Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Just as the stream of light of the net of aether covered the entire domain and all the musicians were unable to react in time, there was a tremble from the deepest depth of the realm of aether. It was as if very fine ripples were being started from nothingness. After merging the path of Godly ascension and the Tree of World and many other artifacts, the Land of Dreams was in control of the authority of King of Yellow, thereby triggering terrifying trembles that spread in all directions. All upper-tier dimensions trembled wherever they went.
A pair of empty eyes opened in the lowest depths of the crystal core, and it was staring at the realm of aether, which seemed to be complicated like a maze. It was looking at the turbulence that resembled the Dark World in the upper-tier dimensions. It was basically staring down condescendingly. A terrifying earthquake-like tremble burst through the net of aether.
Due to the authority of the King of Yellow, countless heaven ladder music theories were passing through the realm of aether and interweaving with each other, hence eliminating all the fog that was obscuring vision. It was just like how the King of Yellow had adjusted the aether turbulences of the Physical World back then. He was rearranging the chaotic realm of aether and getting it back into order!
As the Land of Dreams was being rearranged top-down, there was a stream of light within the Physical World that was covering the entire domain. The net of aether was also building a passageway towards the realm of aether top-down. The massive network engulfed the chaotic sea of aether as it smoothened out each ripple forcefully yet meticulously. It was like managing hydrology. It would calm the waves, settle countless grains of sediments, branch out its pulse stoically, and extend its roots deep into the sea of aether.
With endless power to absorb, it was like a seed that was germinating and spreading its roots. The net of aether was finally given an actual body as countless streams of light flowed through the sea of aether. It was like digging a riverbed. Specialized passageways were being built in a complicated and meticulous manner as countless streams of light were interwoven with each other. In the blink of an eye, a massive miracle, that had never been seen before, appeared just like that. Above the Physical World and beneath the realm of aether, countless heaven ladder music theories intersected each other and formed complex tracks that connected the “up” and “down.”
Countless heaven ladders descended from the sea of aether and connected to the lands of the Physical World before extending upwards again. After breaking through the boundaries of the realm of aether, they entered the depth of the upper-tier dimension and finally linked together with the Land of Dreams. And so, the Physical World, the sea of aether and the realm of aether had all been connected together through the net of aether.
The gigantic tree-shaped network descended from the sky and engulfed the entire world within the power of the net of aether. As long as the musicians held on to the terminals, they would be connected to this brand-new system and obtain power and knowledge! At that moment, Ye Qingxuan suddenly developed a hallucination that the entire world was now within his grasp.
Unfortunately, in this wonderful hallucination, he saw domains being engulfed by fog. In the depths of the realm of aether and within the gaps of the massive network, no one knew just how much secrets were hidden there. It was like observing the universe with a telescope and being fully aware that behind the countless glittering stars were an unknown number of dark celestial bodies that were being hidden away. It was deeply unsatisfying.
In response to Ye Qingxuan’s perception, those domains that had been covered by fog began to shift easily in the net of aether and seemed to be playing hide-and-seek with him in the maze of the upper-tier dimension.
“Hey.” Ye Qingxuan smiled and stretched out his hand, “Come, let me see just what exactly is hidden beneath a girl’s skirt?”
In that instant, the ripples that had been spreading out from the net of aether suddenly went berserk, and the gentle tremble quickly escalated into a terrifying wave.
Earthquake! This horrible doom came so suddenly. The terrifying trembling burst forth from the net of aether and spread out in all directions. They chased away the fog, shredded the disguise and allowed light to shine on the rats that had been hiding underneath the floor. That was… wonderland! Countless wonderlands!
It was impossible to know how many wonderlands were hidden in the gaps of the net of aether. More than half of them were connected to the net of aether in ways that Ye Qingxuan had never known before. They had been secretly snooping and absorbing the power from within. In that instant, even Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. Just as he wished, the lady was slowly pulling up her skirt but the things that were hidden beneath were giving him a scare!
“What… a grand sight,” he muttered softly. His smile was laced with rage.
If not for the fact that he had completely straightened out the chaos within the realm of aether, he would not have known that there were so many strange things hidden underneath his own floor! He could tell that a small number of them were oddities of the realm of aether that were known for their curiosity, but most of them were Schools that had been using all sorts of excuses and reasons to pry at the net of aether! In fact, quite a number of them already had “one of us” in name in the net of aether!
Now that the skirt had been lifted suddenly, there was no way those things could suddenly hide. Ye Qingxuan could sense that quite a number of Schools were still secretly continuing to steal the music theories of other schools through the net of aether. What left him even more dumbfounded was that he never imagined that these Schools had hidden such large sums of secret stashes in the realm of aether!
After removing the fog and disguise, hundreds of wonderlands of all sizes began to exude light of great beauty. Clearly, they had been hiding quite a number of precious elements and movements, and there were even Holy Spirits staying in a number of the wonderlands. Without thinking further, he could differentiate between most of the Schools and their music theories and special traits. In fact, the wonderland of the School of Metal Shore, a School which had been thought by most musicians to have declined, was one of the most glorious amongst all the other wonderlands.
