all that remained was a small flicker. The tiny moonlight made Ye Qingxuan's face ghastly pale as he panted.

He discovered an even worse problem—he was too tired!

"If I can survive, I'll start running from today. I'll practice for the marathon and exercise for Anglo," he vowed silently. With the last of his strength, he sprinted toward the corner, covered his head, and broke through the window!

Boom! The youth spun in the air and landed in the center of a silent street. He climbed up with a roll and rushed toward deeper into the dark street.

The Ripper's cruel figure was only a step away but did not chase after him. The figure stopped behind the broken window and looked at him coldly. Having escaped, Ye Qingxuan could not help but be proud. After a few more steps and turns, he would have widened the gap and lost the Ripper; however, there were no "few more steps."

Under the cold moonlight at the end of the street, a headless stallion screamed. The dark on the horse hoisted his dragon scale sword. The blade reflected the moonlight, chilling Ye Qingxuan's heart. It illuminated the bitter tears in his heart.

"You really came! Uh, I was just kidding about you coming. Can you please go back?" he pleaded internally. But it was obvious that that was impossible.

Ye Qingxuan stopped and looked back at the Ripper, who was staring at him coldly. Then he looked forward to the dark knight, who was preparing to charge. This was depressing.

The dark knight before him, the Ripper behind him…He was dead!

But unpredictably, there seemed to be a sigh. A familiar shadow jumped down from the wall. It looked at him with disdain and turned around. Nudging the manhole beside him, it opened its mouth and said, "Bark!"

This meant, "What are you waiting for? Jump, dumb*ss!"

Ye Qingxuan swore that he had never felt so mindblown in his entire life. The last time he had a similar feeling was when he saw his senior running down the streets nude. This time, it was seeing Old Phil appear in Avalon's Shadow.

"Y-y-you…" Tongue-tied, it felt as if all his world views had been shattered. "I—I…you…"

Old Phil rolled its eyes and jumped down. It meant, "You can keep waiting if you want to die but I'm leaving!"

Not daring to hesitate, Ye Qingxuan quickly jumped in and followed Old Phil forward. The dog walked quickly and twisted and turned in the complicated sewer system. Ye Qingxuan soon lost his sense of direction.

Thank god the Ripper and dark knight did not follow. Perhaps the entrance was too narrow for them or too dirty, or perhaps they had started fighting on the surface.

Anyway, Ye Qingxuan had survived sure death and his eyes teared up involuntarily. As he continued walking for who knew how long, he started hearing a trickle of water under his feet.

Ye Qingxuan had stepped into a puddle. Soon, he discovered that it was the Blood Path he had lost.

Old Phil picked up the pace; Ye Qingxuan had to run to catch up.

Suddenly, he heard the roar of water. When he rounded the corner, he saw the foul-smelling populated water rush down the sewage pipe. There were rotting vegetables in the water, along with a rotting scent. When he looked back, the Blood Path was no longer there. There was only a dusty wall covered in spider webs.

He had…exited Avalon's Shadow?

-

Under the weak light of dawn, Ye Qingxuan carefully pushed the manhole cover and peeked out at the world. He saw the chaotic market, the weak street cleaner, and a muscular middle-aged woman with a basin of dirty water.

Wait…dirty water?

With a slosh, the water splashed all over Ye Qingxuan's face. It was the smell and feeling he was familiar with. Yes, it was the dirty water used for boiling chicken feathers; however, he laughed involuntarily after the shock.

He had really come out?!

Under everyone's stunned gazes, a strange man climbed out of the sewer with a giant dirty dog and began cheering as if he had received a new life. The terrified middle-aged woman gaped at his happy state. After a long while, she spat out, "This isn't my fault. There's something wrong with his head."

-

Ten minutes later, he arrived at the large hall of the Caput mansion.

Pinching her nose, Lola looked at him in disgust. "Did you climb out of a landfill?"

"Probably," With a wry chuckle, Ye Qingxuan collapsed onto the sofa and waved. "Stop caring about all that. Give me something to eat and then let me sleep."

Seeing how he did not take himself as an outsider, and his unapologetic expression, Lola's face instantly darkened. "You think my home is a hotel and you can come and go as you wish? Also, why do you bring everything here? Get that dog out of here!"

"Huh?" Confused, Ye Qingxuan looked to Old Phil. It was sitting beside him on the sofa. It was dirty and left a bunch of black marks on Lola's favorite lush Indian rug. Now, it was side-eyeing Lola arrogantly.

Ye Qingxuan's expression grew wry. "You might not believe it, but that's my savior. I'm alive because of him!"

"Ha!" Lola was clearly close to losing her temper. With a dark expression, she gritted out, "Your savior sure is special! Ye Qingxuan, can you think before you make things up?"

"Anyway, just believe me. I'm so tired." Ye Qingxuan held Lola's shoulder with his dirty hands, leaving two handprints on her white shirt. "Can you let me sleep first? We can talk about things later."

"Ye Qingxuan, you're getting more and more reckless." As a clean freak, Lola was so angry her eyes were twitching. Squeezing out an eerie smile, she said, "Sure, you can sleep. Would you like Sister to accompany you?"

Ye Qingxuan instantly grew shy. Scratching his face, he stammered, "This…Thanks but no thanks, Auntie."

Thud! He flew out and landed outside the door.

"Ye Qingxuan!" In her original spot, Lola's hair had turned snow-white from anger. Sharp fangs poked from her mouth, her eyes were murderous, and her face was cold. Though she had bad temper, anyone would be pissed at this!

First, she used up all her strength to save him after learning he had entered Avalon's Shadow. Then, she waited for an entire night in worry, and finally, he came back with a dirty dog, smelling like he was pulled out a landfill.

Furthermore, he did not even say a single word of thanks. Not only was her night of worry and waiting were wasted on a dirty dog, Ye Qingxuan had said something no woman could bear. One must admit that Ye Qingxuan deserved it!

But after a while, Ye Qingxuan was still unmoving on the ground. Blanching, Lola went over and kicked his face. On the ground, Ye Qingxuan rolled over and snored. He was sleeping like a dead dog. He was so infuriating that he made one want to step on that face.

Yes, Lola felt much better after stepping on him. She looked up and called, "Sam!"

Soon, the ugly and lame servant stumbled over. Lola glanced at him and pointed at Old Phil on the sofa. "Get it some food and wash it. Note, it eats whatever you eat. It must eat better than you, understand?"

Sam's features spasmed but he nodded.

Looking away, Lola bent down and tugged at Ye Qingxuan's pant cuff. Dragging the youth as if he was a dead dog, she stumbled clumsily up the stairs. Finally, she pushed open her bedroom door and tossed him on the bed.

She finally remembered that he smelled really bad! Heart breaking, she gazed at her bedroom and her bed. When she saw Ye Qingxuan, she was so angry her teeth were sore. But after a while, she could only sigh.

Whatever. They were all useless now, so she would just change everything. There was no need to feel sad. Glancing at how deeply Ye Qingxuan was sleeping, she felt her own fatigue. After all, she had used up too much strength and had waited for a whole night.

She yawned and turned to leave. After two steps, she turned around angrily and glared at Ye Qingxuan. Why did she have to sleep in the guest room? This was her bedroom and her bed!

And so Ye Qingxuan was kicked to the side. Lola pulled down the curtains and carefully rolled out the unsullied blankets. Rolling herself into a cocoon, she closed her eyes. However, it felt weird without a pillow.

After a while, she surrendered and pulled an arm over. Putting the arm under her head, she closed her eyes. She felt much better imagining she was using a bag of the world's best blood as her pillow. She slept heavily.