Silent Crown

After the inspiration that Schubert’s Scepter had given him yesterday, Ye Qingxuan finally understood what kind of Symphony of Predestination he needed.

He didn’t want to have to choose between so many different paths. If he chose one path, then everything he would gain would come about as a matter of course. He didn’t want to give up so much for just a Scepter.

Otherwise, why not just go back to the East, climb the Path of the Deva, and directly attain his Scepter with the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei?

Ye Lanzhou’s seal of moonlight, Hermes’s stone of sage, Abraham’s catastrophe resonance, Haydn’s Ultra Long-Range Music Theory Framework, the purifying music theory of the silent moon, the judgement music theory of the Inquisition, the Firebird of the Chapter of the Golden Victory…

These were all good things, and the most precious, unparalleled music theories at that time.

It would be ridiculous to discard all the others for the sake of just one.

But then he had encountered a problem…he had bitten off more than he could chew.

Even though by relying on days upon days of resonating music theory, and observing the changes in the ultimate he had increased his own perception and power, it was still not enough to meld so many things into one.

He had not achieved his main goal. On the contrary, it was the core music theory contributed by the other masters that he had simplified and begun to faintly merge.

If he wanted to unite his will with so much powerful music theory, he needed unimaginable focus and strength of mind. Of all the countless musicians throughout the ages, there was only one who could do this.

The King of Black-Bach.

Only by mastering the power of the Holy Cauldron in the Originator could he push it to meld so much music theory into one. And for a human to want to reach this level was simply wishful thinking.

It was not until he had thought this through that he realized that this path was impossible to take, and that the solution he had wanted…had always been right by his side.

The Net of Aether!

Only a structure as open as the Net of Aether could accommodate so many vast and complex music theories, divide them into categories, and merge them into one by using the Heaven Ladder.

He wouldn’t need to search for elements anymore, and he wouldn’t have to waste time thinking about ways to replicate the miracles from the Bible in order to prove his own legend.

To h*ll with the Church, to h*ll with the Sacred City, and to h*ll with the Holy Cauldron!

He was going to create a legend that was all his own.

He would use the Net of Aether to create his Scepter!

Since the Sacred City had committed such treachery, Ye Qingxuan had no compunctions about doing this, even if it destroyed both him and the Sacred City.

Besides, the Sacred City of today was no longer what it had been. And the Anglo Kingdom was now Ye Qingxuan’s.

Since this catfight was bound to happen sooner or later, it was best for him to choose how it would happen.

After he made this decision, Ye Qingxuan had been fully occupied with preparing his Symphony of Predestination and modifying the Net of Aether.

It was not until he had learned the true meaning of “modification” from Schubert that he had finally made up his last shortcoming!

First, he used the way of deciphering to organize and write down his various music theories in the most streamlined format. Then, he had divided them into chapters, one after another.

Each chapter was a single module, and they were all connected by the Heaven Ladder.

With Ye Qingxuan acting as the medium, and the Staff of Fate as the cornerstone, he did not have to worry about any conflicts between them. No matter how strong the conflicts were, could they be stronger than the collision between the Holy Cauldron and the abyss?

And what would be created by this was a Symphony of Predestination unparalleled throughout history. It would be a movement of shocking, almost bestial majesty.

The only thing was that within it there were no less than nine chapters! And Ye Qingxuan had left room for interface and change within it. All of the music theory with the Symphony of Predestination seemed like a huge Rubik’s cube.

A Rubik’s cube that could expand and upgrade itself! It could access unlimited amounts of power, even becoming a Scepter would not exhaust it…

A common Rubik’s cube had twenty-seven modules. Twenty-six of them were detachable and transferable. The only one that could not be changed was the core hub, which kept them revolving.

That was Ye Qingxuan’s place in this system.

He was a part of this massive system, the cornerstone of the whole cycle, the only piece among countless pieces that did not change.

After spending so much time breaking through his mental barriers, he had finally answered the last of the seven musician questions.

From Abraham, he understood the School of Abstinence’s “rejection of self.” From Ye Lanzhou, he had mastered the School of Magic’s “Source of Dreams.” Over this long year he had learned the School of Heart’s “sense of self”. He had found the School of Revelation’s “unknown place” and experienced the School of Choir’s “place between life and death.” Through the School of Summoning’s aetheric cycle he had indirectly learned their “intangible body, tangible spirit.”

And finally, he had learned the School of Modifications'”Eternally Unchanging Things” from Schubert.

Finally, after a quick detour, the seven musician questions were completed. He had no more shortcomings, except that he still had no talent for creating music.

“It’s time.” Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt something.

“Are you ready to do this right now?” asked Mable. “If I were you, I’d hold off for a while. The music theory in these books you’ve inherited will certainly prove to be feasible, but in terms of actual application and performance there are still a lot of problems. It takes a while to polish a draft of a Symphony of Predestination into a finished product…”

Mable fell silent.

At least one year.

From draft to finished product, the modifications that must be made to a movement were even greater than those that must be made to turn a machine from a prototype into a production model. Sometimes, the finished product would be completely unrecognizable.

Some Masters could spend three, five, or even ten years on it in order to streamline the music theory and make sure the Symphony of Predestination was running smoothly.

The problems always had to be solved, and it was an all-or-nothing sort of thing.

If the problems could not be solved before it was completed, then they could only be solved in the process of forming the Symphony of Predestination. And if they could not be solved then…you were dead.

You’d be lucky if even your body was left.

“There’s not much time. I’m too lazy to go and find the problem. Let it come to me.” Ye Qingxuan took one final glance at the music theory in the manuscript. “…besides, I have experience fighting fires.”

Mable sighed. “Well then, good luck.”

She took off her signet ring and gave it to Ye Qingxuan. “If it doesn’t really work, use this.”

It was a way out, just in case.

If it didn’t work, he could discard all other music theory, and focus solely on the Chapter of the Golden Victory, using the Royal Musicians to create his Symphony of Predestination. There would be no shame in taking this way out. As far as Ye Qingxuan was concerned, as long as he could created his Symphony of Predestination, then he would be sure to be able to create a Scepter. At that time, Old Phil was in the Anglo Kingdom, a catastrophe in human form.

Mary might even entitle him as Protector of the Realm, making him a new Maxwell.

“I’ll consider it.” Ye Qingxuan was just being polite. He had no intention of doing so.

He did not want to be a new Maxwell.

If he wanted, he had to chance to inherit the seal of moonlight and become a new Ye Lanzhou, or stay where he was and become a second Hermes, or even inherit the teacher’s vestments and become a second Abraham…as long as he was willing, he could become the second somebody else.

But he was not willing to rely on the will of others, or to walk another’s path.

He had suffered so much, and built his own career.

He wanted to become himself.

Ye Qingxuan wanted to become Ye Qingxuan.

He did not want anything other than that.