Silent Crown Chapter 106

“Misunderstand?” Ingmar sneered. “Was the image in the melody not from the School of Abstinence?”

“How could it be?” Abraham shook his head and said earnestly, “I’ve never taught him any of the battle scores from the military or from the School of Abstinence. This is proof.” With that, he raised his prosthetic limb and showed them the unbroken seal. This was the eternal shackle the military had put on him. Unless he received royal permission and amnesty, Abraham could not get around the agreement.

“This entire time, I have only taught him the Revelations music theory that I know, as well as how to decipher ancient texts. Yezi is a good student that I don’t need to worry about. He grasped the interpretation method quickly and has a natural talent for Revelations. I think he’ll be a good scholar in the future, so there must be a misunderstanding.”

The direct rebuke came from Abraham’s straightforward speaking style and had a nice effect. After all, everyone knew that this guy basically had nonexistent social skills and was the worst at lying.

Ingmar’s expression instantly darkened. The quiet principal also stood up and poured salt on Ingmar’s wounds. “Abraham has reported to me every class he gives. Everything he taught follows the school rules. Ingmar, you don’t have to target Abraham. Please don’t bring private matters into this.”

The last sentence was practically accusing Ingmar of not separating public and private matters to his face, causing Ingmar’s expression to change. He squeezed out a smile and nodded, clenching his jaw. Finally, he glared at Abraham and scoffed.

Interpretation method? He understood completely what Abraham was doing now! That d*mn b*stard…he wanted to make his students a heretic like him! An Abstinence musician under the guise of Revelations? No, this was not all…Abraham could be telling him the truth.

It was okay even if he did not teach the School of Abstinence to his student or give him any music scores. He had already taught the ‘interpretation method,’ which contained all of his findings and realizations, giving Ye Qingxuan a stable foundation.

For the rest, Ye Qingxuan only had to fathom on his own…With only a bit of guidance, he would be able to comprehend and grasp the following steps by himself. He looked like a Revelations musician, but was a true Abstinence musician in disguise! And he was a musician killer without the constraints of any laws or agreements. A silent musician free from the Silent Authorities? This was every musician’s nightmare!

Ingmar’s eyes grew icy. “Seems like this honest man has started to use tricks to make a name for himself too?” He clenched his fist and swore to himself, “Abraham, someday you’ll be taken to the gallows! Someday…”

But now the question was: how could they slow down the Eastern creature’s reaping? Thankfully the change in illusion disrupted his second round of reaping. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Now, the professors of the major schools in the conference room all had uncharacteristically uncomfortable expressions. Nothing this laughable had happened in the centuries since the Royal Academy of Music’s establishment.

No one had thought that the Eastern kid, the disgrace of the Academy, was actually a beast under the disguise of a human. He had forced down the scores of all graduating students in a few short minutes! This meant that no one would be able to receive higher than an A during this year’s graduation test. If he continued…he might be able to wipe out all graduating students in the first round of trials!

“This can’t continue.” The bearded Egor from Modifications furrowed his brows and said soundlessly in the secret language, “We must stop him.”

“Stop him? How?” Ludwig, coach of the School of Summoning, could not help but laugh. “We can’t do anything to what’s happening in the Requiem enchantment. He hasn’t cheated either. Should we personally break the rules?”

Ingmar, his expression ruthless, cut in, “If we unite and question the fairness of this trial, an emergency stop might be possible.”

“Don’t be stupid. The three of us isn’t enough. If the School of Royalty’s coach doesn’t join, the school board won’t be able to use its veto power.”

The School of Royalty was its own school, independent from the other three schools, and undoubtedly held an important position in the Royal Academy of Music. Though Thomas, the one in charge this generation, was an Elite, he rarely ever participated in these things. If not for the fact that the principal had once forcefully expelled a concertmaster and caused too much trouble, Thomas would not have even joined the school board.

Moreover, after teaching his final disciple Gavin, he had already decided not to worry over school matters anymore and focus on his symphony of predestination to try for the Scepter level.

If he succeeded, Thomas would be the fourth saint since the establishment of the Academy. It would be an amazing thing for both the School of Royalty and Anglo. If they disturbed him because of such trivial matters, they would have to face the blame and probably be rejected.

Hearing this, Ingmar could not help but scoff and asked, “Do you have any better ideas? Are you going to let the disgrace of the academy continue his mischief?”

An argument began in the secret conversations channel. In the end, Ludwig cut them off. “Stop arguing!” Ludwig glared at them and sent the message, “That Eastern kid has already stopped.”

“Stopped?” Ingmar blanched and looked at the aerial display in disbelief.

Yes, Ye Qingxuan really had stopped. The score that had shot up like a fountain was stuck at nine-thousand and seven-hundred and no longer moved. It was as if he had already become bored of this unchallenging trial. There were no terrifying meteor showers in the village that the illusion had turned into. The ominousness had disappeared.

All graduating students ran to spread the good news with tears streaming down their faces. It had been short, but the hellish ten minutes had finally ended!

“Yes, he stopped…” Ingmar studied the wandering black dot. He furrowed his brows, feeling a bit unsettled again. “Is he preparing something strange again? What does he want?”

“I don’t know.” Egor shook his head. His expression was troubled. “It looks like…he’s looking for something?”

“What is he looking for?”

“Who knows?” Ludwig sighed. “But it’s finally over, right?”

Yes, the ridiculous trial was finally ending soon.

–

At dusk, the streets of the crude village were still. It was just like the countless villages Ye Qingxuan had seen before. Its ground was muddy, and chickens and ducks ran amok, but they seemed to be scared of him and went the other way when they saw him.

The village was crude, and there were scorch marks on the crumbling walls. Under the setting sun, smoke rose from all the low-rise houses. The air was filled with the smell of burning firewood and cooking rice.

The dusky sunlight shone lazily on the people. It seemed to chase away all unhappiness and gloominess, making one’s footsteps lighter. Ye Qingxuan strolled through the village. He constantly stopped the students he passed and asked them something.

Some shook their heads; others were blank, while even others pointed in an unclear direction after pondering. And so Ye Qingxuan walked toward the village’s center square.

A group of kids ran around in the square. They played with simple toys or fought for candy. Their faces and bodies were covered in mud. It seemed that they had too much fun.

A clown with a colorfully painted face danced in the middle of the group of children. As he laughed, he played a three-stringed instrument and sang a country song.

“It rained hard this morning and the flowers scattered all over. Ah, but so what? We’re happily together…We’re together, holding hands, laughing, singing and going on a trip. Don’t care if it’s sunny or rainy, we’re happily together…”

Ye Qingxuan remembered that this was Charles’ favorite children’s song. He seemed to have sung it when he was drunk, and it would make one feel safe and warm. As if all sadness had vanished.

“So you’re here…” Ye Qingxuan’s footsteps stopped in the distance. Looking at the silver-haired girl with her back to him, he could not help but sigh.

During this long trial, he had found practically everyone in the Academy, but could not find Bai Xi. The mimicry of the graduating students could not fool Ye Qingxuan, but he was helpless faced with this little girl.

He had never imagined that she would be the biggest challenge in this game of hide-and-seek. Now, she sat on the grass and propped her chin on her hands, spacing out in boredom. Sometimes, she would look up at the playing kids. Like a child who had had an argument, she only looked from afar, but her eyes were wishful.

Sometimes, Ye Qingxuan really felt that even if there were one-hundred girls that looked like Bai Xi put together, he would still be able to find her. She was always the most antisocial child.

Her eyes were always like that—stubborn and determined. She liked to stare directly into other’s eyes, as if wanting to see clearly if they were lying. She was not polite and not very likeable. If one got close, she would distance herself. If one made her scared…she might never look at them again.

Ye Qingxuan sighed and snuck over, standing beside her. Bai Xi saw him and looked away. Ye Qingxuan raised his hand, but Bai Xi’s shoulder trembled and tensed.

He froze. The accomplishment and pride in his heart disappeared and he could not help but feel sad. Scratching his head, he said softly, “I looked for a long time.”

“Okay,” was Bai Xi’s quiet reply after a long pause.

Ye Qingxuan reached out and opened his hand before her. “Let’s go back.”

Bai Xi looked up at the hand. After hesitating for a long time, she nodded lightly. “Okay.”

She grasped Ye Qingxuan’s hand and allowed him to pull her up and knock the dirt and dust off her. Finally, the broken ribbon was tied around her messy hair again. She looked immature and laughable, but even more like a little girl.

She allowed Ye Qingxuan to hold her hand and start on the way back.

“You’re not allowed to run away when you’re mad in the future,” Ye Qingxuan suddenly murmured. “If I can’t find you, I’ll get angry.”

“I know.” Bai Xi lowered her head and kicked him lightly. “Such a nagger…”

The setting sun, withered vines, old tree, evening crows, and a heartbroken man at the horizon.

“I heard that you were caught by that white haired guy?” a crow asked quietly, standing above the old tree in the backyard.

“Yeah.” The tree’s branches trembled as if it was reminded of a nightmare. It asked in a hoarse voice, “And you?”

“I was caught too.” The crow was heartbroken.

“Me too.” The withered vine asked in a low voice, “How many times for you?”

“Twice. You?”

The withered vine was quiet for a while before replying, “Three times.”

The crow looked at the withered vine pitifully and raised its wing to pat the vine. “Don’t be sad. I heard someone was caught four times.” The old tree burst into tears, and the crow was shocked. “Bro, what’s the matter?”

“The guy who was caught four times was me.”

“That’s sad.” The crow shed tears of sympathy.

The withered vine nodded too. “Yeah, really sad.”

“Don’t worry, it’s all over.” The three fellow victims huddled together in the cold, crying on each other’s shoulders. “It’s all over now.”

But footsteps and voices could be heard faintly in the distance. “How many did you get?”

“Not even one. I even got points deducted because I damaged the scene.” The girl’s voice sounded a little disappointed. “There’s only ten left.”

“Well, then I’ll look for a few to let you raise it a little.”

“Great!”

In the distance, the last glimmer of light was about to disappear. It was a sign of the arrival of the long night.

When the white moon rose to the sky, everyone was relieved for some reason. The f*cked up first day was finally over.

“Students, I am so pleased!” The excited principal at the podium whistled, ignoring Her Highness who was beside him, and the gloomy Sydney and other coaches behind him.

“Everyone did great today! Chef? Chef! Add a chicken leg to everyone’s dinner to replenish their energy!” Maxwell waved widely and increased the benefits for all of the students.

Unfortunately, no one cheered because they were all exhausted. But Maxwell was not in a hurry and instead gave a mysterious smile. “Next, I have good news to announce…In order to help everyone keep up the good work in the next two rounds of trial, the royal family prepared a prize for first place in today’s trial.”

Maxwell paused. Looking back at the girl behind him, he smiled. “The prize is a complete set of materials needed for the sublimation ritual! It includes the resonance rails unique to the School of Anglo, and the highest quality aether crystals. It can turn any music movement into a Heart Mark, and allow the musician to accept the knowledge during the sublimation ritual!”

