Silent Crown

In the stiff silence, only the loud noise from the earth rammer in the distance could be heard.

Raymond said nothing. Ye Qingxuan’s hand hung in the air, waiting, and in the end he still had yet to receive the decree of the King of Red.

Norman’s gaze flitted back and forth between the two. Sensing the anger in Raymond’s thin body, he couldn’t help but gulp.

No one had ever extended a hand and asked for the decree of the King of Red upon being questioned by representatives of the Sacred City. And only audacious fellows like Ye Qingxuan dared to do so without any fear for the possible consequence of intensifying conflicts.

Raymond was present as a representative of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, and he himself represented the will of the Church. The attitude he conveyed could determine the cardinals’ view on Ye Qingxuan to a certain extent… But would Ye Qingxuan really care about what the cardinals thought?

He looked down on even Ludovic, so why would he even spare a thought about the group of old politicians whom Ludovic twisted around his finger?

Ye Qingxuan adhered to the Church’s mission, but was also independent of the Church.

After many years of being shelved by the Sacred City, the Religious Court of Inquiry had also been completely disappointed with the Church since a long time ago. Even if a cardinal had really been present on that day, not to say Raymond, Shi Dong would have dared to put on a sour face, let alone Ye Qingxuan?

He was presently the Bearer of the Staff of Authority appointed by the Holy Cauldron, and held the title of the Hand of God conferred by the King of Red!

His foundation was in Anglo. It consisted of the trust and wholehearted support of the royal family, regardless of how much national resources the support entailed. Furthermore, after helping Anglo to tide over its troubles, he gained unprecedented popularity among the people with his image as the savior of the country. It could be said that every decision he made at the moment had the support of Anglo.

He was not a king, but his status had surpassed that of a king.

He need not answer to the Sacred City, on the contrary, the Sacred City owed him a lot.

It was exactly because of such an understanding that caused Raymond to forcibly suppress the anger in his heart and kept his cool on the surface. Otherwise, he would have turned indifferently and leave in displeasure.

Facing Ye Qingxuan’s silent waiting, Raymond lowered his eyes, seeming admitting defeat, and gave up on his original plan. In the end, he still made his decision. “Mr. Ye, if you can give us Genesis in exchange, we are willing to compensate Anglo.”

Almost gritting his teeth as he said so, Raymond lifted a finger. “The coordinates of the undeveloped remains of a catastrophe in the World of Dark. In addition to the carcass of the catastrophe within the site, it also includes precious information and techniques from the times before the Age of Dark.”

For any country, catastrophe remains were vital strategic resources that could not be given up.

Other than being able to master the technology concerning catastrophes, it was even possible to discover precious, epochal items. One must keep in mind that Anglo and Burgundy even fought against each other in the War of the Roses, which lasted for a hundred years, to contest over the rights to a site of remains.

The banner of the red rose, which represented Anglo, and the banner of the white rose, which represented Burgundy, went to war with each other and paid costly prices. The war only ended a few decades ago after the Sacred City intervened, as the two nations finally decided, albeit reluctantly, to split the earnings evenly and jointly develop the site.

Meanwhile, the colony in East India primarily served the purpose of facilitating the excavation of the remains of catastrophes.

After all, India was where the catastrophe remains were most densely located in the world. There, countries colonized and opened up new land at all costs, madly claiming land as their own, be it is the various nations in the west or the Empire of Aurora in the east.

And the site of remains was not even the final condition.

After seeing Ye Qingxuan’s unmoved expression, Raymond gritted his teeth and added on once more. “After Anglo signs a confidentiality agreement, we can also provide a piece of sealed technology belonging to the next era, a design plan of an epochal aether engine… It is enough to ensure that Anglo can stay ahead of the competition in terms of similar technology for more than 60 years!”

For weapons, 60 years was almost a generation. The attributes of the weapons of the previous generation simply couldn’t be compared to that of the next epoch!

It was exactly because of the almost monopolistic technical know-how they mastered that enabled the madmen of the Chainsaw Fraternity to frenetically sell their weapons of war to the various countries.

Silence.

Ye Qingxuan was still unmoved.

He simply kept his hand extended, waiting for the decree of the King of Red.

As a result, Raymond’s face darkened completely.

How does the saying go?

