Silent Crown

At the moment, the projection of the Net of Aether crossed thousands of miles and emerged from Ye Qingxuan’s broken chest.

Rommel’s pupils instantly dilated. Not only did Ye Qingxuan’s aura not weaken as Rommel had expected, but instead, brilliant flares radiated from it towards the surroundings, like an extinguished sun that was reignited.

It was as if his entire person had become a catastrophe!

Then only did he realize that from the very beginning, he was mistaken about the most crucial issue.

What on earth was the Net of Aether?

At the very first moment the Net of Aether appeared, as an existence that could subvert the entire system of musicians, it had become a significant enemy of the Sacred City. The one bearing the brunt of the Sacred City’s retaliation was its master, Ye Qingxuan.

As for the reason why the King of Red did not react on the spot, other than him being indebted to Ye Lanzhou and his promise to the latter, what was more important was… the immortality of catastrophes.

Except for the Son of God of the Orthodox Church of the Caucasus, who annihilated the Eagle Wing Mother, humans had yet to master the power to bypass the real body of a catastrophe and directly eliminate it. Unless the real body of the catastrophe was found, even if he had reacted hastily, his efforts would have been useless, like an attempt to fish out the moon from the water in the well. Therefore, all along, God knew how many were madly searching for the real body of the Net of Aether, using all their technology and hidden means to find its source.

It was a pity that the thought that the source of the catastrophe was right in front of them, it had never crossed their minds.

The real body of the Net of Aether was hanging high in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, brazenly projecting above the skies of Avalon! Those who confined their thinking to the past ages could not understand what the Net of Aether actually was.

It was not a power, nor a living thing; it was a link of countless people resonating and countless Heaven Ladders intersecting. It was the embryo of the future, something beyond the eight phenomena… the ninth big phenomenon!

In the link of the Net of Aether, every musician who was using the Net of Aether could be seen as part of it!

It was especially true for Ye Qingxuan, who had the core authority. As long as the music theory of the Heaven Ladder still existed, and the resonance was still taking place, he could at any time be regarded as the real body of the Net of Aether!

As long as Ye Qingxuan was willing, he could kill himself at any time, abandon his identity as a human being, transfer his consciousness to the real body of the Net of Aether, and attain what Arthur dreamed of in the past—become an actual catastrophe!

It was just that Ye Qingxuan had never thought of doing so. For him, having the future unlocked by the Net of Aether was enough. What he wanted to do was to take the path to the end and completely grasp the incorporeal future in his hands.

…

In the rumble, the deck of the Mountain of Nomadism opened up, and a huge main battery tens of meters high extended from the deck. It aimed at the direction of the Stronghold on Sea and targeted the projection of the Savior. Although it had clearly run out of resources, it began an act of provocation rather over-confidently.

However, the main battery was completely different from all previous designs. Not only was it more than ten times larger than the ordinary large-scale main batteries on ships, but there were also altogether nine gun bodies. They were beside each other, and the nine dark guns aimed right at the front.

Neither its designer, the patriarch of the Chainsaw Fraternity, nor the Royal Institute of Research responsible for its construction would have known that the main battery named after the pagan god, Hephaestus the fire god, would make its first appearance in such a tragic situation.

Before it had even fired once, the Mountain of Nomadism was almost falling apart already. Furthermore, its controller was Ye Qingxuan, who was only surviving barely with the catastrophe.

Even the two combined together would not affect Rommel.

Saint Hendel could only sublime once in his whole life, descending on earth as a savior. No matter which catastrophe the opponent was, even if it was Hyakume who descended during the period of turbulence in the Sacred City, he would have zero possibility of failure.

At the moment, he was temporarily on the same level as the Three Kings! He was the savior, the representative chosen by the Holy Cauldron, the embodiment of power!

“Is it what you are relying on?” Rommel lifted the sword of flames indifferently and aimed at Ye Qingxuan from afar.

“Wait, there’s more, there’s more!” Ye Qingxuan raised a hand and stopped him. “I haven’t finished speaking yet. What’s the difference between fronting without completely explaining and wearing fancy clothes while traveling at night [1]? Moreover, you aren’t exactly short of time, just consider it a chat!”