The audience was silenced instantly, followed by an explosion of noise. Everyone’s eyes grew wild, but more people were lamenting about their unluckiness, forcing them to be so far behind.

The jealous eyes that fixed on Ye Qingxuan in that instant were almost too much for him to bear.

Among the secret rituals mastered by countless musicians, the “sublimation ritual” was undoubtedly the most popular one. It was highly sought after due to its excellent effects and near-absence of side effects.

The recipient in a “sublimation ritual” would submerge his mind in the aether ocean and fall toward the Originator.

This was the optimal opportunity, close to Deva sensing. In one short hour, the recipient would gain as much in music theory and power as others would in several months. The sublimation rituals held by different schools were never the same. The School of Anglo had a special sublimation ritual. It lasted the longest and practically took an entire night.

By consuming huge amounts of material and aether, the musician’s strength would be improved as well. The effect was three to four times that of a regular sublimation.

Many rhythm level musicians sought ‘inspiration’ to no avail, but received inspired during the sublimation ritual. Then under the Deva sensing, they stepped into the third stage and officially entered the musician level.

It was also the best way for ordinary people who had limited talent and found it difficult to improve. It must be known that a sublimation ritual was practically the only hope for the majority of students to become musicians! The ordinary man could not afford its high cost and precious material. Even an elite family would feel the loss too…

Furthermore, this time, the royal family had also provided the aether crystal, resonance rails and other treasured materials to produce the Heart Mark.

The Heart Mark! This was a creation unique to the School of Mind. It was an alternative modeled after the once-in-a-lifetime ‘nirvana’ that Scepter level musicians of the School of Mind experienced.

As the name implied, the Heart Mark was passed on by the heart, rather than words. Its purpose was to pass down the feelings of a music score and allow instant acquisition of the score. The musician could skip months and years of studying and practice, especially since some music scores above the Resonance level chose its owner!

If a musician could not comprehend the spirit of the music score, he could be stuck even after decades of hard work, but if a musician studied with the Heart Mark, he could directly obtain the sentiment and essence left by the creator, thus omitting the years of practice.

It was just as Ye Qingxuan had inherited his Heart Mark through the notes left by his father; however, Ye Lanzhou was so unique in his accomplishments of the School of Mind that he could even attach his Heart Mark in his signature for fun.

The Heart Mark even contained compounding pieces of music, hiding Moonlight within Black Friday. The precision of the structure and law, and clearness of the music theory was jaw-dropping.

For most musicians, the inheritance of a Heart Mark depended on one’s fate, so there was no need to emphasize its preciousness. There was no doubt that Ye Qingxuan was most likely the one to gain this opportunity since he had an absolute advantage over Banner in second place, with four thousands points between them. Therefore, those envious eyes were basically understandable.

Ye Qingxuan looked at the principal helplessly. Why did the principal have to roast him like that?

But Maxwell was not done enjoying himself and added another remark. “At that time, I’ll invite a musician with unmatchable skills in alchemy to hold the ritual. The music scores needed for the Heart Mark will be provided by the library. The recipient can choose any Resonance level score!”

Boom!

Ye Qingxuan practically saw fire falling from the sky. Now, all the students in the academy seemed to be ignited by the sudden prize. If they were warm before, they were frenzied now. A resolute look flashed through everyone’s eyes as they looked in Ye Qingxuan’s direction. Irreconcilable hatred was written all over their faces!

This included the cold eyes from Banner behind him. The sublimation ritual was not a big deal for the Adrian family. Gavin had used it many times. It was also the reason why Gavin could enter the Musician level. But the Resonance level music scores from the library was a different story…

Even if one did not speak of the highest level saintly scores and the symphony of predestination, any score that entered the Resonance level was worlds away from other scores. Before this, a musician was on his own, but after resonating with the Devas, his power would be completely incomparable.

The feeling of danger behind him made Ye Qingxuan smile bitterly. “What is this? The disgrace of the academy is now the enemy of the academy,” he thought.

“Then next, all we have left to speak of is tomorrow’s trial…” The principal pretended to cough and stopped! The old man was pretending to keep everyone in suspense.

Several coaching members of the school board looked at each other. In the end, they looked at Sydney at the same time. His expression grew distressed immediately. Helpless, he followed the principal’s plan and asked, “Mr. Principal, do you already have plans for tomorrow’s trial?”

“That’s right.” Maxwell patted Sydney’s shoulder in satisfaction and said, “Since it’s the school anniversary, we should continue Anglo’s glorious tradition!”

“Eh?!” It was not only Sydney who felt a bad premonition.

Maxwell smiled happily. “Let’s…play soccer!”

Sydney: “…”

Coaches: “…”

Students: “…”

Silence—dead silence. Everyone was stunned and they looked at each other, speechless. Much later, someone asked quietly, “Soccer?”

“That’s right, soccer!” Maxwell waved excitedly. “We should get some exercise since this is the campus of youth! The Royal Academy of Music aims to develop all-around students, so how can there be no sports?!

“So, let’s play soccer! Kick in your youth! Kick in your style! Kick in a new era of the Royal Academy of Music!

“I had originally planned to suggest to the royal family that we hold a musician soccer game and invite Burgundy, Asgard, Canaan and even the Eastern Imperial College to participate…Sydney what do you think of this proposal? Isn’t it good?”

“What do you think about this proposal? Could it be called a proposal? It was completely decided already!” Sydney thought. “What else can I say?”

“I support it, I support it.” Sydney could only nod. Wiping his cold sweat, he quietly looked at the princess who was still calm, and said in a low voice, “Think long-term, Mr. Principal. Long-term!”

Sydney was afraid that the principal would digress and propose more troublesome things. If Maxwell wanted soccer, then it was soccer. At most, everyone would just play along and kick some balls.

“Oh, there’s one more thing I forgot to say,” Maxwell added. “The soccer I’m talking about is the kind where you can use music scores.”

Use music scores…how the f*ck was this soccer?!

“Is this killer soccer?!”

His words stirred the crowd. Everyone’s expressions changed. Ye Qingxuan tried to imagine the scene, but found that he could not because his imagination was limited this time. For some reason, he just felt very uneasy.

But in the crowd, Bart seemed to think of something. He suddenly laughed, overwhelmed with joy. He pointed at Ye Qingxuan full of schadenfreude.

“Haha, you’re dead meat, Ye Qingxuan! You’re doomed, you know? No one can save you now…”

Ye Qingxuan froze for a moment, but quickly understood where the uneasiness came from. He met Charles’ eyes and could not help but curse.

It was late at night in the living room of the Music History department. Ye Qingxuan, Charles and Bai Xi stared at each other in awkward silence.

After a long time, Ye Qingxuan took the lead and asked with a serious expression, “So what can we do now?”

“Nothing.” Charles scratched his head. “That *sshole from your grade was right. We’re probably dead this time.”

“One-thousand points per win, five hundred each for a tie, and five hundred deducted for a loss…If we don’t find a solution, we’ll lose horribly this time. I’m okay but senior, you won’t be able to graduate!”

“…Well, it’s okay if I can’t graduate.” Charles asked with some hesitation, “I’m used to it anyway. So what if I wait some more and try again next year?”

“Okay, so we won’t worry about graduating now. But the Cave of Sleep and sublimation ritual…we won’t get that opportunity again.” Ye Qingxuan grew impatient. “Senior, you have to work too. Look, even Bai Xi got a few hundred points today! You already passed the first round, so can’t you put in some effort?”

“But putting in effort is useless for these things, isn’t it?” Charles shrugged. “If working hard can solve everything, then why isn’t everyone working hard?”

“…Then we’re definitely dead meat this time.” Ye Qingxuan sighed helplessly. “I don’t have enough points to deduct if you want to graduate. The school board can happily force us to beg for food next year.”

“There’s nothing bad with that, actually.” Charles scratched his head. “To be honest, I was doing really badly here for some time. Professor had been worried that I’d have to beg for food in the future. But then I suddenly got it!”

“…Got it?”

“That’s right.” Charles became spirited. “I spent a few months observing Avalon’s beggars and studied their techniques. You wouldn’t know it, but Avalon’s charity is pretty good. There’s no stress either. I’m telling you, I found some spots where you won’t go hungry if you beg there! So Junior, don’t worry. Even if we have to beg, I can still take you to the top!”

“Senior, where are your ambitions?!” Ye Qingxuan cracked his knuckles, kind of wanting to hit Charles.

“I’ve even memorized the most valuable golden spots for begging in Avalon! I may be unaccomplished normally, but if I go beg, I’ll be the king of beggars! How is that not a pursuit?”

“Your dream is to beg for food?!”

Beside them, Bai Xi could not take it anymore and interrupted, “Hey, you’re off topic!”

Ye Qingxuan returned to the sofa and crossed his arms. He said seriously, “The most important thing now is the manpower problem! If we don’t solve it, we’ll be dead!”

Charles and Bai Xi exchanged glances and sighed in unison. There really was no solution to this problem.

Yes, the most fatal problem for the History department currently was—manpower! They did not have enough people!

Even if one did not look at the three major schools of Modifications, Summoning and Revelations, even the other departments like Music Theory and Classicism had handfuls of people! As for the major schools, forming a league was no problem, not to mention a soccer team!

But the History department had no allies and was unloved by all over the years. Their annual budgets were not even as much as what the others received for cafeteria reimbursements. No wonder Bart said they were dead meat. They could not even form a basic team!

There were currently only three students in the entire department. If Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi were not here this year, it would be even worse. Charles would be a one-man band. They would not even be able to catch up if everyone on the field only took one step, not to mention playing ball!

“Actually, I think us three are okay.” Charles coughed. “If it’s us three, at least we have chemistry. Isn’t that how fantasy novels are all written nowadays? Three people form a small team, and we charge and retreat together. You come as one person and we have three people. You come as one hundred, and we’re still three…”

“Those people are usually the antagonists, alright? And even if they come as three, they’re still beaten by the main character…and the main character isn’t alone either. He can easily find twenty-some people, along with replacements, coaches and a cheerleading team! How can we do this as three people?” Ye Qingxuan said in exasperation.

“Ha, Junior, you shouldn’t be so pessimistic. Don’t Easterners have that saying, ‘the mountains and rivers multiply and there’s a road to the underworld; the willows are dark and blossoms shine, and there is a godly village ahead?’ There’s always hope.”

“Senior, what kind of weird saying is that? It makes it feel like we’re definitely done for now.” Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt powerless and kind of wanted to go crazy. “And we totally don’t have enough people! Even if we have a forward, a mid-field, and a defender, we still need a goalie! Where do we get a goalie?”

“Uh…here’s the goalie!” Charles lifted the big golden dog that was sleeping on the ground and shook it before Ye Qingxuan. “Look, what a great goalie! Imposing! Aggressive! Cold! Merciless! Practically the Academy’s nightmare, a dark legend!”

The sleeping Old Phil opened its eyes and looked around in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

Ye Qingxuan was stunned too. “Can that work?”

