Silent Crown

After a short rest, he returned to the bridge that had undergone emergency repairs, where he saw the Master of the Illusion Islands and the leaders of various schools. Long ago they had enslaved the natives of the islands and established their own musician regime. Nowadays they seemed more like the king and his nobles.

Ye Qingxuan was dazzled by what he saw.

They were so rich.

Hundreds of years of looting, plus the abundant resources and minerals on the islands, had made it so that not one thing that these Scepters and Masters had on them was ordinary. Any randomly chosen ring of theirs would be valuable enough to be the sacred treasure of a small town school.

As he was looking at them, they were looking at him and mentally wiping away their cold sweat.

In fact, those from the Illusion Islands had arrived before he had.

Although they had persuaded by Watson, they had still thought to wait for the highest bid. Originally they had wanted to come in as reinforcements just as Ye Qingxuan ram out of ammunition and provisions. They had never thought that in the end they would be terrified by the air that Ye Qingxuan put on.

It was really too d*mn preposterous!

Every simultaneously put themselves in the shoes of those on the sea fortress. If their places were swapped, and it had been them facing the Mountain of Nomadism, then…

It was only natural that they would feel a chill.

This time they had really been more clever than was good for themselves. They had originally wanted to provide timely aid, but it had not turned out well, and they had almost ruined everything. Fortunately, they could still gild the lily.

It was too dangerous. Too dangerous.

Facing the young man before them who smiled without saying anything, they were filled with both awe and dread. If they still wanted to form an alliance and get a large amount of money from Ye Qingxuan, then now they would have to start worrying about being swallowed up by their exceedingly powerful ally.

After staring at each other for a while, the taciturn Master broke the silence. She bowed her head towards Ye Qingxuan. “Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor, answering your summons are Illusion Mire, Voodoo Hollow, Indefinite Earth. All told, the schools of the 16 Illusion Islands are yours to command from this day forth.”

Ye Qingxuan smiled and slowly took a sip from his teacup. “Since Watson represents the alliance between me and the Islands, there’s no need to be so formal. Your Islands saved me from a tricky spot. If it hadn’t been for the Fleet of No Return, we would not have been able to achieve such a rich victory. But how am I to repay you for your aid?” he asked.

The Master was silent for a moment, then asked suddenly, “If I’m not mistaken, you don’t know what it was that Watson promised us?”

Ye Qingxuan’s expression did not change as he calmly answered, “Please rest assured, I have given him the right to use all of my resources. If he promised something, that means I promised it.” Although his face was calm, secretly Ye Qingxuan’s non-existent heart was beating wildly.

He panicked.

Even though he could rest assured by the results of Watson’s work, he could never rest easy about the way he achieved those results. This was because Watson was just like Shi Dong. As long as you didn’t limit the way they could go about their business, they could handle anything for you, as long as you could bear the side-effects and consequences of their methods…

Ever since Watson had returned, he had no time to talk to him alone and had no way of knowing what kind of contract he had signed.

This was a two-way operation.

As early as when he had begun to talk to the representatives from the Illusion Islands, a line of Heaven Ladder had already extended from the floor beneath his feet to Watson’s wheelchair.

The two of them took this opportunity to communicate secretly.

“Hey! How did you deal with them?”

“You’re asking me now?” Watson laughed coldly. “I agitated their internal disputes, poisoned someone who opposed working with you, then found someone to kill someone else who wanted to talk with them so they could only talk to me. Although a few minor incidents took place, overall it went smoothly. And in addition to the terms we originally negotiated, I also promised them the Anglo Kingdom’s customs duties and tariffs… for five years.”

“Schrk!” Ye Qingxuan’s expression did not change, but he gasped inwardly and he almost crushed the teacup that he was holding.

Customs duties?

Tariffs?

Five years?

Buddy, you’re crazy!

As a maritime trading nation, more than 70 percent of the Anglo Kingdom’s yearly tax revenue came from tariffs. Now while they were at war, the Royal Family had had to tighten their belts to maintain a minimum level of trade, not even daring to raise taxes.

All so that you could give their tariffs away with a casual sentence! Do you want to make the kingdom sell all it has to make ends meet and have to beg for food?

“Watson, are you trying to sell out your country?”

“Haha. You’re the one who sold it. Your seal is on the stamp.”

Ye Qingxuan swore at him. If Ye Qingxuan did not intimately know Watson’s character, he would have already stood up, drawn his sword, and killed him on behalf of the Fifth Division, the Inquisition, and the Royal Family.