Of course, there were also plenty of wonderlands whose legacies had already been broken. They were dim and were floating about in the depth of the realm of aether, just like Ye Qingxuan’s Dream of Millennium in the past. If such a wonderland had appeared back then, everyone would have become incredibly powerful. But now, everyone could only stand by and watch as Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hand and pulled all those wonderlands to himself.
For all these years, everyone had been hiding their family properties in the darkness. Everyone had been fearful of one another and even resorted to peeking at one another, yet no one imagined that there would be someone as unreasonable as Ye Qingxuan, who would put a small sun in the dark forest. Not only that, they never thought that all their stealing of music theories would be caught red-handed by Ye Qingxuan and that he would snatch them all away for himself. Nevertheless, the lightning strike that they were anticipating did not come in the end.
The Land of Dreams remained hanging at the highest level of the realm of aether. It merely looked down coldly. They could continue to play their little games but Ye Qingxuan had already left the net of aether long ago.
There were still many days ahead. One could still afford to bide his time. There was no risk of them gathering together as one to resist him so there was no need to suppress them yet. Nevertheless, there was no harm in taking precautions first.
After pondering for a while, Ye Qingxuan picked up Hua Sheng’s attempt to contact him, “With regards to the anti-virus music theory that you mentioned, you can submit the schedule now…”
When he heard Ye Qingxuan’s voice, Hua Sheng could not help but laugh.
…
At this moment, plenty of information was flying around the lowest level of the realm of aether. For so many years, these Schools had been fighting with each other in secret. They never imagined that there would come a day when they would be unveiled so completely. There was panic at the moment of reveal, followed by uneasiness and finally, evil thoughts began to take root in their heads, so much so that many members of the Committee of Musicians were even holding a meeting in a public wonderland.
“Now that things have come to this, all of us should work together.”
“That’s right. Something as wicked and evil as the net of aether must be uprooted completely. It will only lead mankind down the road of destruction!”
“Uphold the path of the Originator and every musician will be able to allow Anglo’s ambition to grow even more!”
“How can someone like Ye Qingxuan, who is a despicable and unorthodox man, shoulder such a heavy responsibility? He did not even receive proper musician education and is the same as that teacher of his! The net of aether must be supervised by the Committee! Otherwise, it will only be a harmful influence!”
“I propose that we activate all the Committees and exert pressure on Anglo!”
“At the very least, we must force him to open up the limit of the upper position. It should be a fortune to be enjoyed by all musicians and not by him alone!”
“That’s right. If he doesn’t wish to become a criminal, we can give him a chance to atone for his crimes by doing a good deed…”
Just as the meeting was reaching its climax, a figure departed secretly.
…
Scepter musician, Antoine, opened up his eyes and could not help but snigger. He must have been mad to have had any expectations of the Committee of Musicians? All of them might have sounded all passionate and enthusiastic but when it really came to the time of execution, none of them would be willing to do it. Anyone with a brain could tell that Ye Qingxuan held the upper hand now.
Way before this, when his feathers were not fully grown yet, everyone only cared about their own territories and were not willing to pay the price nor stand together with the Sacred City to suppress the expansion of the net of aether.
Now that there’s nothing that the Sacred City can do anymore, then all of you are starting to regret… What’s the use?
And now, they are even more daring to have designs on the net of aether, as well as take from Anglo in the name of “justice.” Hehe, maybe they will only start to regret when the New Testament sword slices through their brain? Although the Door of Modifications did not submit to the net of aether, at least my efforts to suppress have prevented us from doing something as embarrassing as stealing music theories.
After pondering for a moment, he asked the servant to summon his own student. Very quickly, there was a knock on the door. A teenage female musician walked in. “Teacher, how can I serve you?”
Antoine smiled and gestured for her to sit beside him. “Celia, how is the research going?”
“Everything is going well. We expect to complete the Symphony of Predestination very soon,” Celia replied.
“Unfortunately, you need to stop your research for the time being and go to Anglo for me.”
“Anglo?” Celia was stunned for a while before realization dawned on her. She laughed bitterly. “That Hand of God?”
“That’s right.” Antoine did not intend to hide anything. “You shall represent us and go to the Door of Ruins to discuss with that Hand of God. He is a sentimental person. Hopefully, you will be able to make full use of the friendship that your brother and he established at Auschwitz and help our School gain substantial benefits.”
Celia looked torn. “Ye Qingxuan may be kind to me, but he may not treat the School the same way. I’m afraid I may not be able to gain much for the School.”
“As long as you get the chance to meet him face-to-face, you will already have a significant advantage over all other Schools.” Antoine stretched out his hand and pressed on Celia’s shoulder. His expression was stern. “The war between Anglo and Asgard has not ended yet. Find out what is he willing to give in exchange for the support of the Door of Ruins.” He paused for a while and began to look torn. “Or should I say, what are we willing to give in exchange for the Door of Ruins to continue to exist…”