“I think so!” Bai Xing raised a hand in support. “Old Phil is much better than humans!”

“Yeah!” Charles nodded. “They didn’t say we can’t use dogs and Old Phil isn’t an average dog, either. Right, Old Phil?”

“Ow!” Old Phil had turned around and bit Charles’s hand in annoyance. Charles yelped and began rolling on the ground.

Seeing him get beat up by Old Phil, Ye Qingxuan did not show any sign of going to help. Instead, he began pondering. What Charles said was not entirely illogical. There was no reason why Summoning’s phantom beasts could go on field but Old Phil could not!

There was an advanced level amongst the musician categories called the “jungle chanter.” These guys hung out in the jungle all day. Their most unique characteristic was that they were skilled at interacting with animals, and they usually had an animal companion. The animals were part of the jungle chanter’s strength. Even the Sacred City recognized this. So if this was the case, Old Phil might be allowed too.

Ye Qingxuan chewed on his nails and began racking his brain for loopholes in the school rules and soccer game rules. If there was really no other way, they could only bring Old Phil…

Just as he was pondering, a knock on the door of the living room sounded. Everyone’s heads shot up and looked over. Who would come so late at night?

One could vaguely see a student wearing the Revelations uniform in the dim light outside. He looked like this year’s graduating student. He came late at night, knocked politely and waited quietly, not impatient at all.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, that unlucky guy from today. You haven’t forgotten, right, Concertmaster Ye?” The voice sounded familiar. He was definitely an acquaintance.

After thinking for a bit, it suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan. “You’re that Bench Guy from today!”

“…What is ‘Bench Guy’?” The boy was taken aback and felt helpless. “Whatever, you can call me that.”

It was not illogical for Ye Qingxuan to call him ‘Bench Guy.’ He stood outside the door now in his school uniform. His posture, clothing and greeting all followed the school rules. He seemed polite and kind. But for some reason, his head was covered in a square…rock.

Yes, rock.

Ye Qingxuan raised a finger and tapped it. The echo was crisp. Yes, this really an actual piece of concrete brick. It seemed that Bench Guy’s had studied mimicry well. He had mimicked the material and hardness perfectly!

But coming at midnight in this mask-like headpiece and being unwilling to reveal his identity was just suspicious!

“Uh, aren’t you going to invite me in?” Bench Guy cocked his head and ‘looked’ at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan imagined that he was smiling.

Ye Qingxuan’s lips twitched and he moved away from the door. “Come in. The History department can’t let guests stand outside.”

Soon, Bench Guy was on the sofa. He gazed around as if he could see the furnishings surrounding him. Finally, he nodded and praised, “Small but complete. It’s not bad. I didn’t think the History department’s atmosphere would be so relaxed and gentle. It’s much better than the coldness of most schools.”

“Here you go.” Bai Xi brought over a cup of tea maliciously and studied the concrete headgear seriously. She wanted to know how this guy would drink it…

“…Thanks.” Bench Guy lifted the tea cup, but put it down after hesitating, much to Bai Xi’s disappointment. “I didn’t come here tonight to drink tea. I think Concertmaster Ye must have guessed why I’m here already, so I’ll just cut to the chase.”

“Please.” Ye Qingxuan nodded, showing that he was all ears.

“Tomorrow’s the second trial, which is a soccer game. But, as far as I know, the History department only has three students. If I didn’t guess incorrectly, you’re probably worried about your number.”

Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while before nodding. “That’s correct.”

“So, do you need my help?” Bench Guy suddenly said. “To be honest, I haven’t found a team yet. If the History department’s willing, I can join you. If you agree, I can call some people over too. You need people and I need points. It’s a win-win, so how about it? If we win, we can split the points. If we lose, it’s just like I invested poorly. There aren’t any losses for you.”

Indeed, according to what Bench Guy said, they would not have any losses. It was a pure win. Bench Guy’s arrival was like receiving coal in the winter, but the coal was too perfect and was naturally suspicious.

“I know why you’re here now. Thanks for your help, but I have some questions.” Ye Qingxuan exchanged glances with the others. After thinking for a bit, he asked straightforwardly, “Since you’re here to help, why do you have to hide under that cover?”

Bench Guy chuckled bitterly and touched his concrete head. “Concertmaster Ye, don’t you know that you’re everyone’s target now? Someone’s already said that anyone who helps you will be sent to the Whitechapel Hospital. I’m going to graduate, so I’m not scared of their threats, but I still have to worry about my safety, you know?”

“If you’re worried about your safety, then why are you here?”

“Teaming up with strong people is always better than being dragged down by those stupid teammates.” Bench Guy’s voice had a natural tone, as if everything made sense. One could not help but trust him.

But Ye Qingxuan did not budge. “Actually, I have a hypothesis that can explain all of this.” He looked at Bench Guy’s boxy head and his eyes hardened. “For example, someone, like Bart or Banner or someone who doesn’t like me, wants to eliminate me in the second round. So they make you and others join me. Then you’ll make me lose on purpose at the most critical point…Doesn’t this sound logical?”

Bench Guy was silent. “If that’s what you think, then I have nothing to say. But if I wanted to harm you, why would I have advised you this morning?”

Ye Qingxuan shook his head slightly. What he said did make sense, but it was still not enough to prove his innocence.

Charles, who had been watching for a while, moved over and asked softly, “Is this guy reliable?”

Ye Qingxuan looked up at Bench Guy’s eye and shook his head. “To be honest, he’s not very reliable.”

“…Can you not say that in front of me?” Bench Guy said.

Bench Guy was filled with awkwardness, but Ye Qingxuan changed the topic immediately. “But at least he’s good at talking, especially with his chicken soup for the restless soul!”

“Is that a compliment?” Bench Guy’s voice grew more troubled, but Charles came up and grasped his hand enthusiastically.

“Then we must be the same type of person! Nice to meet you! I’ve been here for so many years, but I didn’t know there was another graduate student who liked chicken soup like me. We should interact more closely.” As he spoke, Charles touched Bench Guy’s hands, and his tone became flirty. “Wow, your hand feels really soft…”

“You—what do you want?” Bench Guy got goosebumps from Charles’s tone. He tried to draw his hand back, but he found that his hand was held tightly and he could not pull away.

“Don’t be afraid, I just want to read your palm.” Charles grabbed Bench Guy’s wrist and leisurely pried the fingers open one by one. Understanding filled his eyes. “No calluses, unlike a commoner, but there’s also no cream applied, so he’s not like an elite either.”

Ye Qingxuan nodded. “There are no injuries on the fingers, his nails are finely trimmed, skin is cared for properly…his family probably isn’t short of money.”

At last, the two of them stopped pretending and circled around while studying at the nervous Bench Guy with their sharp and harsh eyes. The two exchanged views with a few words, never considering that who they were talking about was right before them.

“His clothes are clean and well-ironed. He cares about his appearance and has a sense of honor, but a little shallow…” Ye Qingxuan paused and suddenly realized, “He wants to make people think that he is a careful and serious person.”

“The headset is of poor taste, but it looks just right. It’s accurate…to the millimeter? Ah, Junior, bro, he has OCD!”

“Yeah, so he’s not poor.”

“But not an elite.”

“But hopes to make a good impression.”

“…with OCD.”

The two people glanced at each other, and Ye Qingxuan said, “He’s the son of a merchant?”

“Or maybe the descendant of a scholar.”

“What about a local lord?” Ye Qing added. “It’s possible too.”

Charles nodded. “But there’s no doubt he’s a utilitarian, an ambitious one with high aspirations…none of the above should have anything to do with that group of the second-generation failures.”

The two people nodded in satisfaction.

“Reasoning complete.”

“Explanation finished.”

“Yay.”

The two *ssholes high-fived happily and made synchronized peace signs. On the couch, Bench Guy subconsciously moved to pull out a handkerchief from the bosom and wiped the cold sweat seeping from his forehead. Soon, he realized that he could not pull out a handkerchief or wipe the sweat on his forehead.

“Did I pass the inspection?” He smiled wryly. “So, how many people are we going to look for then? I heard that there are more than twenty people on Revelations’ main team this year.”

“You don’t have to look for more. Five is enough.”

“Five?” Bench Guy counted on his fingers for a long while. “There are only four people. Is there someone else who joined?”

“Not a human, but we do have a dog.” Charles waved to him with Old Phil’s paw. “What do you think? This is one of your teammates. Do you want to come and say hello?”

“…” Under Old Phil’s disdainful gaze, Bench Guy was shocked and could not react immediately.

“Since we have enough people, there’s one last problem.” Charles slapped his thigh and looked up. He asked, “Has anyone played soccer before?”

“…” It was dead silence and no one raised their hand.

Ye Qingxuan asked in a low voice, “Senior, haven’t you played before?”

“Of course not. I was really annoying when I was little, so no one would like to play with me. It was really sad. Yezi, don’t tell me that you haven’t played before?”

“Uh…” Ye Qingxuan’s gaze suddenly drifted up. “I used to have a lot of homework. How would I have time to play?”

Stunned, Charles turned to Bai Xi.

“What are you looking at me for?” Bai Xi snorted. “Why would I fight over a ball with dozens of people for no reason? It’s not like I can eat the ball!”

Charles looked at Old Phil with the last shred of hope. Old Phil glared at him as looking down on his IQ. Did he think a dog would play soccer for fun?

Charles was completely hopeless. He turned toward Bench Guy. “You?”

Bench Guy felt a little awkward all of a sudden. “Well, when I was young, my tutor was very strict. I thought all of you would have played before.”

“…That is to say, none of us have ever played before?” No one responded. And so, Charles sighed. “It’s late tonight. Everyone go take a bath and sleep. We still have to go get killed tomorrow. Hope that it won’t be too ugly…”

–

The next day, was a breezy and sunny day. In the Requiem enchantment was a vast stadium with every seat occupied. As far as one could see, it was a dark mass of noisy people.

Ye Qingxuan stepped onto the field, feeling the green grass underfoot, the wind with the smell of grass, and the light earthy smell of the soil. It made him nostalgic. Even the sound of the tide that had haunted his ears was gone now. It was as if he was back in a vast prairie on the mainland instead of this distant and strange city.

“It feels so good to be standing on firm soil, Charles.” he suddenly said without any particular reason, making Charles bewildered.

When the crowd in the audience noticed that the youth had appeared on the field, they suddenly began rustling.

Quite a few people booed him while there were a lot of people with painted faces who waved flags and cheered, despite the pressure from the school.

“Concertmaster Ye! I support you!”

“Concertmaster Ye will win! Show those guys your power!”

In the crowd, someone suddenly screamed, “Eastern Ye, I want to make babies with you!”

“…Making babies is unnecessary.” Ye Qingxuan’s expression slacked and he waved to the spectators.

Soon the referee appeared on the field. It was the first game of the day, and captain Charles went to draw on behalf of his team. Ye Qingxuan had strongly opposed this because Charles was always unlucky; however, it seemed that no one in this team was lucky, so he just went with it.

The result was as predicted…

“It really is the shortest draw.”

