Silent Crown

Seeing Ye Qingxuan hold the broken stone plate and close his eyes to meditate, the masters who were watching from afar couldn’t help but whisper among themselves. After his body entered the state of aether circulation, the chaotic aether wave rapidly subsided.

Although they didn’t know Ye Qingxuan’s plan, they still managed to vaguely guess bits and pieces of it after so many days. What little they guessed already sufficed to make them feel incredulous and absurd.

“Do you think it can work?” one of them asked.

“I don’t know,” another replied.

“It feels inconceivable no matter how you look at it.” An aged master had conservative views on the subject. “Many have come up with such quirky ideas since the ancient times, but few have succeeded.”

“Not necessarily.” The musician who was the first to achieve the Level of Scepter among them shook his head. “His foundation is too strong, even the average scepter musician is not as good as he is. If he is willing to accomplish something, he can accomplish it.”

“But don’t forget that we are in the Ultimate,” came the reply.

Everyone fell into silence.

“Yes, the Ultimate.” Master Auden sighed softly.

The Physical World and the realm of aether overlapped in this place, the image of the Originator was projected here, and the catastrophe in its embryo could rewrite the rules. One could not bypass the will of the various kings of the first generation when attempting to achieve anything here.

Rising to the starry sky or falling into hell…

Everything would be decided by the kings.

…

Ye Qingxuan saw an ocean.

A frozen ocean.

In the boundless world, it was empty. Only the frozen ocean extended as far as one could perceive, and pale colors covered everything. It was his music theory that had been frozen by the Ultimate, his Symphony of Predestination.

“The time for change has come,” he said. His willpower operated in the sky, and as he willed it, the sea of ice shattered, and countless strands of music theory emerged from it, burst forth, turned into flames, rose slowly, and dissipated in the sky.

A mighty melody slowly sounded.

What appeared next was the strings of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.

The strings disintegrated into pure music theory and turned into the power ingrained in the bloodline of House Ye—the Heaven Ladder.

It stretched across the seven systems and operated smoothly without hindrance. It was the best foundation and structure, and would also be the main body of the Net of Aether.

It was just that Ye Qingxuan never expected that after going around in circles, he would return to the very beginning and entrust everything to Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.

But the present was very different from the past.

Under Ye Qingxuan’s will, the music theory of the Heaven Ladder rapidly proliferated. In the sparse notes played by the qin, a phantom image of the qin appeared vaguely, then quickly shattered again. After shattering, it turned into countless streams of silver light. The crisscross streams of light pierced through the world of nothingness, connecting countless strands of music theory together.

The movement of moonlight turned into a bright moon and rose above the night sky, the sage stone became the earth, laying the foundation with life. The catastrophe resonation echoed the powers from the four directions, forming the very first gust of wind, and propelled the first cycle of music theory…

In the collision of countless strands of music theory, bright lights and loud noises evolved one after another. In the end, they were united once more in the vast system by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei.

The Net of Aether was ready to appear in its embryonic form.

An expression of joy crossed Ye Qingxuan’s face, and he was going to attempt to run it, but suddenly felt himself starting to sink… He was sinking towards somewhere deeper.

“What the heck?” He was stunned.

The sudden accident made him descend into confusion and shock.

He suddenly felt something warm in his arms. He could feel a fiery glow being emitted from the broken stone plate of the Ultimate.

Then, out of the blue, something interfered…

He opened his eyes again.

He saw the solemn palace hall.

He was still sitting in his original place, but in front of the stone chair was a row of stone fences. The rest of the people in the hall had disappeared without a trace, and the weeds that had emerged from the cracks had also vanished. The dilapidated ruins of the hall had been restored to its complete state at the moment. The reliefs and patterns formed with carved obsidian hung on the overhead dome and on the stone pillars. Behind him, a door had already been opened, as if he was the one who had pushed the heavy door open and stepped in.

Meanwhile, in front of him, at the end of the main hall, a new door of gold was shut tightly. Countless strands of music theory revealed their form and were wrapped around it. It turned out to be his Net of Aether.

Like a scorching sun, flames hung above the dome overhead.