Look a gift horse in the mouth!

For any country, the weight of the bargaining chip would be enough to make the king choose between what has been offered and the legacy of the saint, but Ye Qingxuan is completely unmoved!

Raymond was filled with deep regrets, shame and vexation.

I’ve miscalculated.

Ye Qingxuan’s reaction was so indifferent that it could only mean one thing… This fella has never considered any of Anglo’s interests at all.

He only wants things for himself.

To take away the legacy of the saint from him, one must give him something of equal value in exchange.

But for musicians, what in the world could be more important than the legacy of the saint?

The crown of the three kings?

Kid me not…

It is totally impossible for the Sacred City to allow Ye Qingxuan to master the legacy of the saint. It can be anyone else, but not Ye Qingxuan!

He knows too much, and Ye Lanzhou also knows too much… Furthermore, he is an easterner! If he returns to the East in the future, goes through the Path of the Deva, and even accepts the legacy of one of the Six Royals [1], what else is there in the world that can act as a check and balance for him?

The King of Red has already emphasized it to the guardian of the Holy Cauldron.

The calmness and staidness on Raymond’s face gradually dissipated, replaced by darkness and coldness. Looking at the smiling young man in front of him, he asked coldly, “Ye Qingxuan, are you really unrepentant?”

“Oh, what are you saying.” Ye Qingxuan smiled indifferently. “How dare I negotiate terms with the Sacred City? I stand by my word, as long as the Holy See formally issues a decree ordering me to hand over the legacy of Master Haydn, I would say no more and personally deliver Genesis to the Sacred City.”

He paused, and his gaze turned cold, even the gentle smile on his lips lost its warmth. As he looked at the old man in front of him, the abyss-like darkness in his pitch black irises seemed to boil.

In the depths of the darkness, the fiery glow of thunder brewed up, like a sword.

“But before that, please be clear about one thing…” He also lifted a finger and said coldly, “In the Church, I am an archbishop appointed by the Holy See, the Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Bearer of the Staff of Authority approved by the Holy Cauldron. In Anglo, I am the Prince of Avalon, the deputy ruler of Anglo acting on behalf of the empress. In the East, I am a marquis of the dragon bloodline, the next head of House Ye… Regardless of which identity of mine that you are talking to, I hope that you will carefully consider whether the words coming out of your mouth are appropriate.”

As Raymond’s expression darkened, the finger poked him on the forehead over and over, without any trace of politeness.

Ye Qingxuan continued. “Think properly with your brain. You called me unrepentant? And who do you think you are?

“Who gave you the right to doubt my words and actions? Who gave you the assurance to question my decision? And who gave you the courage for you to dare to talk nonsense in front of me? ”

As the finger poked his forehead, Raymond’s face was purple with rage, his shoulders trembled angrily, and he gritted his teeth so hard that they were almost crushed. But throughout the ordeal, he said nothing.

He simply let Ye Qingxuan extend a finger to press all his reason and dignity into the dust.

“You’ve gone too far!” Norman was furious and walked forward, trying to stop Ye Qingxuan. But when the pair of dark eyes looked over, simply by looking at him, the terrifying gravitational pull from the Symphony of Predestination almost crushed Norman’s consciousness into pieces.

Norman was momentarily dazed, and immediately got a splitting headache. His vision turned black, and he sat down on the ground involuntarily, covered in cold sweat, his organs convulsing in fear.

It was as if he had been thrown into the depths of the ocean abyss.

“Please forgive my offense.” Raymond finally lowered his head and squeezed out of a few words. “I beg to take back my words just now, please don’t be bothered about it.”

Then only did he realize what a serious mistake he had made.

He had neglected Ye Qingxuan’s identity.

Subconsciously, he had regarded the other person as an unappreciative brat, but had forgotten about what his identity signified.

Unrepentant?

Disregarding other matters, how dare anyone utter such a word to the Grand Inquisitor?

If Ye Qingxuan had taken it seriously, he could have nailed Raymond to the stake, burned him to ashes, and thrown the remains to the doorstep of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, whereas the congregation could only bite the bullet and would even have to apologize to Ye Qingxuan.