Ye Qingxuan looked at the returning Charles with an expressionless face. Charles squeezed out an awkward smile. “The rainbow comes after the storm. The rainbow comes after the storm…”

“After the storm your *ss! The first is the seed team of Modifications. Of the twelve players, there are three graduates! The others are all destructive maniacs…” Ye Qingxuan wanted to die. “We don’t even need to play. They can just put the soccer ball aside and shoot a frost ray or palm flame per person and I don’t even know how dead we’ll be!”

“Hey, Concertmaster Ye, we’re ready. Can we start?” On the other side of the field, the Modifications guys were ready and filled with anticipation.

With the current situation, everyone knew that Concertmaster Ye, who had had his time to shine in the first round, was now the easiest to bully.

If it was the ordinary students who had the advantage in the first round, then the second round was completely reversed. This was the graduates’ home turf. These guys had been in the school for years and had learned countless music scores.

Even the stupidest person could reach the Rhythm level after five or six years. The outstanding students would at least be at the edge Deva sensing and would become formal musicians soon.

Not to mention, there were a dozen of them who already had the qualifications to officially become a musician. For those guys, defeating the juniors was easy as pie.

Regardless of the others, the weirdos from the History department meant nothing to these people. If they did not seize this chance to squeeze out few credits, it would be against their morals.

“Don’t be impatient. We’re still talking about our strategy.” Ye Qingxuan squeezed out a smile.

The referee looked down at his pocket watch. “I’ll give you five minutes.”

“It’s okay. We’re not in a hurry. You can talk as slowly as you wish, Concertmaster Ye. How about ten minutes? Is that enough?” James, the captain of the Modifications team, waved his hand with uncharacteristic generosity. Meeting the eyes of his teammates, they burst into laughter.

“Twenty minutes is okay too.” Someone on the team whistled.

No matter how one looked at things, this round was their stage. Even if they gave Ye Qingxuan ten more minutes, would he be able to make ten more people appear like magic? So, the people of Charles’ team turned green. Bai Xi stuck her middle finger up at the other side defiantly.

“What should we do?” Charles whispered.

“Nothing. They’re ready to destroy us, so what else can we do?” Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth. “Do as planned! I don’t believe that they’ll be more shameless than us…”

Soon, under the referee’s arrangement, the two teams stood on the dividing line at the center of the field. Before the game began, they shook hands with each other. Looking at the team twice as large as Ye Qingxuan’s and their eager members, the supporters in the audience began to lose their faith.

But soon, the enemies were stunned. “Wait, who is that?”

Bench Guy with a concrete brick on his head looked at the sky like nothing was happening. He whistled innocently as if not aware of how strange he looked. In an instant, everyone looked at him and he abruptly stiffened. “Uh…”

“This is our new member, his nickname is little Zhuzi. You can just call him Dunzi.” Ye Qingxuan waved to Bench Guy with an emotionless face. “Dunzi, stop spacing out and come to say hi.”

Bench Guy seemed to glare at Ye Qingxuan, but soon, he sighed helplessly. “Hello everyone. I’m little Zhuzi.”

What the hell? Little Zhuzi? James did not believe him at all. He frowned and stared at him, “Are you from the History department? Why haven’t we seen you before? Isn’t your costume a bit suspicious?”

“It’s because he’s ugly. He doesn’t want to scare you,”Ye Qingxuan lied shamelessly and squinted at them. “Moreover, he just has to be from our school, right? Would you like to check the student ID? You care about this too much. People who don’t know better might think you’re from the executive office.”

“You…”

“You…” James’s voice died off and he scoffed, no longer willing to argue over this topic with Ye Qingxuan. But he quickly felt that there was something else wrong! “Wait, what is this?”

The gold dog sitting on the ground scoffed and rolled its eyes, not wanting to bother with him.

“Oh, that.” Ye Qingxuan picked his nose with his pinkie finger and stated, “That’s our goalie. Let me introduce you to him. His name is Old Phil, and he is an irreplaceable member of the History department…”

James stared, dumbfounded. “It—it’s clearly a dog!”

“So what?” Bai Xi rolled her eyes. “Even dogs are better than you all…what are you scared of?”

“Referee, objection!” James twisted his head toward the referee. The referee was also confused and subconsciously looked behind him to the top of the stands. He quickly received the sign and his expression became strange.

Eyeing Ye Qingxuan, he coughed and said, “Objection ineffective. Special circumstances call for special treatment. James, stop wasting time and shake their hand to start.”

James practically thought that he heard incorrectly. Special circumstances call for special treatment? But that was clearly a dog! But he quickly forced down his shock and depression, and gloomily stretched his hand toward Ye Qingxuan. “I hope to learn from you.”

“And I, you.” Ye Qingxuan shook his hand and swung it forcefully. His smile was full of enthusiasm.

Seeing his cheerful smile, James felt anger coming from everywhere. Clenching his jaw, he grit out, “Rest assured that friendship comes first and the game comes second. We won’t go for the kill. At most, you’ll just lose horribly.”

“Oh, really? Then thank you so much.” Ye Qingxuan gave a fake laugh too. “We’re really not very confident, so please have mercy on us.”

“Of course, of course.” James moved his facial muscles into a smile and grasped Ye Qingxuan’s hand, shaking it.

Clunk. Something fell from Ye Qingxuan’s sleeves and landed on the ground with a crisp sound. Under the sun, everyone was stunned. It was a heavy iron wrench and it shone blindingly with silver light.

“This…” James was frozen.

Ye Qingxuan calmly picked up the wrench and stuffed it back into his sleeve. “As you can see, we’re a team that loves mechanics, so it’s normal for us to have wrenches in our pockets.” He fluttered his lashes innocently, as if he was really telling the truth.

Clunk! There was another sound behind him.

A hammer fell from under Bai Xi’s skirt. Its reflection shone with cold light, making James’s expression change dramatically. His lips quivered, but he could not say anything.

“As you can see, we’re also skilled at woodworking,” Ye Qingxuan explained seriously. “That’s why it’s also normal to have a hammer in our pockets. Bai Xi, quickly put it away. Aren’t you scared of the seniors laughing at us?” He pretended to scold Bai Xi and then pushed a smile back onto his face as he gazed at James. “Please don’t mind us. That was just a small episode.”

Ye Qingxuan patted his bulging chest that was filled with who-knew-what and promised with a serious face, “Believe me, this game will be very fun!”

For some reason, James’s team felt an eerie chill go down their spines.

–

“Both sides get ready!” The referee stood at the midline of the field and gazed at the players on either side of him. He gently placed the customized soccer ball down at his feet and carefully retreated.

Once the game started, this place would be a battleground. They were only students, but they were musicians after all. Those who still dared to stand in the center of a messy fight between dozens of musicians were either suicidal or had something wrong with their brain.

Now, the eyes of both sides were scanning for weak points in the other team. Some were already murmuring to themselves, preparing the syllables they would chant later. The three graduating students unabashedly pulled out their instruments.

After hesitating for a bit, Bench Guy pulled out an average-looking flute from his sleeve. It was clear that this was not his usual instrument. It looked like the cheap and mass-produced stuff made for students to get used to playing. With the heavy load of aether, it would be hard to last one game.

If not for the fact that they could play and communicate with the aether only after the game began, they would have started preparing now.

“Huh, they look unfriendly.” Charles whistled.

“Three!” The sound of the referee’s countdown traveled over.

At the back, Old Phil opened its mouth. Its sharp teeth reflected a cold glint under the sun, chilling one’s heart. It seemed as if it would charge over as soon as the countdown ended.

James’s blood ran cold. Had these History department b*stards really decided to squash a musician’s dignity and get into a fist fight right at the start? They were not even giving him time to play his music score…Weren’t they scared of breaking the game’s rules and getting a foul?

“They won’t dare…” He gritted his teeth and glared at Ye Qingxuan furiously. Ye Qingxuan, the offense, smiled at him.

“Two!”

Under everyone’s gazes, the youth on the field smiled innocently, but his hand reached for his chest naturally and grasped something. Was it a hammer? Or a bat? Or some weird Eastern weapon?!

“One!”

Ye Qingxuan moved his lips into a strange smile, slightly shaking up James’s teammates.

“He won’t dare.” Clenching his jaw, James turned to see his teammates’ slightly scared expressions. His own darkened. “He won’t dare!”

“Start!”

The second the countdown ended, chilling coldness lit inside Ye Qingxuan’s eyes. The menacing flash made one’s scalp numb. He charged forward with giant steps!

For a moment, James was stunned. Everyone waited guardedly and took a step back reflexively. They quickly began chanting runes and cast a iron wall-like protective effect around them. He was close! Close!

The hand Ye Qingxuan had reached into his bosom was suddenly taken out. He swung at James aggressively, as if he was going to throw something. This guy was seriously crazy!

James’s expression changed and his shoulder shook. He quickly reached his hands before him. After a few sparse syllables, an instantaneous rune was cast, creating a faintly visible wall before him.

But the thing in Ye Qingxuan’s hand did not fly out. Instead, he shook it before James like it was a prank.

A crude and simple ragged sweater sewn after being stuffed with cotton. It was…a doll?

Yes, it was a doll.

Just as everyone was stunned, Ye Qingxuan moved quickly and kicked the soccer ball at the center line. He had successfully stolen the ball and brushed past James with it. Was passing someone really that easy?

Yes, if he was not close to tripping as he kicked…All the spectators that had been anticipating an intense fight were dazed now. They had probably never seen someone kick a soccer ball so horribly.

He stumbled and limped like an old lady walking on the street with a shopping basket, and was ready to fall beside a carriage at any time and start scamming people. But despite how horrible the kick was, James just let him pass? He passed? Who could believe that?

There was a mass of boos!

The Modifications students all had quick tempers. Some people started yelling and insulting on the spot. All of the different dialects verbally battered James without repeating each other.

James was dazed too. He looked at what was in his hands. When Ye Qingxuan had brushed past, he had tossed the doll into James’s arms. “A gift for you!”

James’s face alternated between livid and white before turning an angry red. “Ye Qingxuan! You asked for it!” He spun around. A beam of light shot from his hands, going straight for Ye Qingxuan’s back. The instantaneous rune Combustion turned the air red-hot and flew out with raging heat.

The ripple of aether created by the hasty casting was as stark as a lighthouse in the darkness. Ye Qingxuan did not even have to use Bolero to decipher the aether, and feel the time and direction of his actions.

Compared to the parliament’s criminals and dark musicians who loved bloodshed, the academy’s students were just so loveable!

Ye Qingxuan made a turn without even looking back. The fireball brushed past him and fell onto the ground, igniting a whole patch of grass. It scorched the soil instantly.

“Wah, you’re playing for real?” Ye Qingxuan shrieked and sped up.

He had already run to the backfield of Modifications and was pretty much in the middle of the crowd. But now, even the stupidest people would have realized that they had been played by the white-haired Eastern kid!

“Block him!” James yelled.

The graduating student in the defensive raised his palm and guided a string of piercing notes with his finger. No, those were not notes but a complete melody. He was already a musician and had implanted his music score into his instrument.

