Chapter 141: 550

Chapter 541: The Moon in the Water, the Person on the Heavens

“Faster!”

The hull shook, and the boat showed signs of an increase in speed!

Behind Ye Qingxuan, the Son of Phoenix smiled bitterly. In accordance with the orders of Ye Qingxuan, he let out a signal in the form of a music note. With this part as its focus, the hull reinforcement process began. He pressed his palm on the center of the fine arrays on the wall, using formulas to activate the power within. At the moment, the hull, which had been on the verge of collapse, started repairing itself!

Complex layers of arrays spread outwards from the core of the hull, similar to complicated tree diagrams, interlaced with each other and enveloped the massive hull. After sacrificing the service life of the boat by a large extent, the alchemist’s arrays had maximized the performance of the materials of the hull, upgrading the toughness, strength, and ductility of the alloy and steel by at least 30%!

In this day and age where materials science had reached its limit, the results of a one percent improvement would be considered shocking enough, let alone an increase of such a crazy extent?

The speed of the ship had stabilized at 50 knots at the moment, which was still a far cry from the terrifying speed of 97 knots achieved by last year’s champion of the Burgundy Boat Racing Competition. But that was a speedboat that sacrificed everything for speed. It was completely covered in arrays, making it almost equivalent to alchemy equipment. Moreover, this was a cargo ship! Its weight alone was way heavier than that of the speedboat!

“It can travel at such a fast speed?” Igor looked at the musicians around him, confusion on his face, but the Son of Phoenix also looked baffled and clarified, “No… Not me.”

As soon as he touched the arrays, he felt a vast tenacity flowing through the opening he established and entering the arrays for hull reinforcement. It penetrated the four layers of movement, creation, formation, and outflow. Then, it unexpectedly traveled against the current. Following the link created between him and the arrays, the stream of aether bypassed all of his precautionary measures, connecting itself to his sound of heart movement before he could react. He did not even have time to react from the beginning to the end!

Then, the resonance, that could be considered frightening due to its large scale, began. Under the connection of the phantom string, every musician’s sound of heart movement was forcibly penetrated. A magnificent and vast axis connected them together immediately after, guiding their music theories to evolve madly towards the daunting unknown.

At that moment, the arrays, the hull, the musicians, all three were united into one forcibly. It had neither flaws nor contradictions. It was as if they had been born that way!

For the first time in their lives, they felt such a huge amount of aether aggregating under their summoning, obeying their dispatch. It was as if an invisible hand was cleverly gathering scattered water waves, forming an ocean tide, that could destroy the heavens and the earth with them.

“How can this be…” A musician in the bilge exclaimed, “Where can such a large amount of aether be gathered from! It’s like…”

It’s like the entire sea of aether has been hidden in a bag!

The continuous flood of aether was following Ye Qingxuan’s guidance and fell into the Physical World from the sea of aether. Integrating itself into the arrays, it was transformed into terrifying power.

The Son of Phoenix thought, in the area we are at, within of the sea of darkness, the nine layers of the sea of aether are full of strange impurities. It’s as if they have been covered in fog together with the Physical World.

Perhaps the Masters who have already been able to communicate with the realm of aether can enter the sea of aether forcibly due to their amazing attainments, but unexpectedly, Ye Qingxuan can help other musicians to sense the existence of the sea of aether as well.

It’s as if Ye Qingxuan has gifted his credit account at the Church Bank to three papers, for them to squander profligately!

After the Son of Phoenix figured out what was going on, he couldn’t help but take a cold, deep breath.

In the situation that we have not consciously cooperated, he can connect us to the arrays flawlessly. It can be said that his attainments in music theory and fine manipulations of aether are simply jaw-dropping. But how in the world did he let us communicate with the sea of aether directly?

Ye Qingxuan understood his confusion, but only smiled slightly, offering no explanation.

No one realized that on the side of the ship, the heavy anchor originally there had disappeared without a trace. By using Jiu Xiao Huan Pei to erode it and attaching music theory to it, Ye Qingxuan had temporarily transformed it into an alchemy weapon, a layer of buffer wrapped around Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.

He could indeed sense the sea of aether and the realm of aether clearly, but it had nothing to do with his attainments. Instead, it was because he had ascended into the sub-originator in the realm of aether.

The illusory Indigo Moon was shining on him all the time, leaving a trail of moonlight behind. Like a road sign, it penetrated the foggy sea of aether full of impurities, guiding him to where the power resides.

Fog and impurities had negligible effects, as the connection would only be broken if he was locked in the Ultimate… But after Ye Qingxuan incorporated the Quiet Moon into himself, surely no enemy would do such a stupid thing?

So, in an easy and effortless manner, he threw the anchor into the realm of aether, and simply hooked it somewhere. A huge amount of power was then drawn from the sea of aether, filling the arrays and forming a miniature pool of aether. Besides supplying the musicians, it was even sufficient to power the keel with.

The situation on board has stabilized, next… Ye Qingxuan looked at the Mountain of Nomadism following closely and gradually closing the distance in between. He smiled.

Next, it’s my turn.

This was his first fight with someone—no, some monster beyond the imagination of the ordinary person—after leaving the Sacred City. In his heart, he felt an indescribable excitement and anticipation. His lungs were trembling slightly, his breathing gradually became scorching, but the complicated considerations occupying his brain slowly disappeared. In the end, only a calming silence was left.

He took a step forward.

As the music theory evolved, his Symphony of Predestination was awakened.

An unseen force lifted his body up, and he took another step forward.

Treading on the invisible ladder, he ascended step by step. In the end, he was standing in the sky. All he could see was the boundless dark sea. Roars of fury and the blaring of horns could be heard coming from the surface of the boiling seawater. Although the darkness felt cramped, the sky and ocean were vast after all.

The scenery here is breathtaking, he thought.

He sat cross-legged in the void, and Jiu Xiao Huan Pei emerged from his knees. It was no longer just a collection of disorderly strings, but a quaint and aged qin. As his fingertips plucked the strings, clear notes flowed from the qin.

Young swallows chattered by the draped curtains, ancient dragons hummed in the turbulent waters.

Moonlight shone silently, not from the sky, but from the sea.

The boiling waters of the sea of darkness subsided in a sudden and returned to a calm silence. The dark sky was empty, but on the calm sea, an Indigo Moon radiated light.

Innumerable strings consisting of music theory drooped from Ye Qingxuan, connecting him to the phantom shadow of the moon. In the empty sea, countless music theories reverberated and intertwined, evolving into a vacuum. They displayed spirituality and performed the Symphony of Predestination.

It was moonlight.

The moon in the water and the person on the heavens.

At the moment when the projection of the quiet moon emerged in the water, Ye Qingxuan felt like the tenacity in the moon had entered the body of a monstrous beast. From the layers of blurry fog and illusions, it picked up a trace of something real and chasmic.

The ocean is alive, he realized.

For a brief moment, Ye Qingxuan’s heart sank.

Chapter 542: The Singing

The sea was in no way a living creature, but at that moment, Ye Qingxuan felt that it was indeed alive.

It was not a metaphor, it was his true feeling.

It was the warmth felt with his fingertips when they almost touched the skin of something; it was the tremble when seeing an incredibly huge creature.

The sea was not alive, except for that something made it alive. There was only one possible explanation…

Leviathan!

Leviathan was awake earlier than expected and came back to this country which was so entangled with him. Thinking of facing a fully awake catastrophe, Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help be fearful.

It was not Hyakume, who had come to this physical world from the Aether world, consuming much of its energy on the way. It was a terrible monster living in the physical world, but the strongest in the sea among the four living creatures.

Facing even Hyakume, who represented rules and the Originator and was of higher hierarchy, Ye Qingxuan, with the power of the Sacred City, may try his luck against it to enrich his experience. But he would not dare to fight this Hecatoncheir for even one round.

This time, there was no Pope or Ye Lanzhou assisting him, and it was not a god which was incarnated by the void music theory that he was against. It was a monster that really existed and had rampaged in this world for millennia.

In its prime, it ruled anywhere the water of the seven seas touched. The ocean was his realm and a part of him.

It was the ocean itself.

Luckily, it was not awake yet. Otherwise, huge waves would have flooded the whole world and engulfed all continents. For now, it was only Anglo that was suffering. And this lightless sea might be inside its body.

Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly. Then, he heard someone singing. It was so familiar. The singing, like that of a child’s, echoed in the sea. It was like the singing of whales, resounding in the dark, deep sea where no man could go.

“The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream…

“We have the power, yet where should we go. Oh, men, hoist the sail! Pull, thieves and beggars, we’ll live forever…”

The song sounded so sad. It faded away in an instant and couldn’t be heard. But somehow, it seemed to be close to whoever heard it. You couldn’t tell if it was real or not. The song was like a ghost, wandering in one’s heart.

Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. It seemed he had to plan for the worst.

But before that… The Mountain of Nomadism suddenly jumped out of the sea, shrieking with its mouth wide open, hoping to devour Ye Qingxuan in one bite. Its countless scales cut through the wind, playing a thrilling melody. The brutish nature, which was so pure, almost had its physical shape pierced out from its body, destroying the music theory layer by layer, turning it into ashes. It was so powerful.

In one blink, the stinking wind came near. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and fingered the string to fight against the huge mouth that was to devour him. The sound of the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei spread out and aether moved. Ye Qingxuan did not make any movements but borrowed strength from the sea and pushed the Mountain of Nomadism “gently” to help it jump higher.

It was like pouring oil onto a fire.

Seeing Ye Qingxuan fighting, the Son of the Pheonix almost screamed in terror. But the next second, he saw that the Mountain of Nomadism was pushed several meters higher. It looked fiercer, but it missed Ye Qingxuan by an inch. It fell into the sea again, splashing up huge waves. Except for the stinking wind and mist, no impact was made at all.