“Do you think delaying time will be useful?” Rommel sneered.

But in this regard, Ye Qingxuan was in no hurry. Instead, he calmly continued talking nonsense, “Actually, after I created the Net of Aether, a new movement suddenly appeared in my scepter, as if it should have been there all along.

“All the music theory and methods of use are clearly stated. However, its creator is not me, but a man named Antonín Dvořák from centuries later. Very strange, right?

“I think that it is probably the advance payment for the path of realizing a legend. If history can develop according to the path I have envisaged, then centuries later, new results and miracles will be born…

“Look, how wonderful. In countless possible futures, there must surely be countless brilliant fruits of wisdom and achievements?

“Such is the most arrogant belief of the Sacred City. You all think that you can maintain the past for an eternity, but compared to the world and its vast future, be it humans or catastrophes, everything is as small and insignificant as a speck of dust.

“Not even worth mentioning.”

Ignoring Rommel’s scornful look, Ye Qingxuan’s gaze became cold. “It seems that only after a personal experience will you understand how small and insignificant you are.” In his chest, the projection of the Net of Aether slowly rotated, and the projection of the Land of Dreams emerged from the Mountain of Nomadism.

In the majesty and music theory of the Savior, the incorporeal scepter was turbulent and became like a moon in the well or a flower in the water, more and more fleeting. However, as Ye Qingxuan raised his palm slightly, in the fleeting projection, a fiery starlight emerged, breaking through the deep darkness of the night sky.

It was a musical movement!

The movement operated in the projection of the Land of Dreams, emitting a vast brilliance.

As if the sky was the drum that was being beaten, the light of the stars pulsed, beating along with the rhythm. Then, the second brilliance rose from the darkness, it was the second star, the second movement…

The stars echoed each other and resonated, and the operation of the universe began.

At the moment, Rommel’s expression finally changed. In the projection of the Land of Dreams, the vast and huge void of the universe, starlight emerged one after another from the darkness, the third, the fourth, the fifth…

The melody that was fleeting and faraway gradually became grand, countless stars leaped out of the darkness, playing the prelude that sang praises of the new world.

Hundreds, thousands, more than ten thousand…

In the end, the stars all over the sky revolved, and the melodies of the stars were united as one, turning into a terrifying symphony in which its grandness transcended human imagination.

Tens of thousands of stars shone brightly in the night sky.

The countless glows that seemed like stars shining bright were countless movements being gathered together! It was a terrifying number that exceeded the limits of human imagination; a horrifying force that could power the operation of the universe after myriads of tiny stars gathered together!

How many musicians were needed to mobilize the sea of aether at the same time to form something of such a terrifying scale? How brilliant must the future be to evolve into the mighty starry sky?

At the moment, the future that was originally fleeting and distant, the blueprint that had only existed in Ye Qingxuan’s vision, was finally instantiated on the present world via the projection of the Land of Dreams!

…

At the moment, in the distant Avalon, beneath the cold skies that spilled countless flashes of lighting down, in the shining brilliance of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, countless mass-produced musicians maintaining the Avalon enchantment with all their might all shook. At the moment, they heard the brilliant melody from afar.

Then, above the skies, the reflection of the Net of Aether shone brightly. Numerous strands of Heaven Ladder music theory emerged from the huge polygon. In an instant, after crossing thousands of miles, under the guidance of Ye Qingxuan, they connected to the pool of aether of the Mountain of Nomadism.

Then, it was as if the floodgate of the sea of light was opened, the fiery tide of aether surged on the Heaven Ladder, forming a torrent visible to the naked eye.

In a flash, it traversed thousands of miles, whistling.

At the moment, hundreds of large-scale instruments of harmonious melody exploded with a bang under the pressure that exceeded their limit by more than ten times. Then, on the dozens of islands surrounding Avalon, the spare instruments of harmonious melody were all launched, sharing the pressure distributed by the Net of Aether.