As he moved, a ray of green stuff shot forward from his finger. It swam in the air like a snake, heading straight toward Ye Qingxuan’s face. The faint green light illuminated the paleness of Ye Qingxuan’s face.

It was a direct strong acid arrow!

“Try dodging that!” The graduating student laughed arrogantly. He had stuffed his violin with music scores in the morning for the game. To have the advantage in this fast-paced battle, he had given up on destructive music scores and packed dozens of short syllables repeatedly. Other than speed and protection effects, the rest were all direct strong acid arrows! His viciousness was hair-rising.

Compared to the slower fireballs and nondestructive frost rays, these arrows had a natural corrosion effect and could shoot out acid. It was just too useful. Though the destruction was a little less than that of a fireball, it had an unnaturally large amount of related effects. Someone could force themselves to endure freezing ice or burning fire, but once acid fell on them, they would basically be out. Acid had sustained damage!

But the moment the acid arrow fell from the sky and was shooting down, a beam of yellow light abruptly landed on Ye Qingxuan’s head. It exploded, turning into a ball of dirt-yellow smoke. The acid dropped into it and sizzled, evaporating quickly and vanishing.

The ghastly green and dirt-yellow colors battled with each other and disappeared at the same time.

The graduating student who had shot the arrow froze. He looked back and saw the student in disguise next to the other side’s goal. There was a crack in his concrete break, revealing his lips. He played his flute soundlessly.

Ye Qingxuan laughed loudly. “Thanks, Bench Guy!”

“No problem.” Bench Guy sighed in concern. “Worry about yourself first.”

In the distance, a rumble sounded.

Hearing Bench Guy’s words, Ye Qingxuan looked up to see the student before him already producing a melody. The sound was fierce like a rippling flame. A line of red appeared in thin air and swept forward. It was meters away but Ye Qingxuan’s hair still curled slightly from the heat.

His steps halted abruptly. Immediately, the redness expanded before him, turning into a wall of fire. His eyes turned red before the spewing flames. If he had reacted a bit more slowly, he would have charged right into the sea of fire and died with glory. He almost kicked the ball in out of fright and hurriedly dribbled the ball back.

But then the wall of fire actually charged forward.

Ye Qingxuan looked to either side in hesitation. He saw students shrouded in ice and covered in white frost charging toward him on both sides. These guys had really put everything in. In order to save time, they did not even put up a vacuum shield and just cast an instantaneous rune, covering themselves in frost to lower the temperature before rushing toward Ye Qingxuan.

The defense were all muscular and burly men. Ye Qingxuan did not know what they ate, but they were at least two heads taller than him! If they worked on their arms a bit more, they might be thicker than his waist!

Ye Qingxuan neither had his steel skeleton nor the Sighing Sword. It could only be death if he charged directly. After hesitating, he clenched his jaw and ran toward the fire wall, yelling, “Bench Guy, protect me!”

“…” Bench Guy sighed. “So you’re just going to keep using me, huh?”

Placing his flute beside his lips, he pressed his fingers down and played a light melody. The melody hung in the air like mist, but it created a gale. Faint mist solidified into a white line that shot into the fire wall.

“Hold your breath.” Bench Guy’s low voice sounded in Ye Qingxuan’s ear. He no longer hesitated and charged headfirst into the blazing wall of fire.

Boom!

Something exploded in the fire wall and it shook. The redness instantly darkened. The playing student behind the wall froze. His melody and the following notes were cut off and shattered!

Following that, he found there was a gaping hole in the fire wall. A ball shot through the hole, flying directly toward his face…

“Go!”

Boom! The student’s vision went dark and he bent down, holding his face and rolling on the ground in pain. The soccer ball landed on the ground and returned to Ye Qingxuan’s feet.

“Neutralization? Or qualitative change?” James stared blankly at the ashes of the shattered wall of fire but it suddenly dawned on him. He stared back at Bench Guy as if he had seen a ghost. “No, it’s elemental breakdown!”

That guy had completely broken down the aether formula of the fire wall in that instant! He had not created a vacuum to extinguish the fire, nor had he added a new material to qualitatively change the flames. Instead, he had broken it down from the music theory level and completely destroyed the enemy’s melody so that the base of the fire wall’s existence was gone. This was entirely a Modifications technique…

But when did Modifications have someone crazy enough to completely break down an enemy’s music theory and melody within the snap of a finger?!

–

Just as the School of Mind emphasized “mental images,” the power of the School of Illusions came from “fulcrums” of reality, and the foundations of all melodies of the School of Choir came from “equilibrium of the four liquids,” the destructive power of the School of Modifications was built on complex “formulas!”

The change between acid and base, the secret of rusting steel, the technique of igniting flames or bringing frost…all of these were effects created by aether following the guidance of music theory formulas. The complex and intimidating formulas were the foundation of everything, but since they were formulas, there was a way to crack them. This was the countermeasure against the School of Modifications.

But to accurately find the enemy’s formula and substitution variables, control the changes in aether and neutralize the produced effect all during the rapid aether changes…Just how experienced of a technique and how strong of a control was needed to perform this countermeasure?

James suddenly had an epiphany. Was he from another school while the other team the actual seed team of Modifications? But when did such a madman appear in the school?!

James totally did not know who had this skill! Even he could not accomplish this! Maybe his professor could? But who the living h*ll was this?

For a moment, James was completely shaken. But on the backfield, Ye Qingxuan had already charged forward. Using his extremely awkward dribbling skills, he had actually grasped the chance and rushed to the front of the goal.

Seeing him rush over with a vicious expression, the goalie’s face paled instantly. “Is he going to carry the ball over and beat me up?” he thought.

But Ye Qingxuan’s eyes were extremely excited, as if he was burning up and every cell in his body was screaming, “Goal! Goal! Goal!” This would be the first goal of his life!

“This thing called soccer is actually pretty interesting,” he murmured to himself as he sped up in the direction of the goal. He was close! Close! Getting closer!

“Good job, Yezi!” Charles yelled excitedly. “Goal! Goal!”

Even Bai Xi called loudly, “Come on, cousin!”

Concertmaster Ye’s supporters in the stands went wild with joy. They roared, pushing back the insults from Modifications and giving their vocal support. Amid the thunderous noises, Ye Qingxuan’s steps slowed. Coldness flashed past his eyes. He swung his right leg back and suddenly kicked forward!

The goalie tensed up too. Seeing Ye Qingxuan raise his leg, he roared and dove in the direction of his kick. But he met thin air. His expression changed. He had been played again!

Ye Qingxuan had not even kicked. He just raised his leg and then put it back down quickly. Seeing that the goalie was tricked, he smiled and raised his leg again. This time, the goalie on the ground had no way of blocking him!

Under everyone’s cheers and focused eyes, it felt like every cell in his body was on fire. Immense power poured from his body.

There was a muffled sound.

The soccer ball flew out!

As everyone held their breath in anticipation, the soccer ball cut an arc through the air and flew forward like lightning. It was so fast one could not even process it. The goalie shrieked and pulled himself up, diving for the ball. But he was late. The ball grazed his fingertips and flew forward. And then it…missed?

Everyone widened their eyes.

The ball missed?

Yes, it missed!

Because that kick was not aimed at the goal at all. After the ball made its arc, it flew out the field and into the stands. Everyone’s roars and cheers stopped. They stared at each other in dead silence.

Only Ye Qingxuan lowered his head awkwardly and scratched his face. Even someone as shameless as him felt his face reddening.

The spectators could not accept the result and immediately began wailing. “Bro, you’re right in front of the goal. How could you kick in the wrong direction…”

What kind of horrible kick was that?

“Heh, it’s my first time playing, after all.” Ye Qingxuan put on a smile. “This is already impressive. Don’t you know how hard I worked?”

How hard he had worked?

A bunch of water bottles, vegetable leaves, and even a tomato flew at him, almost drowning him and making him uncharacteristically pathetic.

The referee soon made his decision. “The ball is out. It goes to Modifications now.”

When they brushed shoulders, James glared at Ye Qingxuan coldly and gritted out, “Ye Qingxuan, you forced me to do this!”

He tossed the completely charred doll back into Ye Qingxuan’s hands and walked to the boundary to serve the ball. Ye Qingxuan looked back and saw that his teammates were still waiting, grouped before their own goal. Their eyes were filled with regret that he did not live up to their expectations.

Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt depressed. This wasn’t his fault, right? This was already pretty good for a newbie. But he had also wasted their best opportunity.

Ye Qingxuan sighed and pulled his spirits back together. He prepared to steal the ball, but the later beating had become inevitable. He could only try his best.

But at the boundary, the Modifications team was not in a hurry to serve. Practically all members went up and clustered around James. It looked like an on-the-spot meeting. After three graduating students discussed for a bit, their expressions changed.

“You can’t be afraid of putting your all into it at times like this.” James gazed at Bench Guy in the distance with suspicion and said quietly, “We must destroy them first. Otherwise those guys can really…”

Quickly, everyone’s expressions turned serious and they solidified their determination. The three graduating students exchanged glances and pulled out their instruments. It was clear that they were all rich students. Their instruments all had the logo of the Hephaestus workshop.

This workshop was known for their instruments’ high portability and professionalism. During the Hundred Year War between Anglo and Burgundy, they had even created an organ that could be transported in a carriage for Anglo.

One must know that the organ was usually a fortress weapon and supersized. Rather than an instrument, these things should be called military fortifications or battle weaponry.

Back then, in the Central Templar of the westernmost barrier, they had used up an immeasurable amount of money to create this supersized organ. The prototype had already been planned at the start of the barrier’s construction. It was six hundred meters tall and had forty-six levels of keys, and was known as the Weeper.

The ability to compress such an enormous organ into a single carriage was enough to show the skills of the Hephaestus workshop, not to mention the grand piano in their hands right now.

Ye Qingxuan watched as they expanded the piano. Aether apparitions wrapped around them and appeared in the air above the black and white keys. Seeing this, Ye Qingxuan knew that these guys were not just playing anymore.

Seeing that they were about to harmonize with tacit agreement, Ye Qingxuan began to break out in cold sweat. “The taunts this time are a bit too loud…”

When the three pressed down the piano keys in synchronization, sound shot out from thin air. The confused melody practically sliced the air. The dramatically changing melody contained an unsettling charm, making one instantly feel panic and caught by surprise.

In that melody, the wind broke and the ground shook. Water and fire were no longer stable either and became muddled yet brutal. Broken shards of light illuminated in all directions. Electricity connected them all, pricking at one’s hair.

James, radiating with fierce waves, stood before the soccer ball and flashed a sneer at Ye Qingxuan. “I promise you’ll like this.”

A ray of firelight shone in the corner of his eye and transformed into a flame, covering his entire pupil. Soon, his entire body was bathed in fire and radiating with wild heat.

Soon, Ye Qingxuan could no longer see his face in the distance because the soil beneath his feet had boiled and turned into lava too. Lava stretched upward along his ankles. The black crystals extracted from the soil rapidly proliferated, covering his body and making it burlier and burlier.