Amazing! Son of Phenix clenched his fist and relieved slightly: though terrible, the Mountain of Nomadism was only a demon who knew nothing about language and music theory and fought only with its instincts.

Ye Qingxuan didn’t want to win the fight. He was only stalling so he could avoid fighting hard against it by constantly escaping its attacks.

Ye Qingxuan sighed to himself. It was not that easy. It was easy to fool the beast, but if the beast was irritated, it would only be more troublesome.

In the next instant, incredibly dense mist rose above the sea. A hurricane suddenly appeared, bringing with it the smell of disaster. The whole world was filled with the terrible mist. There seemed to be a large amount of sand in the mist, which made him feel like he was being choked.

Then, a pair of eyes burning with beast fury lit up in the mist.

It was so close!

Ye Qingxuan subconsciously raised his hand and played the zither. Along with the sound of the instrument, the moon suddenly rose over the sea and enveloped him.

Boom! Everything was shaking.

The moon shadow shattered under the horrible impact. Ye Qingxuan flew backward and struggled to maintain balance. Then he dove down very quickly and flew to his right side like he was escaping from some deadly plague. In the moonlight, he seemed to produce many shadows of his own. With his guidance, those shadows flew in the air. One could hardly distinguish which one was him.

What was more terrible, a huge mouth suddenly came out of nowhere. The mouth tore apart the shadows one by one.

Yes, it was the Mountain of Nomadism.

The Indigo Moon was finally complete again; its light shining through the mist to reveal the truth. Yet the truth was breathtaking.

In the dense mist, the Mountain of Nomadism raised from the sea…and flew in the sky!

“Doesn’t a sea monster belong in the sea?” Ye Qingxuan was shocked. “It can fly? Isn’t it against the rules?”

Against the rules or not, the Mountain of Nomadism was more and more troublesome. Not only did it fly, but it also became more and more cunning.

Several times, Ye Qingxuan got so close to death that he was almost strangled or devoured by it. He didn’t want to have a taste of its gastric acid. It never occurred to him that a monster so large could be so agile. It was like it was weightless! Yet the wind created by its heavy body was so strong. It made him unable to breathe. Fighting against such a brutal enemy, he would be cut into pieces by its scales even if he was only lightly touched by it, not to mention the greyish-green poison that was constantly oozing out.

The Mountain of Nomadism didn’t need any weapon or music movement. It was the gravest threat itself.

Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt regret. How he wished to be a master of the School of Modifications! They could summon fire, wind, thunder, and lightning as they wished. If upgraded to a war musician or some other particular occupation, he wouldn’t need to yield to anyone.

Among the musician of the seven systems, the School of Modifications was the best at destruction and construction, and the School of Summoning was best at attacking and cooperation… Yet what Ye Qingxuan learned was from the School of Abstinence, which was best at defense and music theory composition. In positional fighting, it was okay to fight such a monster. But now he was in the home of the monster. He felt so weak. Fortunately, he had other means to fight.

In the dense mist, Ye Qingxuan dodged the attack of the Mountain of Nomadism. While he was passing by the huge body of the snake, the clothes of original sin suddenly changed form. The Exoskeleton of the gospel armor generated great force. Like a pair of iron pliers, they pulled a large scale the size of a house from the snake’s head. The wound that had just been healed was torn open again. The bone-deep agony irritated the monster, driving it completely mad.

Ye Qingxuan was in no way better than the monster. Though protected by the clothes of original sin, he could hardly feel his arm anymore. It was numb.

With the sharp shrieking of the monster, Ye Qingxuan tossed aside the scale which was almost his size, and said to the furious Mountain of Nomadism, “It was so inconvenient to fight in the sky.” Pausing, he smiled meaningfully. “How about we go into the sea?”

Instantly, a huge amount of illusory seawater fell from the sky, as if the god had released the flood to destroy the whole world. The seawater was so cold, it was as if it was suddenly winter.

A grave melody sounded in the downpour; beautiful and sad. With agony as its implications, the Die Nebensonnen revealed its phantasm. The Winterreise was then played.

Chapter 543: The Ocean Abyss of Suffocation

In midair, the flying giant snake was suddenly seized with pain. Strands of pain sprouted from its head, making their way into its wounds as if they were alive. They flowed along its bone marrow, causing its body to spasm, as its consciousness descended into a mania.

As a result, the torrential rains became heavier and heavier, as if clusters of stars were falling down. Countless raindrops gathered into a torrent of water, falling from the sky into the sea. In the blink of an eye, the fog had disappeared without a trace. As the snake’s body was forced back into the sea by the torrent bit by bit, it struggled furiously and hissed towards the Indigo Moon hanging between the heavens and the earth.

Moonlight flowed.

Declaring that the long night had fallen, the first song of Winterreise, Gute Nacht, played. Endless hoarfrost, fine in texture, formed on the sea level. The tiny ice crystals collided with each other, making crisp, clear sounds, like a melody of winter.

Falling from the sky was a river that resembled tears. Ghostly flames emerged quietly, floating above it, and in the storm, shadows of crows circled the sky. Various imageries emerged one by one between the ocean and the sky.

The world had turned into a performance stage for illusions. They intertwined, dragging the Mountain of Nomadism into endless layers of illusions.

Gute Nacht, Die Wetterfahne, Gefror’ne Thränen, Der Lindenbaum, Wasserflut, Irrlicht, Einsamkeit…

The 24 songs of Winterreise were performed by Ye Qingxuan in a fluid manner, and his playing was surprisingly smooth. For the first time in his life, Ye Qingxuan played the songs so well that they sounded free of all inhibitions.

When the last song of Der Leiermann was completed, in the body of the Mountain of Nomadism, the aether waves fluctuating faintly were completely subdued. It crashed from the air into the sea, struggling with all its might, but it was unable to free itself from the illusions flooding its perceptions.

The spirituality contained in the 24 songs guided the music theories within. As if they were alive, they combined into one, evolving into an inescapable, terrifying illusion, completely trapping the Mountain of Nomadism inside.

At the moment, the ocean was what the Mountain of Nomadism saw.

For the first time, the creature born of the ocean found the ocean terrifying. Unlike the sea they were in, it was a desolate sea that it saw.

In the heavy snow, the dark and unfamiliar ocean swallowed it. No matter how hard it tried to swim and stay afloat, it felt like it was drowning in the sea, sinking bit by bit. It was sinking into the frightening trench hidden in the sea.

A source of terror lurked in the endless depths of the ocean.

Gazing at the dark rift that seemed to extend to the end of the ocean, an unprecedented sense of crisis and fear was instinctively triggered in the Mountain of Nomadism.

That was the abyss!

Abyss!

Other than Ye Qingxuan, no other musician in the same era nor that in the past could create such a realistic abyss in the illusion, nor would there be any in the future. From the remains of the former Dark Pope, Ye Qingxuan had drawn the Power of the Source, which had originated from the abyss.

Purely in terms of the understanding of the abyss, he had surpassed most dark musicians, even the high-ranking demons in the abyss and the dark ministers. What he had learned was the essence of Hyakume, the core of its spirituality, the music theory that even the dark branches of the abyss had never understood.

After Hyakume’s fall into a deep slumber, no one else in the world could understand the abyss better than Ye Qingxuan. Therefore, he was able to create the illusion of the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation.

The school of magic placed the most emphasis on the passing down of illusions. Other than certain illusions that could be adjusted depending on the circumstances, the imagery created in most movements followed certain formulas, and some were even fixed. Therefore, most illusions were detectable, and tricks to crack them had been discovered.

Despite the said shortcoming, after going through modifications and upgrades done constantly by innumerable generations of illusionists, the variations hidden in the seemingly simple illusions and the knowledge behind them were the true essence of each movement.

To distinguish between skilled illusionists and the rest, one had to identify the music theory and the variations in the illusions created. Taking the imagery of the moon as an example, the Indigo Moon created by Ye Qingxuan was much more impressive than moons created by other illusionists, not to mention other imageries.

The list of differences between an illusion that had captured the essence of the movement and a phantom shadow lacking actual content was inexhaustible. Sometimes, although the ones inside an illusion knew that it is fake, they had no way of escaping, and could do nothing but remain trapped. Numerous schools of magic had chosen to keep the knowledge of the variations of each movement a secret, passing down the core music theory only.

For other schools, the imageries they passed down were derived from the core of their movement. After the apprentices learn each of them step by step, they would be able to master the core illusion of their school. For example, famous schools of magic such as Voodoo Catacombs, Phantom Swamp and so on, were famous for doing so.

The mysteries and music theory contained in the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation that Ye Qingxuan created at the moment were no less powerful even when compared to the imageries of those schools.

If one was to simply compare the magnificence and spirituality of the imageries, Ye Qingxuan’s might even be just a little bit more superior than the rest. The only part it was lacking in was the constant upgrading done by tens of generations of musicians, who had nurtured the imageries with their spirituality.

This imagery alone would be enough for Ye Qingxuan establish a new sect within the school of magic. If he would like to do so in the future, a new department of the Royal Academy of Music would definitely be born.

A Master under the age of 20, the founder of a brand new school of magic… He was simply sensational. But at the moment, Ye Qingxuan had exhausted all his strength just to maintain the illusion.

The Mountain of Nomadism was too big.

Too insanely big.

Such a horrifying, humongous sea monster could only be nurtured in the ocean.

The mere act of supporting the entire illusion was almost enough to render Ye Qingxuan breathless. If not for the constant flow of aether drawn from the sea of aether by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, Ye Qingxuan would have died from exhaustion. Fortunately, he had grown accustomed to controlling amounts of aether beyond the limit of his level since a long time ago. Although he was under pressure, at least he didn’t commit any fatal errors.

At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism in the illusion was sinking in the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation and was gradually assimilated by the illusion. With luck, its tenacity and soul would be extracted and incorporated by the illusion soon, making the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation more and more realistic.