Amid the piercing alarms, one after another large-scale instruments of harmonious melody were continuously connected to the Net of Aether, and they were soon scrapped one batch after another. The war equipment considered incredibly precious in the past could only be used as consumables at the moment, desperately overloading to share the terrifying power brought about by the Net of Aether.

Responding to Ye Qingxuan’s scepter, the brilliance of countless stars lit up in the huge crystal polygon. It was innumerable musical movements. Countless strands of music theory intertwined together, endlessly extracting the power of the Net of Aether.

However, despite clearly losing such a huge amount of aether reserve, above Avalon, the enchantment that was supported by tens of thousands of mass-produced musicians did not tremble at all, and it was still firmly withstanding the aftermath of Gungnir, not in the slightest bit affected.

As the huge power was withdrawn, the Net of Aether actually became more and more agile, as if it had been freed of a huge burden, and the efficiency more than doubled.

In addition to supplying the defenses of all the mass-produced musicians, the remaining carrying capacity had even completely taken over the control and regulation of the National Defense Front. It was done combing through the intricate and complicated leylines in an instant, tightening the security of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth by several times, until no loopholes were present at all.

At the moment, with the guidance of the Heaven Ladder, countless musical movements that had transformed into the brilliance of stars crossed thousands of miles and cast themselves into the pool of aether of the Mountain of Nomadism, showering the entire huge battleship in the flares of the stars, burning fiercely!

At the moment, the countless stars followed the seven systems of the musicians, and, under the control of the Land of Dreams, they were divided into seven constellations. In the projection of the scepter, they slowly rotated around the Mountain of Nomadism.

The sea of stars was brilliant.

In the endless movement, uncountable strands of music theory were born and destroyed, bringing about an unparalleled gravitational pull. The huge weight tore the iron law of the physical world apart, causing the ocean to cave in. A massive amount of seawater was pushed outwards in all directions, revealing the dry ocean floor. The ocean floor rumbled and broke, with cracks all over.

The barrier of the realm of aether was crushed, and the sky was dyed with the miraculous brilliance, making it appear bizarre and motley. Even the sea of aether was temporarily evaporated and extracted, blending into the sky…

Since the beginning of mankind, such a situation and scene had never occurred.

How many musicians must have painstakingly put in all this effort to gather such a massive amount of musical movements, and where must the future lead to for such a magnificent starry sky to be born!

As Ye Qingxuan had said, compared to the world and the vast future, be it catastrophes or human beings, or even the Savior who had descended, all of them were as small and insignificant as dust particles. Such was the power he gained from his scepter, the movement that foretold the resplendent future.

Like the Net of Aether, it couldn’t be used for killing, nor could it be used for defense. Moreover, it could only be effective when used together with the Net of Aether. It was an advanced music theory created specifically for the Net of Aether. Its only use was to let people play musical movements in advance and store them in the Net of Aether, to be accessed anytime in the next 18 hours as necessary.

After the deadline was exceeded, the movement could no longer be stored and would dissipate completely.

It was only a minor change compared to the huge overall situation.

But while the Net of Aether was a revolution targeting musicians, it was the revolution regarding the Net of Aether carried out by future musicians. The change alone made it such that the Net of Aether no longer needed to play musical movements in real time. Instead, by relying on the bearing capability of itself and the instruments of harmonious melody, it could turn a flood into long-lasting streams of water, improving the efficiency by more than six times.

It was just like no longer limiting transactions to cash, but instead, money could be deposited in banks and be withdrawn when necessary.

Although the music theory did not support functions like sharing and transferring, as the owner of the Net of Aether, as long as he could make up for the deficit later in time, if Ye Qingxuan was to temporarily use the public funds for investment purposes, surely no one would report him? Even if the deficit was too big for him to pay it back, he could also rob Peter to pay Paul!

Furthermore, the power that Ye Qingxuan was using at the moment was in itself a “fund” reserved for him after mobilizing all the mass-produced musicians to “donate.” Even if he could not pay it back, there would be no risk at all.