Had it taken place a century ago when the trial court still existed, Ye Qingxuan could even directly declare him to be a heretic and conduct a large-scale cleansing in his school and order…

“Good that you understood.” Ye Qingxuan withdrew his finger, randomly grabbed a handkerchief, then wiped the sweat and grease off his finger completely. He threw the handkerchief onto the ground, and gave an indifferent wave of his hand. “Enough for today, you may go.

“I still maintain my stand, as long as the decree of the Holy See is here, I will hand over Genesis with both hands.

“However, please be clear about one thing, it will definitely take more than random nobodies who come to Anglo casually and say some bullshit along the lines of ‘do it for the sake of the world’ to take things away from me!”

Raymond bit his lip, swallowing such bloody humiliation and his rage. He pulled Norman up from the ground, took two steps back, and said calmly, “If that is the case, the Church will evaluate your elements. I hope that you will have a change of mind soon.”

As if he had heard a joke, Ye Qingxuan failed to suppress a chuckle. Too lazy to even turn back, he merely waved. “As you please.”

As he said so, he didn’t bother to pay anymore attention to them and turned to leave.

…

Actually, while Ye Qingxuan’s words were high-sounding, he had already had the Church’s number and was counting on the fact that the Sacred City would not issue such a decree in the name of the King of Red. In fact, they would not even bring up the matter.

The Church would not allow Ye Qingxuan to become a saint, but it did not mean that the Church could convince everyone to accept such a decision.

At the moment, in the world, below the Level of the Scepter, Ye Qingxuan was generally acknowledged as the most powerful musician, the first among the musicians in the Level of Master, a confirmed scepter musician of the future, and the favorite saint-to-be candidate.

If he was not eligible to be a saint, who else was?

Who else could achieve as much as Ye Qingxuan?

He purified the Dark Sovereign, killed Leviathan, saved the enchantment of the Sacred City from the hands of Hyakume, and even defeated Ludovic’s scheme… Ye Qingxuan never owed the Church anything.

It was the Church that owed him.

But it didn’t mean that the Church couldn’t do anything to him. Just like what Raymond said before they parted ways, the Church would re-evaluate his elements and reconsider.

They had plenty of ways to stop Ye Qingxuan from becoming a saint.

For example… they could prevent him from advancing to the Level of Scepter.

Masters intending to advance to the Level of Scepter must create legends and construct elements in their Symphony of Predestination — And all the upper-level elements of the human world were controlled by the Church at the moment via the Holy Bible, not to mention the higher-level divine elements.

It was an important reason as to why all musicians maintain respect for the Church.

If the Church attempted to sabotage him, Ye Qingxuan would not be able to consolidate elements using the Holy Bible for his whole life. Even if he could bypass the Church to create his own elements, he could probably only become a third-class scepter musician, and how could he inherit the legacy of the saint then?

As long as the Church grasped the power, it was equivalent to grabbing Ye Qingxuan by the neck.

They would have more than enough time to make Ye Qingxuan bow and become obedient to the Sacred City in the days to come.

It was just that the current situation was totally beyond their expectation…

Ye Qingxuan couldn’t care less!

Beside Ye Qingxuan, in the dust, Lola’s sigh sounded. “Why bother to provoke them like that?”

Ye Qingxuan cast her a look and asked, “Do I have a choice?”

Lola was silent.

At the moment it seemed that Ye Qingxuan didn’t have Anglo’s interests at heart at all. To make matters worse, after Raymond got around to spreading the word, it would definitely distance his relationship with the royal family… Your ass!

He was the scapegoat for Anglo!

At the moment, even if Ye Qingxuan wanted to give up, Anglo definitely could not return Genesis.

As for the reason why, it was because Genesis had already merged with the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth via the path of godly ascension.

To return Genesis, Anglo would have to hand over the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth completely as well. It was equivalent to handing over both the power of a catastrophe and the Homeland Defense Front of Anglo.

The Church wanted to exchange it for a site of remains that had God knew what buried in it and a few insignificant pieces of technology?

In their dreams!

It was the jewel in the crown that had combined the power of Leviathan, one of the four living creatures, and Anglo’s national resources over the past few centuries, not to mention the legacy of the saint.

At the moment, even though the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was hidden in the reflection in the sea, it had already become the real heart of Anglo. As long as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth still existed, Anglo would be safe from all damages.