Due to the terrifying magnitude of the Mountain of Nomadism, the nourishing effect it had on the illusion was of an incredible extent as well. If the illusion could consume more than a dozen sea monsters like it, materializing the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation, transforming it from a phantom to a real entity completely, was not impossible. Then, it could truly be compared to regions of illusion such as Voodoo Catacombs, Demonic Mountain and so on, becoming the sixth catastrophe-level illusion in the physical world.

Sadly, such an idea could only exist in one’s thoughts.

Ye Qingxuan wasn’t even sure if he could kill the Mountain of Nomadism completely with it. Judging from its size, the Mountain of Nomadism had lived for a few hundred years at least. Even a pig could have learned to climb trees if it had lived for a few hundred years. Who knew what else could this goddamn creature do?

Moreover, at the moment… the Mountain of Nomadism had also understood that most of its body had sunk into Hades. [1]

If it was to take no action, it would meet its demise for sure.

In the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation, the sea monster sinking in the depths of darkness let out a raspy cry, as it was overcome by unprecedented humiliation.

Since its birth, it had never faced a situation like this. The sea monster that had ruled the ocean for hundreds of years drowned in the sea… How ridiculous.

Under the pressure and darkness brought about by the petrifying illusion, the Mountain of Nomadism suddenly stopped struggling. As if it was enduring extreme pain, its huge body twisted and convulsed. Under the purplish-green scales, the blood vessels bulged, emitting a dark red glow.

It resembled burning blood.

The ice cold body was also ignited, giving out a frightening heat.

The next moment, the ocean roared.

[1] The expression means that the Mountain of Nomadism realized it was dying.

Chapter 544: The Wind and the Moon

The next instant, the ocean roared. Earthshaking shrieking burst out from the deep sea. Every drop of water was trembling. It was as if the creature was tearing apart its own body by the roaring and a horrible aether reaction was triggered in the deep sea. It seemed like the whole lightless sea quivered. With the shrieking, horrible force came together and broke Ye Qingxuan’s illusion.

In just one blink, the anchor pointed Ye Qingxuan had planted for his magic was all destroyed. The colossal illusional realm collapsed into nothing in no time.

Then, winds and waves stopped moving. A weird silence filled the whole space. On the ship, the Son of Phoenix closed his eyes to check out the Mountain of Nomadism. Yet when he saw its movements, he trembled with fear.

One, two, three, four, five…17. It had created 17 aether waves! The horrible aether waves were generated from every huge joint of its body. The devils’ blood with the power of catastrophe was ignited in fury and burning in the massive body. With the brutal nature of the beast as fire, and with its blood and breath as firewood, it was burning the fire of horror which was everyone’s nightmare.

At that moment, in that body as huge as a mountain. Waves of the same frequency were generated from the biggest 17 parts of its spinal column. It was like 17 masters from the deep-sea joining hands to play the Symphony of Predestination, summoning the descending of nightmares.

A terrible whirlpool was thus generated. A hurricane then took shape between the sky and the sea. The dark clouds were rolling, endless thunder and lightning releasing formidable power. Drawn by the storm and vapor, lightning struck down from the sky with the fast spinning whirlpool, forming a bloodcurdling hurricane. It was like the column that supported the heaven from falling down.

The hurricane, no smaller than the Mountain of Nomadism, raised from the ocean up to the sky, booming and roaring, and released its sucking force. A huge amount of seawater was sucked in and immediately vaporized by the hot current, radiating a burning hot glow.

The hurricane took shape in just one blink, glowing like lava. It raged across the ocean along with the Mountain of Nomadism. The speed of the wind surpassed well beyond the measurable limit of humans. The wind gauge exploded, and the wind was still ramping up its power.

As the sea water was pulled backward by the wind and the hurricane, the iron ship was halted and drawn to the hurricane. In the middle of the hurricane, the furious shrieking of the Mountain of Nomadism was heard. The hurricane was getting closer and closer.

“Mr. Ye!” Igor was in such shock that he shouted toward the sky, “The Keel was only 70% charged! Do something or we are finished! So will be your ambition to save your country!” His voice was immediately torn apart in the hurricane and couldn’t go beyond two meters. Yet Ye Qingxuan’s voice came into his ears: “Don’t worry. Just wait for a moment. You are safe as long as I am still alive.”

Igor’s face twitched. That’s easy for you to say! We are safe when you are alive, but what about after you die? Maybe we’ll live a few seconds longer than you do, but is that much of a difference?

He swallowed his urge to say something more, and yelled at the engine room, “Charge the Keel! I don’t care if other engines will explode. Get the Keel ready as soon as possible!”

“Three minutes at least, Captain! Three minutes!” The second mate’s voice came from the other side of the bronze pipe. “All engines are at maximum power! Even if you take me to serve as the aether transition pump, it will still need three minutes!”

“Three minutes it is, then!” Gritting his teeth and looking into the sky, Igor snatched the holy emblem into his hand and prayed to the God whom he had never believed. “Mr. Ye, my lord, you have been playing the boss the whole time. Now you’re hanging out up there! Three minutes! If that thing refuses to die then, it’ll be us!”

Up in the sky, Lola’s voice was heard by Ye Qingxuan. “Need my help?”

“Will illusions help now? Don’t worry and go back to sleep,” Ye Qingxuan said. “You are not a saint. Thought realization of illusions might be powerful, but you can’t turn more than 400 people into phantoms.”

“Then you are on your own.” Lola laughed mischievously and went back, leaving Ye Qingxuan struggling. He didn’t expect that this monster’s final move would be such a horrible music movement of modifications. It might not be as hopeless as facing a phenomenal catastrophe, yet for them, they both were so deadly that it was almost the same.

He was not very good at handling this sort of movement from the School of Modifications and usually got beaten up by a musician from the School of Modifications, not to mention a hurricane like this.

Yet, it was quite easy to nail it.

After resonation with the Quiet Moon, his Silent Dream had reached the final stage of the Wyrmrest Enchantment. One stage further and he could reach the “Ultimate” that could kill all the aether and open a silent realm of “colorless zone” above the black, red, yellow, and white zones. However, a movement like “The Sleeping World,” which harmed oneself while killing the enemy was by no means to be used at will. If he entered into the Sleeping World now, it would ruin his ship first instead of the Mountain of Nomadism.

Remember, there were four aether engines overloaded now. The charging of the Keel would be finished in no time. If interrupted now, the depressurized aether in the engines will explode before being assimilated. Then, losing all the aether, Ye Qingxuan and his shabby ship would have to face a powerless yet still furious giant sea monster.

No matter what he did, they would die.

No way to cheat, no way to play his tricks, and no other moves to make, and not enough bags to catch the monster or sticks to knock it out. The only option left for him was…

“A duel?” Rubbing his face, Ye Qingxuan murmured, “I hate this kind of brutal fighting.”

In the next moment, the hurricane came. Endless sea water was sucked into the sky and turned into fog, forming the horrible hurricane which expanded across the ocean and the sky. With thunder and lightning within, it was like the greyish-black column supporting the sky was spinning. Compared to it, humans were just tiny specks of dust.

Getting closer to it, Ye Qingxuan was almost torn apart by the wind. This was what it is like when the music movement of modifications reached its extremity. It was as if the whole world was put on the iron chopping board of God and beaten down by God’s hammer and fire.

Staring at the Mountain of Nomadism at the deepest part of the hurricane, Ye Qingxuan smiled. “Let’s fight the hard way then!”

Let me try and see where my limit lies… he thought.

The next moment, the Indigo Moon rose above the sea. Countless beams of light verged in the shape of an unreal moon, hanging above the sea. Facing the desperately huge hurricane, Ye Qingxuan stretched his hand forward.

Nature Interference!

In a flash, his body got into the “Vacuum” world. His willpower spread out in the moonlight, merging with the spirit of the music movement. Numerous music theories circulated, building the magnificent Symphony of Predestination layer by layer.

The moon quivered once and shed an indigo light as cold as metal.

The wind and the moon clashed.

With the bang, a big boom was generated, shaking the space several hundred nautical miles around.

Chapter 545: Flying

After a sudden roar which only lasted a brief moment, a long silence ensued.

Even the howl of the hurricane seemed to be have disappeared.

The expected earth-shattering turmoil did not happen, as the collision between the tornado and the moon was over in an instant. The Indigo Moon had silently infiltrated the tornado like ice cubes being dropped into water. Despite remaining distinct from each other, but they appeared to be of the same nature.

From the perspective of the school of abstinence, this was a reverse interference of the nature of the substance, termed ‘the blending of natures’.

Instead of using music theory to stimulate the hidden nature of the substance, activating it in order to modify the substance itself, Ye Qingxuan combined two different natures, that were originally in sharp conflict, together. It was like hiding fire in ice, or making streams of water gush out of stone. The contradiction was forcibly subdued, and harmony was achieved.

Ye Qingxuan also employed a technique he had learned from Abraham’s music theory. Only by using the two together, could he assimilate his body with aether, achieving the stage of vacuum, whereby blood circulation would be replaced by aether circulation.

But at this moment, the Son of Phoenix was so shocked by his observations that his jaw almost dropped. It was not that he was unfamiliar with the technique of the blending of natures, but he also understood its difficulty very well. Plus, the greater the amount of matter and the more their natures differ, the more frightening the magnitude of variables involved in the process would be.

To force a tornado containing such a terrifying amount of power to merge with moonlight of a completely different nature, and to make the two coexist in peace, how insanely difficult was that?

It was totally beyond his imagination.

Right from the start, the commander had given him too many surprises, to the extent that he had become completely numb. He stared at the moonlight in the storm in awe and couldn’t help but mutter, “Sure enough, they are all monsters.”

…

Strip away the appearance of matter and reveal the music theory of its essence—this was the concept that the school of abstinence had always embraced.