A dense red circuit appeared on the black steel-like stone armor, continuously radiating high heat. One dared not to be less than five steps away from it. But on the top of his head, a clump of black clouds gathered in the air. It radiated with piercing coldness. Occasionally, a cold wind blew, leaving a ghastly frost mark on the ground.

It was like a devil from hell coming to the world, setting off flames and frost, the land shaking while the wind wailed.

The other two graduates kept playing their melodies, but their faces were getting pale. It was obvious that the force of this frenzy had gone beyond their control. Even the teammates stayed far away from James, afraid of being swept away by the frenzied force.

“Are you ready?” James stepped on the soccer which had been frozen into a huge ice hockey rink, showing a ferocious look to the teenager.

“The game begins!”

Boom!

All Ye Qingxuan could feel was a red stream of light shooting toward his face!

–

“Saint Liszt’s movement Mazeppa?” Above the stands, Ludwig, the coach of the School of Summoning, was slightly astonished.

This was the resonance movement the saints created according to the deeds of legendary hero Mazeppa. It transformed the musician into the controller of the four elements. He could manipulate earth, water, wind and fire, and become a destructive machine. If one played this movement to its fullest, it was possible to turn a whole town into ashes.

Liszt, Paganini, Chopin. These three saints, who had made outstanding contributions to the School of Modifications, were known as the Three Heroes of Modifications. In history, they were centuries apart, and not all of them specialized in modifications, but they all laid the foundation and paved the way for the Modifications with their own theories. Their music theories and styles’ effect on the entire school had become well ingrained.

Liszt, who specialized in Modifications, directly adapted many music scores for the format of the Modifications, which made the score more destructive and violent. He had spent his whole life studying Modifications and made unparalleled achievements on piano. After he died, he was welcomed into the Sacred City and became a Holy Spirit. To avoid the taboo, he became known as the King of Wind, Creator and Destroyer.

It was this music score that gave the School of Modifications known the nickname “school of “battlefield musicians”.

But soon, Ludwig realized something. “Unbelievable! The younger, the stronger. I didn’t expect that the Modifications’ skill in ‘divided coherence’ had developed so maturely.”

He could see that this movement was not the original version of the “Mazeppa,” but a rearrangement that had lowered the level and usage requirements. After all, this famous symphonic poem was a movement of the resonance level, and was known for its extreme burden on musicians.

It was clear the adaptor had lowered the level of the original movement. In order to reduce the difficulty, it was divided into three parts played by three musicians at the same time so the movement’s great pressure was shared.

But this movement that was derived from Liszt’s work indicated his power as a revolutionist at the time. The moment the effect was formed, the aether on the entire soccer field began changing wildly.

In the observation of the aether ball, a faint aetheric eddy was formed on the field. Huge dark currents spread around and everything was thrown in the turmoil. Ludwig put away the aether ball, slowly nodded. “As expected of the School of Modifications. Though it’s only an adaptation, Mr. Egor’s remarkable accomplishments on the Modifications are obvious now.”

“You flatter me.” Egor nodded and smiled slightly. This music adaptation was not his favorite work, but it still gave him pride.

But at the other end of the stand, someone chuckled, causing Egor to glance over and frown slightly. The uninvited blonde man sat beside the principal. His face was hidden in the shadows and he stared toward the field. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was going to fail, he grew gleeful.

“Haha, that guy is going to suffer,” he murmured. No one knew who he was talking about.

–

The wind and the fire rushed toward Ye Qingxuan suddenly. It was like a flow of light, and left a burning scorch mark in its path. Controlling the fire and storm, setting off frost, James had passed by Ye Qingxuan in a blink of an eye.

Ye Qingxuan subconsciously wanted to block the ball, but James just looked at him and waved his hand.

A foehn wind was created as his hand pressed down. Dark red fire emerged out of thin air, pouncing toward Ye Qingxuan’s direction. The high pressure was like a gun barrel. It roared and shook. The furious winds contained high heat, burning hot enough to scorch the heart. Even if there was a block of iron before him, it would instantly burned red by the scalding wind.

Obviously, James had gone easy and did not end his life completely, however he was not exactly gentle either. If the foehn wind was sent directly toward Ye Qingxuan, he would probably be sent to the emergency room immediately.

In the blink of an eye, the running youth only had the time to raise his hands and cover his head. Then, he felt a sharp pain on his face. He was upended and rolled in the air. After falling down on the ground, he began to cough out his lungs.

Soon, he froze. Looking at his intact limbs, he realized that nothing had happened to him, other than getting flipped over.

In the distance, James, who had been running into the midfield, looked away and hummed, gazing at Bench Guy beside the goal. It was this guy who had grasped the moment and deconstructed half of his foehn wind. But Bench Guy was gaping at the grinning man beside him—Charles.

The moment before, it was he who had acted at the same time with Bench Guy. No, he had even acted earlier than him. While Bench Guy was focused on deconstructing the foehn wind, Charles had worked directly on Ye Qingxuan’s body. In the snap of a finger, countless notes were performed like flowing water.

First, he changed the air pressure, blurring Ye Qingxuan’s features with the rune Haze. It was followed by the twisting of light, causing James to instantly lose his target with runes Bubble and Light.

Then it was Mirror, which Ye Qingxuan was best at. A target was created beside him to attract the fire and shared most of his burden. Just as the foehn arrived, another ray of frost was shone on Ye Qingxuan, decreasing the Foehn’s heat.

Finally, it was the merciless Gas. It expanded the air pressure beforehand to lift Ye Qingxuan and helped him escape from the impact of the Foehn’s aftermath.

These deconstructions and attacks in that instant weakened the foehn too much to reach Ye Qingxuan’s.

Ye Qingxuan’s pathetic upending was all Charles…

“What’s the matter?” Charles sensed Bench Guy’s eyes and revealed a “shy” smile. “Are you really shocked, stunned, and want to compliment me? Come on, hero…”

Bench Guy suddenly did not want to talk to him anymore. Now, he needed to be prepared for James’s attack—that guy was the problem at hand.

After gathering the strength of his teammates, James had transformed into a miniature destructive giant. He sprinted at full speed down the field, continuously obliterating the dozens of obstacles set for him. Whether it was the stone walls rising from the ground or the pawn formation made by ice, they were all wrecked completely, leaving ruins scattered on the ground.

Under the cheers of Modifications, James sped across the field. No one could stop him. Well, if the slim figure before him did not count…Wait, there was someone before him?

Charles was stunned. Soon he realized who it was and his expression changed. “Bai Xi?”

Dammit!

Bai Xi stood blankly in the center of the field, directly ahead of James. She seemed have not reacted yet and gazed at the charging firelight. Charles had no time to speak and rushed toward Bai Xi, but it was too late.

Off-field, the spectators could not help but cry out. Concertmaster Ye received both praise and blame, but the people mostly praised this cute little girl. It was just that, in the few months after the start of school, it was mostly Ye Qingxuan who was always under the limelight. Bai Xi was not involved. Most people saw her when she was trampling flowers and walking the dog.

Facing the burning light, Bai Xi’s figure was silhouetted became incomparably miniscule in contrast. Like a reflection in the water, she would be crushed easily in the next moment.

James looked at the vaguely dazed face and his heart suddenly softened. He could not help but slow down. Maybe he would just blow her away. He turned the flames spewing around him into a storm shield, harmless in comparison. He decided to just blow the little girl away.

But in the storm that was enough to lift giant stones, Bai Xi remained unmoving. It was as if her feet were rooted. Only her dress, unsuitable for the occasion, fluttered like white petals blooming in the storm.

James’s expression became one of faint regret. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see what would happen next. “What a pity.”

Bang! In an instant, the two figures crashed. The storm and fire created a torrent, burning the grass within a few meters into ashes. Fire and frost intertwined, turning into a thick fog that engulfed them. The predicted scene of Bai Xi being knocked down and broken did not happen.

The spectators were stunned into silence.

Bang! There was another great noise, and a pained cry sounded in the fog. The voice sounded like James?

In the stands, Egor stood up in astonishment and looked at the field blankly. Others might not have understood, but he had seen it clearly. In that moment, he saw the little girl wearing a white skirt take a step back and stand firmly.

Then, she settled into a punching posture, waiting for the charging James. She shouted in a crisp voice, “Ta-da!”

“Ta-da!” She laughed as her first flew towards James’ nose, easily moving past the blazing flame, furious gale, and the armor of melted earth around him. It was easy, like a shovel digging into dirt.

Thud! James’s vision went black and he flipped over, falling on the ground as if he had crashed into a steel wall. In pain and confusion, he opened his eyes wide, not understanding what had just happened.

Did he just get upended by a little girl?

“No, this isn’t right…” He rubbed his numb face and raised his head dazedly to see Bai Xi before him. He vaguely saw Bai Xi striking a weird pose at him through the thick water vapor. He had never seen her stance before, but it seemed powerful, as if it contained some deep meaning or terrifying strength.

“Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-dadadadada!” she yelled weirdly and rushed forward. Another first landed on James’s face. It was as if the defense was made of paper and was broken through again. James’s vision went black and he fell once again. Bai Xi mercilessly stepped on the ground and beat him with a flurry of punches and kicks.

Her moves seemed to be the real thing, but they had no pattern and were abnormally bad. If an Eastern martial artist witnessed this, he would definitely become furious and remove this horrible imitator. But here, it was indescribably useful.

Waves of Zhaodang were wrapped around Bai Xi’s hands like a steel chain. They followed Bai Xi’s movements and continuously destroyed the defenses around James. No matter if it was the windstorm enchantment, the melted earth armor, flames or frosts, none of them were effective.

Zhaodang was the talent at the top of the School of Modifications and was the power of turmoil within the Dragon Bloodlines. All of James’ team’s music scores put together were nothing compared to it. Before it, other than one’s own strength, it was impossible for music scores to retain their structure. They could only break down in the furious shaking. There was practically no way to fight back. In the end, Bai Xi’s hands started to hurt, so she pulled a wrench from her dress and started hitting with it. James could not even yell out anymore.

–

In the stands, everyone waited with their breaths held and watched the patch of thick water vapor. In the patch of dancing whiteness, one could hear terrifying booms, followed by the earth’s shaking. Finally, an unfrozen soccer ball rolled out of the mist pitifully.

A little girl jogged behind it. Her expression was calm, as if nothing had happened. Behind her, the water vapor gradually dispersed, revealing James. He was on the ground and covered with bruises, as if he had been trampled by a stampede.

What had happened?

“That can’t be right.”

“James fell?”

The spectators rustled. Even the Modifications students were dazed and could not make any sounds, as if they had lost their voices. In the end, everyone’s gazes toward the School of Modifications turned strange.

“So everything from before was just for show?”

Modifications did not know how to refute these claims. Who would have guessed that the attack, which they were completely confident in destroying the history department with, would have been picked apart by a little girl?