The six banners of bright red hung from the surroundings, each with a different emblem on it, be it thorns, frost, or an iron moon…

The figures of the various kings of the first generation appeared before their respective banners. They stood tall, like judges, and towered over Ye Qingxuan. In the empty eye sockets, flames of strong convictions were still burning.

They had established the first epoch of mankind and started the Golden Era of mankind. After death, their convictions never left and cast themselves into the Ultimate still. They once again morphed into their original appearance and appeared in front of Ye Qingxuan, judging everything of his.

Ye Qingxuan wanted to get up, but before he realized it, dark shackles had been put on his hands. He was momentarily surprised and couldn’t help but start laughing softly.

“Eh! What the heck is this?” He looked up at the figures of the various kings of the first generation. “A trial? Do I need to make an innocent plea for myself?”

“Silence, mortal!” The kings all said in unison, “All words are powerless. The metage shall begin, and thou art to wait quietly for the results!”

“Metage?” Ye Qingxuan raised his head and looked at them. “Do you need me to stand on the scales?”

No one responded.

Silence ensued.

Ye Qingxuan couldn’t help but feel somewhat awkward. Coughing dryly twice, he added, “I mean, if something’s the matter, please make it as fast as possible, I am in a hurry.”

At the very moment, turbulence burst forth.

At the end of the hall, the golden door rumbled.

A huge balance appeared from it, and an ancient, majestic emblem hung on both sides of the balance.

On the left side of the balance was the unrest shadows of countless strands of music theory. However, an unchanging order remained throughout the chaos. In the end, it morphed into a vague Rubik’s Cube and turned out to be the core of the Net of Aether, Ye Qingxuan’s Symphony of Predestination.

However, the right side of the balance was empty.

As a result, the balance quickly tilted to one side.

In an instant, the flame went out.

Darkness engulfed everything.

But in the darkness, violent lightning shot of the eyes of the various kings of the first generation, illuminating Ye Qingxuan’s confused expression.

Their voices echoed in the hall like thunder, and the horrible impact almost tore Ye Qingxuan to pieces.

“How empty!” The King of the Sun roared furiously, “Your heart has no glory within at all! Have humans degenerated to this extent after a millennium?”

“Hypocrite!” The Sage of the Iron Moon shook his head. “All your good deeds are only for self-fulfillment, you only love yourself.”

The Master of the Golden Palace shook his head in disappointment. “You are selfish and give no thought to the overall situation!”

The Emperor of Aurora, wearing a coronet and black robe, cast a cold gaze at him. “You avoid your duties and betray your responsibilities!”

Holding his scepter, Augustus closed his eyes. “You deny God and refuse to sacrifice!”

The nameless king in white sighed. “You are a deviant and are not of much use.”

In the dead silence, a terrifying pressure descended from the sky, exerting on Ye Qingxuan’s will. It whipped his consciousness again and again, making him almost unable to continue.

“Leave us, offender!” The various kings of the first generation judged in unison. “You are not qualified to receive the power, and everything of yours is worthless to the world. You don’t deserve the power!”

Boom! Ye Qingxuan’s body shook and his consciousness became scattered. On the outside, his body became fleeting to the eye, like a candle in the wind. But from the beginning till the end, he was never completely put to rout, nor did he totally dissipate as the kings declared.

He was still here.

Ye Qingxuan lifted a hand and slowly wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse. “Your Majesties, I have said these words a long time ago: I owe the world nothing…” He looked up and coldly glared at the dead of the most ancient of times. “It is the world that owes me.”

Bang! On his hands, the black iron shackles fell apart and turned into iron sand, dissipating in midair. He slowly got up, forcibly withstanding the horrifying crushing force from the Ultimate. He raised his head arrogantly, his chest puffed out, even though his bones whined forlornly, about to fall apart. “The world has changed, Your Majesties, a new era is coming, but the new era does not belong to you.”

He croaked hoarsely, “Old men can’t see the current situation clearly, and they don’t know where the future lies, the blame is not on you. But if you want to be likable, you should be well-behaved and retire. Leave your positions and make room for the young, don’t be a burden that keeps getting in the way.”

In the furious roars of the kings, Ye Qingxuan coldly warned, “Now, please open the door. Otherwise, just f*ck off and go back to your graves!”