In the eyes of musicians of the school of abstinence, regardless of whether they had chosen the path of domain or the path of commandment, the world was a movement composed of endless music theory.

Modifications or chorales… In essence, everything was made up of different facets of music theory. In order to pursue the essence of music theory, emphasis was placed on the renunciation of the concept of self, so that one’s tenacity could blend into aether, allowing one to understand the mysteries of the Originator.

In the raging tornado, appalling hurricanes were blowing all the time. Thunder and lightning galloped in a mist of scorching water vapor, evolving into hellish imagery. Ye Qingxuan operated the Indigo Moon in such a harsh environment, even making advances against the wind.

Innumerable perception threads blended in with the faint moonlight, spreading towards the storm center of the hurricanes. All the changes within were interpreted using the way of deciphering and summarized as a blurred model in the hands of Ye Qingxuan.

The moonlight fluctuated, sometimes strong and other times weak, sometimes brightening and other times dimming, like a weak candle’s flame in the wind. But no matter how the hurricane swept and raged, it could not suppress the moonlight it found irritating.

Amid the struggle, the moon seemed to have blended into the hurricane. Yet as if it was on a critical boundary, it maintained its independence throughout, never once assimilated by the terrifying tornado. The situation was alarmingly dangerous, like dancing on tips of knives.

In the orderless chaos, the moon tidied and reorganized the entangled music theory. Countless strands of music theory dissipated outwards, following certain unseen rules. Under the guidance of the moonlight, the strands of music theory wove into an abstract net, all the nodes gathered within the circle of moonlight.

Utilizing the net as the core, Ye Qingxuan infiltrated the storm little by little with his tenacity, constructing a vast network to interfere with the control of the tornado. For the Mountain of Nomadism, the experience was not one it would consider enjoyable. The frightening amount of power contained in the hurricane was like the hands of a giant, constantly reaching out towards the goddamn moon, trying to squash it into pieces.

Everything should have broken apart after being subjected to such a terrifying amount of power.

But the moon was as difficult to catch and contain as a flying insect, slipping between one’s fingers every time. When one wasn’t paying attention, it would take the opportunity to sting. While the counter-attacks from the moon was not fatal, it sufficed to irritate the beast, almost driving it mad.

The moonlight shone calmly, connecting thousands of strands of music theory to the core of the hurricane, guiding them accordingly to erode the control of the hurricane by the Mountain of Nomadism.

The massive gravitational force radiating from the Symphony of Predestination gathered together, forming vortexes. At every critical moment, the vortexes would supply a crucial gust of counter-current, forcibly containing the wind and preventing any expansion beyond its initial scale.

Since Ye Qingxuan’s infiltration, not only did the hurricane fail to expand, but a substantial amount of the potential energy within was also consumed. It was starting to show signs of shrinking in size.

To compete with Ye Qingxuan in terms of utilizing external powers was a mistake from the start. No one could be more proficient than him in this aspect.

From the very beginning when he was just an apprentice, he had been constantly utilizing external powers to achieve his own goals. From the enchantment of Avalon to the sacred fire of Auschwitz, the Central Sanctuary of the Sacred City, the music theory of Hyakume, the projection of the Holy Caldron… Moreover, he never returned what he had borrowed. Everything that went into his pocket eventually became his, leaving others with no hope of ever getting them back.

When the Mountain of Nomadism realized its mistake, Ye Qingxuan had destroyed at least one-third of the tornado! Furthermore, the power it borrowed to summon the tornado required payment in blood! The tornado roared furiously, and the enraged Mountain of Nomadism hiding within it chased after the moon, biting at it madly! Empowered by the ocean and the hurricane, it almost succeeded in tearing the moon apart within just two attacks.

The moonlight flickered but gradually dimmed. It continued to wander within the hurricane but avoided further head-on confrontations with the Mountain of Nomadism. Instead, it employed a touch and go strategy, fighting back briefly when it had the opportunity. But otherwise, it ignored the raging Mountain of Nomadism completely.

The enormous serpent was covered in flames from its burning blood, its size almost doubling, and it hissed again. The hurricane expanded in a sudden.

The pressure on Ye Qingxuan soared greatly. The tornado was getting more and more violent, all the energy moving towards its core, surrounding Ye Qingxuan on all sides, wanting to crush him first!

Some distance away from the hurricane, everyone on the ship had almost been stunned by the horrifying scene. Every time they looked at the moonlight, they couldn’t help but marvel. They had trouble imagining how much more he could achieve in battle in the future.

“Captain Igor, turn the ship around,” Ye Qingxuan’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Pardon?” Igor was momentarily stunned. He turned his head back and looked behind the ship at the huge tornado penetrating both the sea and the sky. He couldn’t help but gulp. “Turn around? Are you kidding me? The charging of the keel is not done yet!”

“Listen to me, turn it around!” Ye Qingxuan raised his voice. “Don’t stand there like an idiot. I can’t keep this up for much longer! We are already in such a dire situation, there’s no more point in fearing death. To die early or to die later, isn’t it all the same?”

Well said!

If Igor was not at risk of dying, he would have clapped in applause for Ye Qingxuan. For a while, he had a look of hesitation of his face, as he could not make up his mind.

The first officer steering the ship turned to him and asked, “Captain…what…”

“Didn’t you hear Mr. Ye’s instructions?” Igor gritted his teeth, paused, then waved his hand with a look of anguish. “Turn around! Get the lifeboat ready, worst case scenario, we abandon the ship.”

Turn around!

The first officer waved and the rudder turned wildly. In a flash, everyone on board felt a huge force acting on the hull, as if it was trying to throw them off.

Due to the centripetal force, innumerable rivets scraped against the ship plates, making piercing whines. Because of the sudden turn, the entire hull was almost bent into an arc, setting off a crashing wave in the sea of darkness. Then, with maximum horsepower, the ship shot forward towards the tornado that was sweeping through the sea and the sky, the steel ship charged fearlessly!

“Get ready to fire.” Ye Qingxuan’s voice rang out. Together with his words came a perception thread of moonlight, which connected itself to the back of Igor’s head. Immediately after, data from the other end poured into Igor’s mind like a tide.

Wind speed, wind direction, the speed of the ship, its coordinates, the extent of engine overload, change in weight, loading stress… Igor only felt his vision turning black as data rushed into his mind nonstop, as if it was going to blow his head up. “Mr. Ye, are you trying to kill me?!”

“Why are you so useless?” Ye Qingxuan seemed to sigh helplessly, making Igor so gloomy that he almost vomited blood. But soon, the flood-like data reduced significantly, having been sorted by Ye Qingxuan in terms of priority. In Igor’s vision, they formed a dynamic mindmap that would only appear when he gazed upon it intently.

“Get ready, Captain,” Ye Qingxuan said. “Other than the firing, you need not pay attention to anything else.”

Igor shook his head resignedly, having understood the plan Ye Qingxuan had in mind. He used the final seconds to gulp down some liquor from his bottle, and wiped his wet beard dry.

“I am old, Mr. Ye. You have ruined my boat, so at least be more considerate for the sake of my heart?” said Igor.

Ye Qingxuan did not bother to reply.

Igor muttered to himself, and strapped himself to the seat with leather rope. Finally, he pressed both of his hands on the handle. “I didn’t expect that I could be involved in such an exciting fight at this age. Even if I have to pay the price with this ship, it’s worth it!”

Boom! The iron ship broke through the oncoming hurricane, riding on the huge waves and leaping between them. It moved up and down, sailing forward bumpily, but its speed was getting faster and faster. In the end, the engines weren’t even needed anymore, as the violent pull of the tornado dragged the iron boat forward to its death.

The sound of steel plates being twisted rang out continuously. Rivets were ejected from the ship constantly, and with loud bangs, pieces of steel fell off from the ship into the sea, like the removal of burdensome clothes. The ship rushed forward, hugging its impending doom with its arms wide open!

In front of it, the appalling tornado that was gigantic enough to swallow an island whole was getting extremely close. Amid countless flashes of lightning and thunder, one could vaguely see the horrifying outline of the Mountain of Nomadism.

“You only have one opportunity,” Ye Qingxuan’s strained voice rang out. “Captain, you’ll have to grasp it yourself.”

“No worries, no worries.” Igor cackled. “I am the first artilleryman of the Islands of Illusion! I was the one who struck down the wall during the Battle of Placi in East India!”

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.” As he finished his words, the vast moonlight broke through the huge body of the tornado, dragging hurricanes along.

Frenzied winds sucked the seawater up, forming freak waves, as if the Invisible Hand of God was lifting up endless seawater, temporarily setting up a bridge of waves that was constantly crumbling and collapsing.

The bridge of waves extended upwards, creating an incredible arc, directing everything towards the hurricane of destruction. The steel ship roared as it rushed forward in the torrent. It sailed forward onto the bridge, and was thrown into the air.

Everyone felt strong dizziness, their vision turning black due to the turbulent changes in gravity. When they could finally react, the steel ship was already flying in the air.

Flying!

They were flying!

Chapter 546: The Present

Like the God of War riding his giant horse of eight legs, the iron ship flew in the air, riding the thunder and the wind, charging forward!

Going through the wild wind and the mist, the ship charged forward. The lightning struck the ship, covering it with a layer of shining light. It was like a sharp saber stabbing into the hurricane.

The ship shook all over in the hurricane. Steel plates peeled off the ship like the scales of a fish. The Keel ballista, charged to its maximum power, reached a super high temperature. The horrible heat was conducted by the mechanical structure to the handle, which became hot as well.

Igor grabbed at the handle, enduring the pain with a wicked smile on his face.

“Hold on, hold on…” Grinding his teeth and staring at the target in front of him, he murmured to himself, “Not yet. Do not rush. Just one moment!”