Just as everyone was stunned, Bai Xi jogged and kicked the ball past more than half of the field. She passed by the dazed teammates and kicked the ball into the forbidden zone. Finally, she kicked the ball straight into the goal.

The goalie on the side had not even processed everything fully. He could not help it. The impact was too much. Who could promise that he would not be beaten up like James if he had tried to block it?

In the absolute silence, Bai Xi looked back at the similarly fossilized referee.

“This counts as a goal, right?”

–

The stands were silent, but someone began clapping and cheering. “Yes, yes!” The blonde man clapped excitedly and hit the principal, who was beside him. “This girl is so intelligent! I like her! Which school and department is she from? I don’t know who her teacher is, but she’s too amazing!”

“Ha.” The principal coughed and glanced at the man, then asked quietly, “Hermes…are you really this bored?”

Others would not know, but how could he, the controller of the enchantment, not know? The girl was practically covered in shining like a gold coin! She wore a hydrophobic necklace on her neck, firewalker boots on her feet and hid an eagle wing ring under her hair tie. The gloves on her hands were the invaluable tomb-digger hands. Things like breaking into tombs were nothing to her. Even a dog with such a complete outfit would be invincible to regular elemental damage, not to mention someone with Dragon blood like her.

“Ah, don’t look at me like that.” Hermes covered his mouth and snickered. “At the end of the day, it’s still because their melodies are trash.”

Egor, at the other end, heard the words, and his already gloomy face darkened further. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know what I mean?” Hermes glanced at him and stated, “Adaptations that abandon the essence are just hysterical venting. ‘Modification’ is the essence of the School of Modifications. Change fire to water, change water to wind, and change wind to dirt. This is a school born from the four element theory.

“But this symphonic poem by Liszt furthered the concept of hero Mazeppa’s death to turn mankind’s original sin into redemption. This is the ultimate goal of the School of Modifications—to change death to life.” Here, Hermes could not help but snicker. “Those kids started playing without even knowing where the road was. It’s so meaningless, and of course it’s natural that they lost.”

Egor’s face turned red and white, but could not refute Hermes’s words. Thinking of the man’s status, Egor could only swallow his anger and sit down silently, looking onto the field with a livid expression.

Soon, the professor beside the field received a message from the coach. “Tell those b*stards that if they don’t win this game, they can kiss graduation goodbye!”

The Modifications team quickly requested a five minute break to reorganize. The beaten James was carried over too. After treatment from the Choir musicians beside the field, he could finally move, but his eyes were still dull, as if he had not yet recovered from the shock. Soon, the other two who had become exhausted from the pressure of Mazeppa were replaced with two new players.

Seeing that they had withdrawn, the spectators began jeering. A group of fans took the lead and began stirring up trouble. “A retard for a retard, getting more retarded!”

Since the beginning of time, Anglo’s game manners had never been good. A game in a tavern could cause a mass fight. The drunken men did not care whether someone was an Avalon policeman or a demon. They would just hit and crash and burn anyway. They were practically cancers for security.

Now experiencing this for the first time, indescribable shame rose in everyone’s hearts.

Insulted like this, James actually became more clear-headed. He rinsed his face with clear water and his expression instantly grew somber. “We’re probably going to lose to the history department this time…”

“Are we really going to lose?” The students exchanged glances. Someone looked down at the time and found that the half-hour game was almost over. After all, this was not a standard ball game. There were thirty-seven teams in total and the principal had to think of the other games, so they were not given much time.

“Seems like we have to use that strategy.” James swept his gaze around his companions and drew a circle in the air with his finger.

His teammates’ expressions changed instantly. “Wait, if we use that strategy, won’t we be bashed and hated even if we lose?”

“Do you really plan on competing against them fairly?” James was furious and his expression was forlorn yet decisive. “If they’re shameless, then we’ll be even more shameless!”

The break ended soon. Everyone entered the field, ready to play and glared at the four people and one dog before them. The history department had now retreated to the defense and gave up on midfield.

Sensing that there would be a fierce counterattack, Ye Qingxuan had decided after a detailed discussion to just defend this time. But when faced with the Modification’s offensive horn, he still could not help but be stunned. This time, he felt that something was wrong…

–

As before, James carried the ball forward alone. The remaining twelve students formed a strange formation…

How should one describe this formation…Uh, to put it plainly, they formed a moving ring and advanced. Yes, when the melody played, these guys carried the strongest shield and connected with each other. They formed a ring around James and pushed both man and ball forward. It seemed that they would steadily push the entire formation into Ye Qingxuan’s goal…

What could Ye Qingxuan’s team even do now? They could not even touch the ball!

“Wait, isn’t this formation against the rules?” Ye Qingxuan was completely stunned.

The referee glanced at them and calmly flipped through the rule booklet from ten years prior. He shook his head. “It may seem to be against the rules, but it’s not written here, so it doesn’t count.”

The Modifications strategy was on another level of shamelessness, but it had been forced onto them. After all, it wasn’t their fault that they were using rules from ten years ago.

In the stands, the students who had originally supported the School of Modifications began yelling too. It was not that they were not accepting enough. This game was just continuously setting a new low for their bottom line. Now, their bottom line had been pierced three times. Who knew what would happen next in this game?

Where was the soccer game that they had agreed on? Where was the fair competition? Where was the friendship?!

Now, Ye Qingxuan stared as those Modifications b*stards moved toward him like a steel wall. He was a little dazed. “Now who’s the shameless one?!”

“Now who’s the shameless one?!”

Charles stood out. He was shameless enough to put on a righteous expression and accuse the other side. “Where is your game spirit? Where is your shame?”

“It’s a good strategy if it helps us win!” James yelled back from behind the human wall. It was clear he did not care about his integrity anymore. He could not help it—he had been forced to do so. Especially since the authorities had sent the message, he had to do it, no matter how shameless it was.

What would he do if he could not graduate? Would he be held back a year in a prestigious school like the Royal Academy of Music? No, he would be looked down upon no matter where he went if this was included in his record!

If he would be looked down upon no matter what he did, he would choose the one that did not affect his future. The other side had done it first after all, so it was not as stressful if he continued.

Seeing that the other side had gone full out, Ye Qingxuan was a bit dazed. He glanced at Bench Guy. “Any solutions?”

“…You think I’m that weird blue cat from children’s bedtime stories?” Bench Guy glanced at him in annoyance. “The most famous technique from Modifications is divided coherence. Even someone from the musician level won’t be able to get rid of that steel shield made by the dozen of them. Do you want me to go over, ignite the aether within me and die with them?” The moment he uttered those words, he regretted it because both Ye Qingxuan and Charles’s eyes brightened.

“That’s…a good idea!”

“Bench Guy, we won’t stop you since you’re willing to sacrifice yourself. We’ll miss you!”

Bench Guy roared, “Is it not enough that I slave for you all? You want my life too? Where’s your humanity?”

“Society doesn’t even care about shame anymore. Why do we still need humanity? Is it edible?” Charles shrugged and eyed the “ring” coming for the goal. He could not help but sigh. “So all we can do is get out of the way?”

Bench Guy nodded. “If you don’t want to get trampled by the wall.”

“I can’t believe someone as invincible as me is going to fail before this human tank!” Charles sighed and gritted his teeth as he stamped his feet. “D*mmit, referee! We think this game…”

“Wait!” Ye Qingxuan uttered, cutting him off. He squatted in the forbidden zone in front of the goal and stared at the steel wall advancing toward him. His eyes changed but hesitated. “Let me think, there’s still a solution. There must be a solution…”

He used his peripheral vision to stare at the ten-year-old rule booklet in the referee’s hand and racked his brain, ignoring the fact that the steel wall was going to trample him. It was not the time to surrender yet. There was still a way.

If they lost now, there would be no room to struggle later. If they surrendered in every game, his points would be sapped dry from these continuous games. He might even go into the negatives.

If the opponent was more ruthless and requested for the wager of double the amount of points, the history department, already close to the edge, would be pushed to the brink of death.

That d*mn school board, d*mn graduation trials, d*mn game rules from ten years ago…Wait…ten years ago? Ye Qingxuan stared at the steel wall formation that would soon be on him and his eyes lit up.

“Hey, James,” he called.

“Begging for mercy now?!” James controlled the ball and advanced without hesitation. His voice was hoarse yet full of hatred. “Too late! It was already too late the moment you humiliated me and the School of Modifications!”

“That’s why I’m so annoyed at people who only look at others and not themselves.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. “I just wanted to ask that you’ve read the game rules, right?”

“So what?!” James roared. His eyes grew cold. “Hurry up and run over this Eastern b*stard!”

Seeing that the Modifications players were about to roll into the forbidden zone and crush toward him, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. “Old Phil, you’re turn!”

As soon as he spoke, he picked up the confused Old Phil and tossed it. The heavy golden dog bit him in the last moment, causing him to roll on the ground in pain. But Old Phil actually flew through the air in a short arc. He went past the Modifications steel wall and went within their ring.

The next moment, James felt the sunlight above him dim. The falling Old Phil flipped with agility and landed before him. Before he could raise his foot, Old Phil fell with its back to the ground and whined. It began rolling on the ground, like a total mucker.

Fraud! This was fraud!

Seeing that Ye Qingxuan had made such a shameless and despicable action, James roared, “Ye! Qing! Xuan! You think this can stop us?!”

But Ye Qingxuan remained calm. He glanced at the steel wall that was almost to his face and raised a hand slowly. “Referee! Someone fouled!”

A sharp whistle sounded abruptly and everything on the field froze. All was forced to a stop, including James’s shocked expression.

“I…what did I do?” He gaped at the referee, his expression changing. “No, the ring strategy became illegal two years ago! It’s not a foul! Referee, did you see wrong?!”

The referee’s expression was helpless and he shook his head slowly. He watched since the beginning as James fell into the trap. Even if he was biased, he did not know how to help James now.

“Are you entirely clueless as to what you did wrong?” Ye Qingxuan looked down at the white line under James’s feet and sighed. “If I were you, I wouldn’t choose to hit the goalie within the forbidden zone.”

Yellow card. The referee held up a yellow card and unfroze the field. He gazed at the players rooted to their spots and grew more upset. Why were they so hopeless?

“What are you still waiting for? Restart the game!” The referee huffed and turned to leave. “F*ck them, I don’t care anymore!” he thought.

James’s expression twitched. He glanced at the dog with a mouth of sharp teeth and resisted the urge to kick it. Extremely grudgingly, he retreated and handed the ball over to Ye Qingxuan’s team.

But before he had even made a few steps, he saw the strange smile on Ye Qingxuan’s face. James’s expression changed quickly. “F*ck.”

Before he could even make a sound, he saw Ye Qingxuan’s body move and step forward quickly. Then he punted the ball forward!

A long shot!

The soccer ball flew past the Modifications team in an instant. Charles and others had already gone to the back. The ball landed and rolled between their feet, going directly toward the Modifications goal.

There should have been defense players there, but because of their own strategy, all Modifications players were still standing before Ye Qingxuan’s goal…Behind them was an empty field. It was empty of any defense—there was not even a goalie! It was practically an open door.