Watson did not care in the least about Ye Qingxuan’s worries.

“What are you worried about? Just fool them for now, and then after that leave it to me,” he said calmly. “If the Illusion Islands aren’t completely under your control after three years, I’ll write ‘Cult Leader of Hyakume’ on my forehead.”

“You’re the worst!”

“Haha, this is called ‘an excellent family education creates a noble spirit.’” Watson sipped his tea lightly and made an elegant gesture.

But Ye Qingxuan had already seen through his facade and seen the bad water screaming and bubbling in his chest.

He had never had any doubts about Watson’s ability to do evil.

In a few short years, he had gone from being a Dark Musician to the leader of the cult of Hyakume, and had later sparred magically in various fields with the previous shaman. With a group of corrupt, aristocratic pigs as teammates, he had been able to cut out a good situation for himself. After becoming the new shaman, he had turned to underground industries of the Anglo Kingdom into a formidable force, becoming known as the savior of the desperate.

Not long ago, he himself had given him a lot of money and thrown him out the door, and in such a short time he had managed to brew up a storm in the upper echelons of the Illusion Islands…

When he thought of what Watson could do with the support of the Fifth Division and the Inquisition, Ye Qingxuan’s head hurt.

Originally, the terms of the alliance that Ye Qingxuan had left to Watson were that the Illusion Islands would act as mercenaries in the Anglos war, and their compensation would be mutual cooperation between both sides, the transfer of industrial technology, the two sides cooperating to control the sea lanes in the future.

But now it seemed there had been a directional error all along.

Fortunately, it was not too late for him to correct it.

In any case, he hoped to reach a state of complete cooperation with the Illusion Islands instead of dying due to their alliance. Therefore, how the two sides would consider their relationship, how to collect tariffs, and how to use something else as a means of compensation…

Just thinking about this made Ye Qingxuan’s head hurt.

But what was most unexpected was that the Master who looked like a little old noblewoman said after a moment of silence, “We are willing to give up our rights to Anglo tariffs, as long as Your Excellency is willing to give the schools on the Illusion Islands the same treatment as those in the Anglo Kingdom.”

Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He put down his teacup and his expression became serious.

“You want a mid-level privilege in the Net of Aether?”

…

The privileges in the Net of Aether were divided up by Ye Qingxuan.

Among them, the supreme authority to manage them all lay in his own hands. He had started to give the Inquisition and the Royal Institute of Research high-level privileges for distribution and the operation of various sectors. Later, he had used these terms to draw the Chainsaw Fraternity into deep cooperation.

Mid-level privileges were given to schools that had first sought refuge with him. He used this opportunity to use them as a model. After this, he had put a stop to giving out mid-level privileges, and most of the ones given out after that were lower level.

With mid-level privileges, they were free to upload and download the music of each school, and that was only a small part of it. The greater power came from the fact that they could freely build content on the Net of Aether.

Borrowing from the large scale markets set up by the Anglos, they could rent a storefront to sell their own things, and what was more, everything that would be involved and everything that would be influenced went much deeper than what could be predicted at the moment.

The thought of giving this to the Illusion Islands worried Ye Qingxuan.

If it had been to cooperate with an ordinary school there would not have been a problem, but the Illusion Islands made him uneasy.

In the past, due to their differences with the Church, they had abandoned their base and left. After taking the lead in occupying the islands, the musicians of the Illusion Islands had not followed the restrictions imposed by the Sacred City like other schools but instead had relied on dominating the local natives and establishing their own political power. A dozen or so schools of magic managed the Islands, and from among them, a Master was elected to lead them.

For centuries their networks had expanded to almost the entire world, and their shadow existed in all underground industries. They had even opened a few branches of assassin organizations in the Anglo Kingdom. Incidentally, Watson’s evaluation of them was this: the natives were very useful after being brainwashed. This method is worth studying.

Just a glance at the history of Islands would tell you how these people operated.

To put it bluntly, anything went.

As long as it was good for them, they would have no scruples, even if it meant cooperating with the Abyss. It could be said that the Illusion Islands’ reputation was so bad that half of what was said about them were rumors that they had spread themselves.

Now they wanted to exchange five years of tariffs for only one mid-level privilege. Obviously, there was more to this.

Ye Qingxuan started to worry that he had invited a wolf into his house.

After thinking for a while, Ye Qingxuan did not give them an answer on the spot. “Let me consider it.”