Boom! The hurricane was pierced through by the ship. Led by the indigo moon, the ship flew over the sky and into the core of the hurricane.

The head of the furious Mountain of Nomadism was so close!

“Hello, b*tch.” Igor laughed.

Boom! Super hot sparks immediately shot from the bow of the ship, lighting up the dark night. Horrible power was released from the Keel ballista. The steel arrow, driven by the high pressure, overloaded five times its original capacity, flew forward from the ship. The whistling sound of it seemed to tear up everyone’s eardrums.

The modified arrow, disguised as a whale-hunting crossbow arrow, had a heavy chain at its tail. With pale vapor along its path, it pierced through the venom of the Mountain of Nomadism and dashed into its mouth. The monster’s teeth were fractured and the flesh in its mouth torn into pieces. The arrow pierced the hard skull of the monster and into its brain.

The sticky venom spread out of its brain. Heated by the arrow, the brain of the monster was boiled into a pot of poisonous soup.

The monster screamed sharply, full of grief. Its mountainous body twitched and the horrible aether waves stopped.

No more wind. The hurricane ceased, and seawater fell from the sky.

With a big splash, the monster fell into the sea with the ship. Under the impact, the ship almost disintegrated. Three musicians of Modifications School spat up blood and struggled to keep the metric intact.

The ship was so broken that it was barely a ship anymore.

“My ship!” No time to feel the happiness of victory, Igor howled with misery, almost in tears. However, the painful shrieking and screaming of the Mountain of Nomadism was still prevalent.

Poisoned by the “Temperance,” the Mountain of Nomadism twitched in pain, rolling up and down in the sea. Dragging the iron chain on the arrow, it pulled the iron ship forward.

“Still not dead after that?” Igor was so shocked.

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“Only seriously injured.” Soaked with the seawater, Ye Qingxuan landed on the ship. Staring at the snake in anguish, he said, “It was the descendent of a catastrophe. It may grow its head back.”

The Mountain of Nomadism was totally mad. The wound was in no way fatal to it, and it was soon healed due to its strong life-force as a catastrophe. Yet the “Temperance” poison in the arrow inflicted great pain upon it.

The poison, enough to ruin hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land, was boiling in its brain, eroding its bones and poisoning its blood along its spinal column.

The great pain broke it down. The monster rushed wildly, following the ocean’s current. The ship was dragged by the snake. Nobody knew where they were heading.

“Make the chain tougher,” Ye Qingxuan told the Son of Phoenix. “This is the best present. Don’t let it get away.”

Present? The Son of Phoenix smiled bitterly. Who do you want to give it to?

Bewildered, the Son of Phoenix followed the order and reinforced the chain. It was easy, compared to the reinforcing the whole ship. Then, under the magic of the Zither, the whole chain became a part of the string of the Zither, forming a heaven ladder.

A straight path was created to the brain of the crazy monster.

There was nothing as good as this for a musician of the School of Mind.

Ye Qingxuan Smiled and pressed his hands on the chain. Then, the remaining music theories from the Hyakume flew into the body of the Mountain of Nomadism. With the help of the poison of “Temperance,” the music theories grew wildly in the snake’s body.

Nothing was more vicious those music theories, for no catastrophe was comparable to the three pillar gods.

The poison of the Hyakume spread throughout the body of the snake. It devoured the blood and flesh to make itself stronger. Great power was transferred to Ye Qingxuan through the chain. But Ye Qingxuan didn’t dare to keep any of this power. He threw it into the Clothes of Original Sin to help the clothing restore its power.

With Hyakume growing, the Mountain of Nomadism became no more than a dead corpse. With its last ounce of strength, it pulled the damaged ship forward without knowing where it was heading.

Finally, it stopped moving.

Its gigantic body floated in the water.

It was dead.

Finally, there was light in the silent lightless sea; it was from some fires. The fires were burning on the rocks like faint stars, lighting up everyone’s faces.

In the light, they saw a layer of dark red blood covering the whole sea, continuing to spread. A thick acid smell arose from the blood, and the stench of rotting flesh was in the air.

With the fires, the rocks showed themselves; they were not rocks at all but piles and piles of corpses and bones. Those numerous corpses became fuel for the fires.

Far away from there, the island could be seen. There was a huge and dark castle atop the cliff. On top of the castle, a bright fire was burning. It must have burned a hell lot of corpses to be so bright.

The sailors directed the searchlight to the sea and saw clearly what was in the water.

“Devils! Mr. Ye, those are all devils!” the sailors shouted immediately.

“Yes. I know.” Ye Qingxuan nodded. Through his sense of aether, he could feel the monstrous smell in the sea. All the corpses of the devils were incomplete. It was as if they had been shredded by a meat grinder. The corpses were tossed into the sea and became fuel to make fires.

On the deck, Igor was so frightened that he whispered, “Wh-where are we now?”

Ye Qingxuan smiled. “Everyone may get some rest now. This is our destination,” he said.

“This is Alderney.”

Alderney, a desolate island off the main route. No farm, no output, no minerals, no inhabitants.

Few people knew that this was Maxwell’s estate, Keeper of the Seal of Anglo and head of the Fifth Department. Fewer people knew that a batch of people had moved here secretly. They left their homes and settled down here. They built everything they needed from scratch here, waiting to go back home someday. They were what remained of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the last hope of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Sacred City.

The final inquisitors.

…

Knowing where they were, Igor was still at loss for what to do. He looked at Ye Qingxuan and asked, “Shall we give them a signal?”

“No. Just wait.” Ye Qingxuan sat on the deck and enjoyed the tea served by the organists. He said with a sigh, “The landlord has come to the door. Shouldn’t you renters come out and say hello?”

Then, he sat there leisurely, waiting for the men in the castle to check everything out. On top of the castle, someone stared at Ye Qingxuan for a long while and then vanished.

Pretty soon, the gate was opened.

A middle-aged clergyman came, rowing a little boat. On the boat, there was a storm lantern l to lead the way.

“Follow me.” The clergyman turned around, rowing his little boat toward the gate. Igor looked at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan waved his hand.

“Just follow him. Don’t go the wrong way. The things under the water are really troublesome,” Ye Qingxuan said. He looked at both sides of the boat meaningfully. The middle-aged clergyman, obviously surprised, turned to look at him but said nothing.

Along the way, Ye Qingxuan checked out the defensive line and the constructions on the island. He said in amazement, “Congregation for the Doctrine, well done! Always preparing for an expedition to the east. Just one month and you’ve already turned this island into a fortress?”

The ship went into the harbor and the gate closed with a huge boom. In the secret harbor inside the cliff, a man went down the staircases and saluted Ye Qingxuan. “Please follow me. Bishop Carroll is waiting for you.”

Chapter 547: Learning Makes One Happy

Three weeks later, the steel workshop had expanded to twice its original size.

The scaffolding embedded in the cliff were like weeds clumped together. The giant nails wedged into the stone were holding heavy steel cables, arranged into a spider-web-like structure, in place. Heat insulating felt cloths were suspended layer by layer from the cables, forming a huge greenhouse.

Heavy rain poured from the sky, and fell on the felt cloth, causing it to evaporate and rise into the sky again in a thick fog of steam, only to condense and fell as water droplets again upon encountering the cold air above. Cold fog and hot air met in the sky, strangling each other. Finally, they blended together, forming layers of sickly white clouds.

It was as if hundreds of iron furnaces were working at the same time, or as if lava had broken through the crust of the earth and was flowing over the ground. An appalling amount of heat were constantly spreading out from the workshop.

The viscous and scorching air escaped from the valves on the door with a rotten stench.

It was like the breath of living things.

“Is it really alright to build a ship this way?” Igor stood on top of the cliff and looked down, his gaze fixed on the covered workshop. No matter how many times he had heard the explanation, he still felt incredulous, as the production method employed was truly beyond his imagination.

“The current stage of our industrial development is not advanced enough to produce such a massive thing the conventional way, so we could only do it in an alternative manner.” Carol, who had been appointed as the chief engineer, held his umbrella as he looked down and observed his work. He said, “Now the entire port and anywhere less than five hundred meters from it are within the radiation range of the alchemy reactions.

“An alchemical reactor of such a gigantic size would cost as much as half the national treasury and would take more than ten years to manufacture. “Furthermore, it can only be used once, as it would be destroyed in the process, and it has to be recycled as waste after that. The whole process requires more than a hundred alchemists to collaborate, using up countless materials and funds. “We do not have so much capital and time to waste.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be blessed with such favorable conditions, Captain Igor, we must keep everything simple. ”

“This is considered simple?” Igor was shocked.

He squatted on the edge of the cliff, then lay down to look at the huge workshop more closely.

Under the cover of the heat-insulating felt cloths, the workshop was like a monster of a gray-black color lying on the harbor of refuge, crawling and rolling around in gluey motions, convulsing in the rain as if it was alive, but also abhorrently ugly.

So ugly that it looked terrifying.

Five days ago, the musicians of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith removed the entire harbor of refuge, then built a dam at the estuary, turning whole entire port into an enclosed, bowl-like structure.

The ‘bowl’ was covered, and only a warm murky stream of water spewed out steadily from the dam. The turbid water containing alchemical elixirs and toxic metals exuded a pungent stench, staining the black ocean water white.

The hull was being manufactured in it.

As the organization that had inherited the legacy of the Religious Court of Inquiry, developing various methods to utilize demons was almost instinctual to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Plus, many demons themselves were excellent raw materials. With such a precious resource like the Mountain of Nomadism, they couldn’t possibly let it rot and spoil.

The development plan, which seemed budget-conscious to most, was considered imprudent by the old devils of the Court who had gotten used to being thrifty.

If the Congregation had a complete industrial system and enough supporting resources, they definitely wouldn’t agree to such insanity of wasting the huge piece of precious material on a goddamn ship.