“Alright, since the explanation is complete, I will stop blabbering.” Ye Qingxuan smiled and bid goodbye to Rommel, “It is the power that I have initially prepared as a precaution in case the Three Kings decide to have their fingers in the pie. The movements played by 37,000 musicians who had repeatedly exhausted all their energy in six hours. There’s a total of 216,220 movements, enjoy!

“In the end, please remember the name of the movement,” Ye Qingxuan raised his palm and proclaimed to Rommel, Asgard, and the old era, “from the New World!”

At the moment, a majestic symphony from the future erupted from the movement from the New World, in the current era. The horrifying flares erupted from the Mountain of Nomadism. Beside Ye Qingxuan, the huge main battery—Hephaestus, the fire god—suddenly started rotating, and the endless stars in the scepter projection spewed out from the madly rotating barrel.

More than 210,000 pieces of war movements, more than 210,000 burning stars collided with each other, turned into a stream of light that tore everything apart, sweeping towards the Stronghold on Sea!

The Savior was swallowed by the light.

At the moment, a roar rose from the city of steel.

16 fiery wings of brilliance spread out from the projection of the Savior. In the realm of aether, sixteen distinct upper-class elements rose, like scorching suns. They constantly extracted power from the high-level dimensions, supplying it to the sword of flames.

In the central control room, the scepter musician suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, and his organs all burned. His elements… His four-edged sword of flames was madly evolving at the moment, and even he himself couldn’t control it.

In the hands of the Savior, the all-powerful sword of flames rotated wildly, devouring the torrent from the realm of aether. 16 elements were attached to it, and an endless holy glow burst forth. Against the mighty stars sweeping towards them, the sword of flames struck with a bang!

It was a war between the stars and the scorching sun.

It was the collision between the old era and the new world.

The fight between the Silence Governance and the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Church and the Protestant, the Sacred City and Avalon, the Holy Cauldron and the Net of Aether, at the moment, in the battle, entered a fervorous stage!

The Mountain of Nomadism roared, and the nine main cannons of Hephaestus spun wildly, already burned red in the torrent of aether beyond imagination.

The heavens and the earth shook.

Like the clash between the Holy Cauldron and Hyakume in the Sacred City, it shattered the membrane between reality and illusion, broke the barrier between the physical world and the realm of aether, and distorted the iron law, making the higher-level dimensions and the dimensions of reality overlap.

Above the entire sea region, countless unusual phenomena of the grotesque and gaudy emerged continuously.

In the rumble, above the Hephaestus, steam rose.

It was boiling and vaporized black gold!

As the core of the pool of aether, the black gold column that was higher than a person could no longer bear the extreme load after just a few moments and completely evaporated. But as it vaporized, the pool was refilled with a new spare column of black gold.

210,000 pieces of movements turned into a torrent, and the stars swept across the sky.

Each piece of movement was only of the level of formal musicians, and they could not be compared to the Savior’s existence at all. But when such a horrifying number of movements was gathered together, a qualitative change that could not be ignored took place.

It was like a deathly match between a giant and the ocean.

The giant must either cut the tide open or drown in endless movements!

In the whole world, other than the King of Blue who was able to deprive others of power and set up forbidden zones at any time, even the King of Red must be evasive when facing the tsunami and flood of the Net of Aether.

Only the legendary movement of utmost destruction in the hands of the King of Red—Destiny—could be compared to it in terms of destructiveness!

In the short span of one minute, the torrent formed by 210,000 pieces of movement had been used up.

As the cost, Hephaestus had been completely consumed under the horrifying torrent. Seven of the nine main guns had exploded and fallen apart. The remaining two were also covered in cracks and could no longer be used. A big hole even appeared on the front half of the Mountain of Nomadism.

On the deck, Ye Qingxuan coldly gazed at the direction of the Stronghold on Sea. He had already used his trump card and all his strength. After mobilizing all the musicians within the territory of Anglo and reaching the limit of the Net of Aether, if he still couldn’t destroy Hendel and the Stronghold on Sea, he might as well clean his neck up and await death.

Meanwhile, when the fiery stream of light was extinguished and the horrifying unusual phenomena subsided, what was revealed was a tragic ruin.

[1] The literal translation of a Chinese proverb that means being rich but not showing it off.