Moreover, by virtue of Jiao Xiao Huan Pei and their own bloodlines, in the territories of Anglo, Ye Qingxuan and Mary were equivalent to two complete saints.

Once the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was totally liberated and the Homeland Defense Front was launched completely once again, Old Phil could completely reproduce the terrifying power belonging to one of the four living things in the past, appearing in the world as a catastrophe, and let the enemy understand what actual despair was.

Such was the true capital and trump card of Ye Qingxuan, and it was also the basis of his future plans. If Genesis was no longer there, then a big half of the foundation of the entire plan would collapse.

Regardless of whoever approached him, he would definitely not let go!

Even if the King of Red was to cast away his sense of shame and come to collect Genesis personally, Ye Qingxuan would swallow his own words and play the fool.

At the moment, Ye Qingxuan was like an old farmer.

If anyone wanted to dig up the foundation of his homestead, he would grab the hoe and beat the person up…

Thinking of his follow-up plan, Ye Qingxuan revealed a smile of self-mockery. “Even if I return Genesis, the Sacred City will probably find me more and more of an annoyance, no?”

Upon hearing his words, Lola was quiet for a long time, then sighed softly. “If I were the people in the Sacred City, I would eradicate your trouble-making ass at all costs now.”

“I’m flattered.” Ye Qingxuan smiled shamelessly, looked up, and gazed at the building that was being constructed rapidly in front of him.

It was the new division of the Royal Academy of Music, where the foundation of the future lay…

As early as a month ago, on the day he assumed the office of Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, he had already instructed the head teachers of the three main divisions of the academy to keep everything unchanged and in accordance to Maxwell’s rules.

However, in addition to the established divisions, he would build a new division together with the Religious Court of Inquiry, and nurture a new generation of purification musicians.

In the eyes of the others, Ye Qingxuan was the Grand Inquisitor himself, and it was totally understandable for him to do so.

But no one knew that it was merely an excuse.

It was totally impossible for the Religious Court of Inquiry to recruit new members openly. As long as he could provide Shi Dong they all with enough money and resources, the group of old devils naturally had their own way to produce countless young fanatics.

The division was a place where Ye Qingxuan had the absolute word.

It was precisely why Ye Qingxuan dared to boast that it could solve the human resource problem of the lack of musicians, who are becoming increasingly scarce.

Here, he intended to restart the plan involving war musicians by choosing a large number of youths from the commoners, even if they only possessed a trace of talent to be a musician, and pass on Abraham’s way of deciphering.

It was where Abraham’s legacy really lay.

They would inherit Abraham’s music theory, inherit Abraham’s combat method, and inherit the research topics and paths that Abraham had yet to complete.

One day, the musicians born here would change the whole world.

“But do you really think that such crudely trained people can be considered as musicians?” Lola asked in his ear. “There is only one Abraham, and only one you. If they do not possess the talent and skill, any amount of teaching would still be useless.”

It was the root cause of the scarcity of musicians.

Among one hundred people, less than five or six had the talent to become a musician.

Among the talented people, no more than 30% could sense aether, and among the 30%, only 10% of them could advance to the Level of Apprentice through complicated training.

As for the ones who could eventually become actual musicians, not even one might be found among the hundred.

Such was the biggest problem.

Otherwise, why did the emperors of the East go to such lengths to create the blood of the Deva over a few centuries? Wasn’t it precisely to create people who were born with talent and skill?

“Ye Qingxuan, the various schools have never given up on seeking the solution to this problem all along.” Lola advised him seriously. “But until now, not even one has succeeded.”

“I know.” Ye Qingxuan shook his head nonchalantly. “No worries, I have another way.”

“Hopefully…” came the reply.

After he completed his inspection of the construction site and finished giving instructions about the remaining things to take note of, Ye Qingxuan turned and left. He entered the carriage and asked the air beside him, “Where do we go next?”

“Royal Institute of Research.”

Lola, who was used as a secretary, snorted coldly. “According to your order, the prototype of the second generation Stirling engine has already been manufactured.”

Ye Qingxuan’s eyebrows raised slightly, and his smile became more and more cheerful.

The first step in shaking the world, the industrial revolution that had been sealed for 70 years, could finally be restarted…

[1] The equivalent of Saints in the Eastern Empire.