“In some sense, it cannot be considered a ship at all.” Carol said, “We are just utilizing the resources at hand to as best we can, leveraging the molecular activeness of the Mountain of Nomadism’s flesh to grow it into a ship.

“If we have enough resources and time, it’s even possible to create a ship that can fly in the sky forever, occupying the sky like the winged people… Damn, those bastards not only monopolize the resources of the star belt, but also deny us access to the deep sky…”

“For me, having a boat in itself is more than enough, Mr. Carol,” Igor interrupted.

He sniffed the pungent smell coming from the workshop, looking intoxicated. “I don’t give a shit about whether it’s alive or dead, or whether it’s the child of catastrophes. I’m happy as long as it is a ship and I can sail it. Of course, it’ll be even better if it can take down a legendary warship in one go.”

He wanted to witness the process in the core of the workshop, but it was a pity as there was no way he could get close to it.

The interior of the workshop had been transformed into a petri dish that was super enormous in size. A dense forest consisting of large quantity of fungi toxic to humans grew in it. Lethal toxic gases and corrosive alchemical materials were everywhere.

Such was the most suitable environment to cultivate artificial flesh.

Beneath the cover of the gray-black felt cloth, the sea water had been transformed into a viscous culture medium of dark yellow. Innumerable muscles and organs of a tender red color floated within like seaweed, growing slowly…

Except for the musicians who were cultivating them and the engineers wearing three layers of protective clothing each, no ordinary creature could survive in that environment.

Even from a long distance, one could still smell the rich scent of blood spreading constantly.

Within the past few weeks, the smell of blood had attracted a large number of the vile spawn of the sea.

The endless demons that swarmed towards the port had all become the practice targets of the organists, their bodies contributing to the building of the ship as raw materials or cultivation media.

The organists, carefully selected by Maxwell, were undisputed elites, each of them fitting the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s requirements for newcomers perfectly — although they had impure faiths and questionable pasts.

But during such a critical period, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith naturally wouldn’t concern themselves with the rules of the past pedantically — In fact, only the young men whose minds were preoccupied with glory and the conquest of the east might have trouble accepting the fact that the rules could be bent. As for the older men, they all had no trouble with seeing which way the wind was blowing. Shi Dong had even told Ye Qingxuan all the secrets of the old Religious Court of Inquiry, and he couldn’t care less about such rules.

They only cared about the fundamental purpose, and apart from that, the end would justify the means.

As long as the Religious Court of Inquiry could be re-established, the glory of the olden days restored and the long-cherished wish to conquer the east realized, they wouldn’t think twice even if the price was that they must assassinate the Pope.

Among the organists brought along by Ye Qingxuan, the majority would be trained to become the new generation of the Witch Hammer in the next few months.

The rest were aged men whose paths had been fixed and were almost irreversible. For them, rather than to spend their lives doing a half-ass job as a member of the Witch Hammer or as a purifier, it would be better to continue along their own path. So, they chose to quit after taking part in certain courses.

The results of the short-term training course of the Congregation were remarkable.

In the short span of a few days, most of the organists who had had combat experience, or had been knights even, had mastered the main techniques and skills that would originally require one to two years to learn. Although they were still lacking in certain aspects, what they needed was just the accumulation of experience over the years.

In the past few days, the outcome of the fights against the vile spawn of the sea had made the old men who took time off their schedules to check on the progress laugh with glee. The new generation of the Witch Hammer was in embryo. Unfortunately, the progress of the musicians was still slow — although they were provided with a lot of purifying movements and esoteric music theory, those of them whose sound of heart movements had formed already had their own style of music. While they could still learn the techniques of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the learning process was much lower in terms of efficiency as compared to the purifiers who were cultivated from a young age.

Regarding this, the old devils were willing to let nature take its own course.

Musicians take a long time to cultivate, as music is not something that can be learned all at once — even express musicians, whom orthodox musicians look down upon, require three months of training.

Presently, in addition to guiding more than ten musicians, who had yet to enter the level of Resonance, to switch to learning purifying music theory, the old devil in charge of the training, who still bore a youthful appearance, had started hatching a plan involving Ye Qingxuan… The relationship between Ye Qingxuan and Maxwell was obviously no secret. When Maxwell dies, as the reserve sword-bearer, Ye Qingxuan will be the first heir to his inheritance. I wonder if Anglo’s Royal Academy of Music would mind having a new department then?

If Maxwell knew that a member of Ye Qingxuan’s relief troops was looking forward to his death before even arriving at Avalon, surely his expression would be very interesting?

Boom!

Another dull bang came from the depths of the stronghold.

Igor and Carol were stunned for a moment. They turned and looked at the stronghold.

The fortress was shrouded in moonlight of an indeterminable source, making it seem ethereal and illusory all the more, almost as if it was dissipating. From the depths of the stronghold came loud bangs and roars one after another, but it seemed a long distance away from them, and they could only heard the dull echoes.

“Something went wrong again?” Igor sighed and said, “What the hell is happening in the advanced training course?”

Carol couldn’t help but gave a wry smile.

He replied, “To tell the truth, I’m curious as well.”

Chapter 548: The Remnants

The room was so noisy. A giant table was in the huge basement, on the walls of which were numerous maps with all kinds of marks on them. Documents and files were scattered on the floor, leaving barely any room for Ye Qingxuan to stand.

Everyone in the room was so busy and anxious. The cigarette smoke mingled with the unpleasant smell of saliva and sweat. Combined with the hot air from the thermostat matric, the air was stifling.

“Our defense collapsed!” the bald old man beside the table cried, with a copy of a document in his trembling hand. “The defense line fell completely due to the mistake of the commander of our fleet in the West! Avalon was lost!” The old man lost his voice and beat his chest. He suddenly vomited a lot of blood and fell on the wheelchair.

“General Norin! General Norin!” The people around him panicked and shouted, “Medic, medic!” Two old men limply got up and pushed general Norin away.

In the chaos, one old man swept the document off the table and shouted, “Coward! Coward! Where is this commander of the west fleet? Get him on the stake! Burn him!”

“Burn him!” Other people waved their hands.

“No! You cannot do this!” The commander shouted, “I have my strategic considerations! Anglo cannot fight against this catastrophe now. You cannot do this! Let me see the Grand Inquisitor! Let me see the Grand Inquisitor!”

“Go to hell, you coward!” An old man with an oxygen mask on his face got up angrily. He took the decorating sword on the wall and stabbed the commander in the stomach. There was no blood but only wires of some mechanical entrails coming out of the hole produced by the sword. The sword went through the gap between the entrails, causing almost no damage at all. Yet the commander, overplaying his role, screamed and fell on the ground.

“Carry him out!” An old man with a metal pipe on his neck, wearing the hat of the top commander, waved his hand and said, “Now we can only count on the southern corps. Get me the map of Asgard!”

“Sir, we have no map of Asgard. Please make do with the map of Caucasia.”

“You fool! How can that work!” The top commander shouted angrily, “This is serious negligence! Military police! The white-haired kid, you, come here! You are the military police now. Get this guy away and burn him!”

Not knowing what to do, Ye Qingxuan paused. The old man urged him again, and the old man accused of negligence cocked his eye at Ye Qingxuan and gestured to him. Ye Qingxuan reluctantly pushed him to the side and two other old men who had been eating sunflower seeds covered the accused man with a sheet of red cloth to imitate the fire. Under the red cloth, the old man screamed as if he were really burned alive.

What the hell was this?

Ye Qingxuan was totally shocked while the commanders were still giving orders at the headquarters. Reports and urgent orders came and went, deploying troops. Yet all the reports and telegraphs, after they were signed out, were dumped in a dustbin in the corner along with cigarette ash and fish bones.

Pretty soon, things turned for the better under the “command” of the headquarters. Yet ten minutes later, the situation went out of control. Following the fall of Anglo, the Western Desert and North Ice Field were both lost to the enemy. Then Asgard was occupied, Burgundy was divided, and all of Caucasia was set on fire as a strategy to defend the enemy, leaving no one alive there. Finally, only the Sacred City remained, fighting alone against the dark world.

Silence fell. The commander in chief took his hat and shouted hoarsely, “Comrades, we are now in grave danger. We must guard the Sacred City! We shall not lose! The 10007th Crusade will not end here!”

All the other old men followed him enthusiastically. Then in harmony, someone shouted, “Wait a moment!” The old man who had been “stabbed to death” got up with a huge book in his hands. “You made a mistake! I had six Instruments of harmonious melody for enchantments fully charged. How was it possible that I lost all my troop after one assault by the enemy?”

The old man in charge of calculations glared at him and said, “Out of 100 points, you got only nine for weather conditions! Failure! The enemy was helped by the storm. You didn’t have enough supplies and lost half of your musicians. The instruments self-destructed!”

“I had topographical advantages!”

“That was canceled out!”

“Sh*t! This is against the rules! You son of a b*tch, your calculations were wrong! I also bought two airships! But you didn’t count them! Get them back to me!”

His mistakes exposed, the calculator felt embarrassed and shouted angrily, “I made the rules for sea battles! I modified them! You got a problem with that?”

“Yo, heretic! I’ll kill you!”

“Come and get me then! You are a son of a bitch if you don’t!”

They got more and more excited and began to fight in no time, despite their old age and deteriorating health. Those around them wanted to pull them apart, yet those who were “dead” were also making trouble, leading to total chaos in a few minutes.

It seems the 10007 crusade will end here. Ye Qingxuan shouted at them from aside but he was completely ignored. He heaved a sigh and had to wait. Then, a sunflower seed shell was thrown on his head. He turned back and saw an old man waving at him, sticking out his head from behind a curtain.

“Hey, young man. You, come here.”

Ye Qingxuan lowered his head in dismay, wondering what the old man would ask him to do. Yet after he got behind the curtain, he couldn’t help but hold his breath.

It was only a curtain away, yet it was totally different here.