Without time to say anything, James’s team rushed back to defend their goal. Thankfully, the history department had not reached midfield yet. They could still catch up…

But suddenly, a yellow blur flashed past them, fast as lightning. It caught up with the ball instantly and rushed toward the empty goal.

It was that dog!

No one could have guessed that Old Phil, who had been lying on the ground like a dead dog, would suddenly jump up and go for the ball. The people were slow, but that did not mean a dog could not catch up.

Had anyone ever met a person who could run faster than a dog? And this dog was not a Chihuahua raised by an aristocrat for entertainment. One could see from its bone structure that this dog was a natural hunting dog. Not even a fox could escape from it, let alone a ball.

“Block it!” James’s eyes twitched and he pulled out his instrument, ready to cast a melody and music notes, but he did not expect Ye Qingxuan’s sudden hands.

“What’s the hurry? You just got here, don’t leave yet.” Ye Qingxuan stood before James and waved his right hand. Thick fog appeared out of thin air and blinded them. His left hand shot out five rays of frost, blocking their path. If James had not dodged quickly, he would have fallen victim to the surprise attack!

During the moment of disturbance, Bench Guy stood before Old Phil, showing that he would block all their attacks and protect the dog the entire way. Seeing that Old Phil was getting further and further away, James panicked.

“It—it…isn’t it the goalie?”

“Oh, look at you.” Ye Qingxuan could not help but whistle. His smiling face was truly infuriating. “It’s a goalie, but it dreams of being the offense too.”

The gears in James’s brain whirred. There was a flash of light in his panic and he yelled, “Objection! Objection! That dog fouled!” He could not help but laugh loudly. Pointing at Old Phil’s back, his expression was of wild glee. “Even dogs need to follow the rules! It can’t use its front paws to touch the ball!”

“…”

The spectators booed instantly. Even Charles’s jaw practically dropped to the ground. People always learned bad things quickly. No one expected James to become so crazy so quickly.

Ye Qingxuan was shocked. “Where is your shame? Do you want it to kick with its hind legs?”

“Well, this doesn’t follow the rules!” James huffed and looked like he would call for the referee the next moment.

But then—it might be his eyes playing tricks, but he saw the dog stop and look back at him. Its eyes were filled with disdain, like a higher being looking down at his insignificant soul, making him feel humiliation from the bottom of his heart.

Then Old Phil snorted in disdain.

And changed to its mouth…

Yes, it started using its mouth!

The dog actually opened its mouth, picked up the ball and ran toward the goal?! It ran so gracefully, fast as lightning, quick as thunder. It was even faster than when it kicked the ball.

James was dumbfounded and yelled instinctively, “Obj—”

Beside him, Ye Qingxuan snickered. He crossed his arms and watched the show. “Don’t bother. The rules don’t say you can’t use your mouth.”

In the end, Old Phil slowed down more and more. It walked to the goal as if strolling in the garden and set the ball down. Then it turned around. Glancing tauntingly at James, it raised its hind legs and kicked the ball in. It was as if it was asking, “Are you satisfied now?”

James felt something in his throat and his body swayed. He was close to coughing up blood. And regardless of anything else, this was definitely the most b*stardly goal made in the history of the Royal Academy of Music…

In the next fifteen minutes, almost every one of Modifications was attacking in full force. Those guys were getting desperate. They seemed not to care about their lives anymore, gambling with their own dignity and credit despite everything.

They looked at the Music History department as if they were looking at enemies who had killed their fathers. They were so angry, so desolate. If a dirge was played now, it would be a great epic poem of revenge.

The turbulent aether burned most of the field into ashes. Ruins were scattered on the rest of the place. Even the goals on both sides had become crooked, almost razed by James’s self-destructive attack. Unfortunately, it did not work.

The history department was two points ahead. Their players stood before the goal, then…Charles, that b*stard, froze the goal into a giant ice cube.

Bench Guy guarded outside and demonstrated how to build battlefield fortifications. It could be said to be a model example. Even the most fastidious professor would nod and praise it. The history department gained a lot fans back with this move.

In the end, the referee’s shrill whistle announced the end of the most humiliating game held by Royal Academy of Music. It finally ended…

On the stands, everyone let out a sigh relief, as if they were the survivors of a catastrophe. In this short game, all of them felt that their views towards the world had been strongly tested and shattered. In thirty minutes, their limits had been challenged four or five times. When the whistle sounded, they were already numb.

The eyes looking towards the music history team grew strange. Some of them were stunned and some of them were disdainful; others were slightly frightened.

No matter what, the team that had always been ignored by others had just won the game. They only had four people plus a dog to fight against the promising team of Modifications, but they managed to win two to zero.

They did use some means which were indescribably shameless, but they did win at last, and that made them legends.

They were the classic example of underdogs, causing many to be secretly shocked. Gazing at the young people hugging each other and cheering, their expressions involuntarily grew awed.

On the field, Bai Xi cheered excitedly while hugging Old Phil, running all over around and screaming. Ye Qingxuan saw her excited appearance and smiled wordlessly.

Behind him, Charles patted Bench Guy on the shoulder. “It’s all thanks to you. I’m sorry that I doubted you before.”

“I’m just doing my job.” Bench Guy smiled, not upset at all. “Besides, now you trust me, don’t you?”

Charles sighed and looked into the eyes of Bench Guy with a troubled expression. “Hey, you, are you a saint?” He always felt that he was blinded by Bench Guy’s radiance. Was this the so-called human brilliance? “Don’t you care about being doubted and distrusted?”

Hearing this, Bench Guy shrugged after a moment of silence. “Maybe I’m just used to it.”

–

Right at the exit, Ye Qingxuan saw James, who had waited for a long time. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was coming over, James hummed coldly. He shook off his companions who were propping him up and limped over. He said hoarsely, “Don’t be too proud. You’re just two points ahead.”

Ye Qingxuan looked up at his dark expression. He felt no pressure and just shrugged. “Two points still made me a winner.”

James immediately wanted to hit him. He clenched his jaw and growled, “I’d like to see how far you can go with that set of despicable tricks.”

Ye Qingxuan smiled and patted his shoulder. “Don’t think too much. You lost the game, but you gained our friendship!”

What f*cking friendship was this? Winning hatred was more like it!

But this did not stop Ye Qingxuan from emphasizing James’s previous words of “friendship first, competition second.” There was nothing to be won with snide comments, but that did not matter.

Behind him, James growled angrily, “You won’t be so proud for too long! People who use those crooked means will never win the final victory!”

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. “Win? Who said we want to win?”

Yes, Ye Qingxuan’s team, since the beginning, had never gone intended to win the trials, but to not lose. It was clear from the players of the music history team.

What they had was: a failure who was stuck at the Rhythm level for eight or nine years; Ye Qingxuan, who had just entered the Rhythm level and was still building his foundation; and Bai Xi, who was not interested in music and always cut class; and a dog.

Bench Guy could count as useful companion, but compared the handfuls of players and golden combos, he was not enough. To win this game, they had mainly relied on Bench Guy’s strong aid, Charles’ fast reaction, Bai Xi’ supernormal performance…But in the end, they just won the game with despicable tricks.

If the enemy in the next round put in every effort to keep steady at the beginning and avoided strategic mistakes that Modifications had made, they definitely would not lose. After all, they had obvious advantages.

The number of players itself was an impassable moat and a fatal weakness. It was also a weakness that Ye Qingxuan could not avoid. He was not afraid to compete with technique or brain, but muscles…

Ye Qingxuan had learned with the exhaustive method. He gave up on illusory feelings and chose to study with the interpretation method. It was more difficult and he learned more slowly because of this, but he was confident in his technique.

This was the benefit of the interpretation method—as long as one mastered it, one could never go wrong. But he was very afraid of the situation at hand!

Since his debut, he had never fought face to face unless he had absolutely no other way. On the one hand, it was because sneaky attacks worked well; on the other hand, he truly lacked the skills…So if he had to fight face to face without any equipment on his body, he would definitely die. But if he wore the set of steel skeleton and Indra’s Eye, it would be like he was declaring to Avalon that he was Sherlock Holmes.

“This sucks.” Ye Qingxuan sighed and covered his face. “This feeling of being stuck really sucks.”

–

In the current competition, the hot contenders for the final victory were all from the four major schools. Two teams were from Modifications, one from Summoning, two of Revelations, and one team from Royalty. In addition to these six powerful teams, practically armed to the teeth, there was also a faculty team and a team of students.

After the first round of selection, a total of more than thirty teams successfully extracted credits from their opponents and qualified. But when everyone looked at the current list, they involuntarily looked at the bottom of the list—Music History’s team, five players.

Every time they saw this name, the students who had passed the last round of trials could not help but feel a strong sense of uneasiness. This name had been forced to the bottom, but they always felt that it would be like the last round of trials, and suddenly soar to the top, trampling over everyone else.

One must say that this feeling was really bad.

Really, really bad.

–

“You saw this round of matches. Do you have any ideas?” A disembodied voice rang out around Bart. It was Ingmar’s voice.

At the moment, Ingmar was still sitting on the bleachers, seeming to focus on watching the game without a word. But his voice sounded from the void, coming from all directions, as if he was wandering in the room. His voice was deep and clear.

This was a skill of the School of Revelations. They mastered information, as well as nearly all means of communication. Once a Revelations musician reached the Scepter level, they could even send their voice over thousands of miles.

Today’s worldwide communication network had been created by alchemists from both the School of Revelations and Modifications. Most of the functions of the aether ball were drawn from the music of Revelations as well.

After hearing the professor’s question, Bart mused for a moment and reported the names of several teams. “These people will be our main competition, as well as Banner. It’ll be difficult for us to win if the School of Royalty prepares to cultivate Banner, and if Gavin uses the power of the student council to help his brother.”

“Of course. The School of Royalty’s status in Anglo is unshakable. You’re a freshman this year. Don’t think about touching them yet,” Ingmar said lightly. “What you need to do in this trial is to show your potential. Let the school board see that, and put you in the list of seeds. Later, in order to suppress the civilian musicians, the board will be biased toward the seed students. You have to seize this chance. I’ll tell our graduates of this year to cooperate with you.”

“I promise.”

“Good. But remember; don’t let those crooked guys swagger in front of you.”

Bart naturally understood who Ingmar was talking about. He subconsciously cracked his knuckles and his expression darkened. “I saw their game. If we meet on the field, I’ll let them understand the gap between us.”

“So you’re confident?” Ingmar asked lightly, taking a seemingly-unintentional jab at him. “Even now, you haven’t won that Eastern kid even once, have you? You were defeated by him. He made you lose your dignity and face.”

Bart lowered his head and gritted his teeth, his expression unpleased. “Yes, sir.”

“Then how can you have the confidence to beat them?”

“Strength and skills, sir,” Bart said. “Those musicians can never catch up with the Revelations’ heritage and strength—not even in their dreams. No matter if it’s the practice of all aspects, the materials offered, or the teaching of precious movements, we all have the advantage. Moreover, they have a fatal weakness.”