He saw, besides piles of untended documents and files, numerous machines piled up with all sorts of wires. He was quite familiar with them as he had seen them in the hospital. An oxygen maker, a heart rate monitor, a blood pump… Numerous wires stretched out from above the ceiling, beneath the floor or behind the walls, and were connected to the old man in the heavy iron chair to support his life.

The half face Ye Qingxuan saw might be the only flesh left of the old man. Half of his cheek was replaced with metal and many other parts of his body were also patched with metal. The skinny old man was almost wrapped up by the machines. He had an artificial heart, a lung made of steel, a man-made spinal column and half of his skull was transparent, through which the silver electrodes in the withered brain could be seen…

Sitting on the chair facing the wall, he could hardly move any part of his body. On the wall was a narrow window through which he could see the ocean where some fire was burning.

It was torture to live like this.

“Scared?” The old man signaled Ye Qingxuan to sit, then said in his odd voice produced by metal vocal cords, “You have come here from afar. Sorry that I could not get out to meet you.”

“It’s okay. I’m still young. I’m able to cover long distances as long as I can see the one in charge here.” Ye Qingxuan looked at him carefully. He could see the wrinkles and the age pigmentation on his face, yet he could not tell how old the man was.

“I know why you are here.” The old man heaved a sigh and patted the armrest with his left hand. “Mr. Ye, you want to see us, but we are not what you expected. There is no one in charge here. We are only a bunch of defeated losers.

“The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has collapsed. We hide in this neglected corner only to heal our wounds. Even our leader has died in the Sacred Court. You want to find a glorious temple, but we only have the ruins; no value at all. Am I not right, Mr. Ye?”

After a short silence, Ye Qingxuan took off the Sacred Belt and put it aside. Looking at the old man’s eyes, he said, “I need your help.”

“I know.” Seeing the Sacred Belt beside Ye Qingxuan, the old man seemed to be a little emotional. He moved his figure and pointed at it. “May I have a look?”

Ye Qingxuan put the Sacred Belt into the old man’s hand. The old man held it tightly. Feeling the texture of the belt with his fingers, he smiled with a hint of nostalgia.

“The Sacred Belt of the Grand Inquisitor. It has been 100 years since I last saw it.”

Ye Qingxuan sat there quietly without any movement, leaving him undisturbed in his memory of the old days.

Quite a while later, the old man stopped thinking.

“Thank you, Mr. Ye. You may call me Shi Dong.” The old man introduced himself, “Like those old men outside you just saw, I am…sort of the remnant of the Religious Court of Inquiry.”

Ye Qingxuan was shocked. The remnant not of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but of the Religious Court of Inquiry!

That was dismissed more than 90 years ago!

How long has this bunch of old fellows lived? When the people of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith left the Sacred City, they had almost nothing valuable on them. Yet those machines supporting those old men were enormously expensive.

Who are these people that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith spends so much money to keep alive and feed?

“Please don’t mind, Mr. Ye.” Shi Dong produced a weird sound of pumping air from his lung, which was like a laugh. “If we have any merit, it is that we live a long life. When we were in the Religious Court of Inquiry, some of us were ascetic monks, some were inquisitors, some were purifiers, and some were cavaliers of the Witch Hammers. Now, we are only a bunch of old bones who cannot survive for five minutes.”

Ye Qingxuan smiled, not taking what he said seriously.

He would be a fool if he did.

Chapter 549: Qualifications and Conditions

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A group of living inquisitors of the Religious Court of Inquiry.

They’re simply priceless!

The Court is nothing short of a miracle created at the start of the Golden Age with the combined efforts of the Church, the Sacred City, various nations, and even the entire human world, for the exploration of the World of Dark.

Every single member was chosen from the cream of the crop of the human world and could be considered geniuses in their own right. The funds and materials spent on cultivating their talents are worth far more than their weight in black gold.

They brought light to the World of Dark, converted the wasteland into fertile soil, and illuminated the depths of the darkness with human civilization…

Before the Mass Retreat caused by the onslaught of catastrophes, they had always been seen as legends.

The possibility that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith might have actually continued to keep them in existence had never even crossed Ye Qingxuan’s mind before this!

They may not be members of the first generation, which is known for being the strongest, but even if they are members of the last generation before the disbandment, even though they have nothing left in their possessions, and are almost dying of old age, they definitely still have some remnants of their powers from the past!

Such powers are not in the form of military might that can enable one to fight against a thousand men, nor movements powerful enough to destroy mountains and rivers, but something more fundamental—the legacy that only the Religious Court of Inquiry can preserve and has enabled the Court to nurture new inquisitors continuously.

“Elder Shi Dong, allow me to make myself clear, I am here to restore the glory of the Religious Court of Inquiry,” Ye Qingxuan said after sorting out his thoughts. He looked at Shi Dong, his tone solemn. “I offer you my promise in the name of the sword-bearer. If you help me save Anglo, then as the representative of Anglo, I shall give you the full support of the nation, including the supply of whatever material resources and talent you need.

“Regardless of the stances of the other countries and the Sacred City, I will re-establish the Religious Court of Inquiry. The 400 organists I brought with me are enough to set up a new generation of the Witch Hammer once more—the new judgment knights.

“I give you my word that you will be able to form your own armed forces in the territories of Anglo, not having to answer to anyone but me, including the Emperor of Anglo.

“It’ll be like the Chainsaw Fraternity. As long as you follow me, I can give you the status and treatment they have received in Canaan. ”

He was greeted with silence. In the silence, only the noise from the old men wrestling beyond the curtain could be heard.

Shi Dong’s kept his eyes down, seemingly considering what the young man had said, but also perhaps just staring blankly at the air in front of him even though there was nothing but empty space.

After a long time, he said, “I see.” But only that and nothing else.

Ye Qingxuan frowned. He said, “Elder Shi Dong, I feel that I have given my promise with all due sincerity, and the conditions are the most I can offer. I don’t like abstruse negotiations and trivial bargainings. If what you expect is a higher price, forgive me, but there’s nothing else I can do about it.”

Shi Dong sighed. He scratched his face with a finger, wearing a gloomy expression, and spoke with the aid of his metallic prosthetic vocal cords, “Mr. Ye, do you know what was my position in the Religious Court of Inquiry initially?”

Ye Qingxuan waited for the answer quietly.

“Accountant.” Shi Dong chuckled and said, “I was an accountant.”

Ye Qingxuan was stunned.

“My apologies, Mr. Ye, I am no purifier nor judge, not even a priest nor clergy.” Shi Dong chuckled as if he had long been looking forward to Ye Qingxuan’s stricken look. “The last grand knight died two years ago. The only one remaining is me, the accountant.

“Do you need an accountant? Mr. Ye, an accountant to help you evade taxes, audit your accounts, and give out loans?” he said. “I promise, I’m the best man for the job.

“I have even given out war loans and bought bonds from the emperors of various countries in the name of the Sacred City. Each year, we would collect huge amounts of interest from them without mercy, turning the countries into money printing machines for the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Witch Hammer and the Knights Templar. But do you need men like me?”

Ye Qingxuan remained silent.

Shi Dong pressed on, “I am very sorry, Mr. Ye. Our era has passed, so please don’t strong-arm us into doing things we are no longer capable of.”

“Elder Shi Dong, haven’t you ever thought about re-establishing the Religious Court of Inquiry?” Ye Qingxuan looked at him and asked slowly, pausing between each word, “Never? Not even once?”

Shi Dong laughed in self-mockery. “I am already very, very old, Mr. Ye.” He said softly, “I am 230-years-old. Few people can live as long as I do. In order to survive, I have given up a lot of things.” He reached out and lifted a corner of the curtain, showing Ye Qingxuan the chaotic scene outside. Pointing to the old men slightly younger than himself, he said, “Look at them, still living in their unrealistic dreams. But me, I’ve grown so sick of living that I just want to die. ”

Heartfelt exhaustion could be felt from his words. Not bothering to disguise it anymore, he showed the young man in front of him the ugly side of his nature. “What you have just said are all good. They’re all excellent, precious opportunities, but for me, they’re worthless.”

Worthless.

Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes.

In the long, dead silence, only the noise outside the curtain and the soft breathing of Ye Qingxuan filled the air. After a long time, he looked up again, fixing his eyes on Shi Dong, and slowly asked, pausing between each word, “You find that I am not qualified to be the Grand Inquisitor. So you tell me all these words to persuade me to give up my plan. You would rather dig the Court a grave and bury it than to hand it over to me. Because in your opinion, I have no right to inherit the legacy that has been yours, right?”

Looking straight at the young man’s sharp eyes, Shi Dong smiled.

He nodded. He expressed his stance unabashedly.

“You’re right,” he admitted.

“Who would you find more qualified than I am?” asked Ye Qingxuan.

Shi Dong shook his head. “It’s not because of this, Mr. Ye, not all at.” His voice was hoarse, “If you didn’t have this stole on you, I would have been there to welcome you the moment you set foot on the island.

“Next, I would have sought you to help us re-establish the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and pleaded for the help and support of Anglo at all costs. Even if I had to kneel down, even if all of us here would become mercenaries of Anglo, I would pay any price for the legacy of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to be passed on.”

He said, “If you want our music, our technology, our manpower, whatever, I can gladly give it to you. But you didn’t come here for that, am I right?”

He raised his palm, with the stole in it. “You want it, you want the Religious Court of Inquiry, but you can never have it.

“Not a chance.”

“Why?” Ye Qingxuan asked. “Because of Michelle’s death?”

“Of course not.” Shi Dong seemed as if he had heard a joke. “Innumerable people of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have died because of others. It’s not like the past Grand Inquisitors had never killed one of our own. Even if you kill me, grind my bones into ashes and sprinkle them into the sea as fish bait, no one will say anything, let alone Michelle. However, Mr. Ye, you must understand something. ‘Grand Inquisitor’ is not just a title. It is where the faith of many lies, do you understand? This title… It represents a belief that many have died fighting for, sacrificing everything they had at all costs.”

Ye Qingxuan listened quietly and nodded. “So I don’t deserve it?”

Shi Dong waved his hand. “Do you know what a catastrophe is?”

Ye Qingxuan had to suppress a laugh. No one in the world could possibly understand catastrophes better than him.

But Shi Dong looked at him and said, “I’ve looked through your resume, and I know your accomplishments. In this regard, few in the world are comparable to you, even the Grand Inquisitors we’ve had in the past. But Mr. Ye, do you know what a catastrophe is to the ordinary person?”

Ye Qingxuan was silent.

“Vast, terrifying, powerful, undead… Do you know how the ordinary person feels when facing catastrophes?” said the old man.

“The desperation and powerlessness coming from the bottom of one’s heart after witnessing an existence beyond the human imagination; thoughts and doubts about the meaning of human existence from a perspective beyond the ordinary; self-mockery towards the insignificance of oneself; guilt… Can you feel them?

“Can you confront catastrophes?” Shi Dong continued, “Not by yourself, but with a group of people, thousands of people, tens of thousands of people, the people who admire you, the people who trust you, the people who will not hesitate to entrust you with their lives.”

He pressed on, “Can you lead such people? Can you provide them with the courage to contend with countless demons and undefeatable catastrophes, to fight for a glimmer of hope?” He looked at Ye Qingxuan, a raspy voice like that of steel scraping against steel coming from his metallic prosthetic vocal cords. “And after that, can you give the order that would cost all of them their lives mercilessly in order to achieve victory?

“Can you gamble with the world at all costs, even if it meant pulling all the countries into the abyss and using all of mankind as your chips?”

He asked, “Can you?”

Ye Qingxuan still remained silent.

“It’s a war, Mr. Ye, a war between humans and non-humans, a war that began in the Age of Dark and has lasted till now, and will continue into the future,” Shi Dong said.

“Blow the warhorn. Such is the true essence of the duties of the Grand Inquisitor and the Court.”

In the long silence that ensued, Ye Qingxuan chuckled as if he was mocking himself. “What you want in a leader is the ability to do so? Is that…what you want?”

“Mr. Ye, as I have said earlier, I’m old, so old that I just want to greet death.” Shi Dong shut his eyes tiredly. “I only want a proper burial place, to die in the hands of the enemy in a war considered glorious, leaving my remains on the battlefield. Can you find me the battlefield?

The battlefield worthy of us to shed blood and to suffer in pain for, the battlefield that we desperately want to set foot on once more, even if we have to sacrifice our lives and burn our souls for it, can you find it? ”

In another long silence, Ye Qingxuan suddenly laughed. It was a relaxed and happy smile. “Then allow me to change my conditions.” He looked at the old man in front of him and said calmly, “To die in the crusade to the East, would that be enough?”

Dead silence.

Dead silence descended suddenly.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed that even the sound of breathing had disappeared. Even the old men immersed in the battle simulation and their dreams came to an abrupt stop. Everyone turned back stiffly and stared at Ye Qingxuan.

In their aged, murky pupils, red light shone. It was like a flame in the embers that had never been extinguished; fanatic and dangerous. It was as if they wanted to burn this guy who spoke about the dreams that they would never forget so lightly into ashes! But also full of desire, the desire for the possibility that was almost impossible.

“Crusade?” Shi Dong repeated. He was no longer dozing off. He opened his eyes, the laid-backness and politeness of the old man fading away, replaced by an iron-like fierceness. He looked at Ye Qingxuan. “Did you say crusade?”

“Yes, the tenth crusade to the east,” Ye Qingxuan said. “A real crusade, a real expedition all the way to the easternmost of Asgard to rebuild the White Rock Stronghold and penetrate the World of Dark.”

“You can make it happen?” the old man questioned. Shi Dong leaned forward, dragging his heavy restraints like he was judging Ye Qingxuan in his mind. As if he was about to unsheathe his sword at any moment, his eyes became cold. He asked aggressively, “Can you? Ye Qingxuan!”

Chapter 550: Power and Glory

“Sure. I can do that, Mr. Shi Dong,” Ye Qingxuan said calmly. As if talking about ordinary things, he described the future. In his tone, there was not any pride or emotion, as if everything he said was guaranteed.

“I’ll speed up the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution can be re-started if we put the Stirling Engine II into use. The productivity will be promoted. At the same time, I will re-adopt the Honor System.

“I will promote a new generation of merchants and factory owners and make them the new aristocrats to replace those old-fashioned aristocrats who know only about their land and people. A lot of people will lose their land and choose to work in the factories.

“In two years, productivity will tower up, high taxes will put huge pressure on the civilians, and milk will be poured into the Thames due to lack of customers. Once the merchant aristocrats have their power, the civilians in poverty will yearn for new land and market, and for more opportunities for wealth and status. They will force the country to invade other countries in search of wealth.

“Then, the Crusade will come.

“I can give you that, Mr. Shi. It is super easy. If you want, I can do this better than anyone else.”

He slowly got up, facing the surprised stares of the old men, and said, “Not only that, but I will seize more power in the name of saving the world and send more men to the battlefield in the name of the Crusade. With war, I will get more power.”

In the silence, only the heavy breath of the old men could be heard.

Their passion for war was lit up. And they were a little shocked to hear this young man’s words. Ye Qingxuan suddenly became so strong and powerful their eyes, inspiring unspeakable respect and fear for him.

Big noise was heard from afar. A bell rang from the peak of the mountain, which told everyone that some evil creatures were coming. In the dark sea, numerous shadows came closer and closer in the glimmering fires. They came here following the waves.

There were so many of them. In the wind, one could smell the foul smell of them.

With rushing steps, Carroll came. Half kneeling outside the gate, he reported, “The current sped up and they are here earlier than expected. Please follow me to the underground shelter.”

No one replied.

The screaming of the evil creatures got closer and closer. Shi Dong was lost in thought, lowering his head like a statute. Only the sound of the operation of the machines was heard in the room.

A long time passed.

“What do you want exactly, Ye Qingxuan?” Raising his head, the old man looked into the eyes of Ye Qingxuan and examined his face. He seemed to be re-evaluating him. He asked, “If this is so easy for you, then what are you really after?”

“Power, Mr. Shi Dong,” Ye Qingxuan answered with no intention of hiding anything. “I want power, the power that makes everyone bow down to me.

“If Anglo can give it to me, I will save Anglo. If the Sacred City forbids me, I will fight against them. I will change this world. No one can stop me.

“The Crusade was only a small part of my plan. Glorious death, reconstruction of the Religious Court, or sacred Crusade, I can give all them to you. Offer me your loyalty, Mr. Shi Dong.”

Looking at Shi Dong, Ye Qingxuan said, “I have a lot more things that can change the world.”

In the silence, Shi Dong stared into Ye Qingxuan’s eyes. Ye Qingxuan’s pupils became red, a powerful non-human spirit filled his body. Tiredness vanished and was replaced by a glimmering light of will power. He was like a dying evil looking at the young man with his intense stare, tearing up all disguises and cowardness to see if the young man was lying.

But he could see nothing.

The dark eyes were like black holes, deep and quiet, sucking all grief and agony into them, yet revealing nothing.

“They are like the Ultimate!” Shi Dong wanted to touch those eyes but dared not to. After a while, he raised his hands, offering the Sacred Belt to Ye Qingxuan. He said, “Please lower your head.”

Ye Qingxuan half-kneeled before him and let Shi Dong put the solemn Sacred Belt on his shoulder. The dark-gold letters were no longer quiet. As if there were some spirits awakened from their long sleep, they shone with the light of the burning sun.

Ye Qingxuan rose and looked at the Sacred Belt on his shoulders. All old men stepped up one step to half-kneel before Ye Qingxuan. Lowering their heads, they offered their loyalty to Ye Qingxuan with no hesitation.

The sound of drawing the sword was heard. In the iron chair, Shi Dong drew his rusted sword. The heavy sword shivered, shaking all of the dust and rust off of it. Despite all the cracks and breaches, the sword was horribly sharp. The skinny old man struggled to stand up, then stepped forward, dragging all the wires. He half-kneeled before Ye Qingxuan, and lowering his head, offered his sword to Ye Qingxuan.

“The war will begin.” Shi Dong asked, “Please bless us, your Grand Inquisitor.”

Ye Qingxuan held the hilt tightly and raised the sword. A sudden boom was heard from the sword, which was like a war cry from the battlefield. It was the sound of armor rustling. Numerous spirits and ghosts came back, endowing and bestowing their last hope and willpower on the sword.

The sword became hot like a piece of iron on the fire. Then, Ye Qingxuan laid the sword on Shi Dong’s shoulder.

Looking at him, Ye Qingxuan read out the will of God to him, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditates day and night.”

“Be all the glory to you, your Grand Inquisitor,” all the old men said in their harsh voices.

Ye Qingxuan pulled Shi Dong up from the ground and gave the sword back to him. Shi Dong supported himself with the sword. The servants came out from the side doors and pulled the long robe off him. Then, they put on his iron skeleton for him, unplugged the wires and installed new machines into his body.

Pretty soon, Shi Dong had a lot of machines installed on him. The heart rate monitor, blood pump, body fluid balancing system, spinal column injector, encephalic oxygen generator, and finally, a mask made of iron. The oxygen, with the smell of oil, was pumped into his lungs, setting his spirit soaring high.

“Please follow me,” said Shi Dong. Putting his sword in the sheath, he willed the iron skeleton to go forward. He showed Ye Qingxuan the way and said, “Allow me to show you how the Witch Hammer works.”

Walking ahead of them, Ye Qingxuan smiled. “I’ll enjoy myself with that, then.”