The Master did not reply to Ye Qingxuan’s answer, but looked back at the leaders of the various schools behind her. Of the 15 musicians, four were Scepters, and the others were Masters who wore inherited items that could temporarily grant them the combat abilities of a Scepter. Yet the Master’s position and majesty would clearly overrule the objections of the other musicians.

The long-standing tacit agreement between them made them understand her meaning. A few of them looked at each other and reported huge numbers.

The numbers they reported were added up, and by the time the Master had added them up, the figure was staggeringly astronomical.

Finally, the Master looked at Ye Qingxuan. “As long as you are willing to sign a treaty of religious discipline with us, ensuring fairness in dealings between us and your own musicians, to not deliberately seize the property of the Islands nor to interfere with our position, and to give us preferential treatment in the development of the King of Aether. We are not only willing to open up our core music theory to you, but also to have the Fleet of No Return fight for the Anglos free of charge. If you open up the higher levels of the Net of Aether to us, we will not only not require the Anglo Kingdom to spend even one pound of black gold, but we will also take out the Illusion Islands’ centuries of accumulated savings to help you expand the Net of Aether. The money provided would be no less than the number we just quoted. Whether it be the Islands’ mineral deposits, the rare treasures that our schools have accumulated over the centuries, or even our warship-building technology, we will open it to you unconditionally.”

On the bridge, Ye Qingxuan, Watson, and the musicians behind the Master all gasped.

That was not just a lot of money.

That was almost enough to equal the Anglo treasury in its heyday!

How was this even an alliance?

It was even more ridiculous than directly calling the Anglo Kingdom their overlord!

“What are you planning?” Ye Qingxuan was stunned. “Are you really this optimistic about the Net of Aether?”

The Master smiled. The old female musician looked happy for the first time. “For illusionists, what could be more valuable than an illusory world? Moreover, I already personally experienced it before coming here. You’ve released so many movements, maybe I could add a couple of my own.” She pulled out a piece of iron that was very familiar to Ye Qingxuan from her pocket – the Net of Aether’s melody terminal.

After a brief silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, “I really don’t understand, why do you care so much about the Net of Aether? What is it that you want? I think that all musicians understand that what I have done is smash the foundations of the world of musicians. Why would a vested interest like the Illusion Islands support a rebel like me?”

“It’s simple, Your Highness,” the Master said softly. “What we want is nothing more than the respect we deserve. The respect that we lost hundreds of years ago when we were suppressed by an alliance of the various schools and the Sacred City, forced to lose our autonomy and flee our homes. There is no distinction between the seven systems, so why should the school of illusions be scorned? Why must we decline if we do not castrate ourselves like the school of heart did? For hundreds of years, we have endured the world stigmatizing us. In order to escape oppression, in order to have an independent school, we did not hesitate to leave our homes and hide among the islands. In order to survive, we did not hesitate to launch raids. In order to develop, we did not hesitate to associate with Dark Musicians. In order to rid ourselves of our entanglement with the Abyss, we chose to form an alliance with the Anglos. Why can’t we work together with you for our future? Unlike previous Masters, I am not proficient in music theory. I am not even from the orthodox school of illusion. At best, I am a businesswoman. For business people, investing in workshops, investing in industries, and investing in countries are all good, but none of them are more profitable than investing in ‘the market.’ We have money, we have power, we have strength. Why would we care what the Sacred City thinks?”

“What’s the difference between being controlled by the Sacred City and being controlled by me?” asked Ye Qingxuan. “Or is it that you think I am susceptible to deception?” Although the Master said she was a businesswoman, Ye Qingxuan did not believe this even a little bit. Last time there had also been an old person who said they were an accountant.

All of his experiences had made Ye Qingxuan understand that these old people in high positions might be confused, might be stupid, or might occasionally be a little negligent. But one thing was always the same—they all knew what they wanted, and they had the skills and abilities to get it. Once they had an opportunity, they would never let it go.

He stared at the Master before him, but this just made her laugh.

“Mr. Watson once said something. In business, no matter what, as long as both sides are interested, a deal can always be negotiated,” she said. “I like this saying a lot because the Sacred City would never say this.”

Ye Qingxuan knew what she meant.

After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan finally sighed and drained his teacup. “Although the Net of Aether is open source,” he said, “I will not give its proprietary rights to anyone. In other words, no matter how much you invest, no matter how much effort you pour into this, I can easily erase it all if I want to. If you can accept this, I can open up upper-level privileges to you.”

The Master had no objections.

The property of the Illusion Islands was far outside of the Anglo Kingdom. Even if Ye Qingxuan suddenly turned hostile, all that would be lost were the efforts of one generation and a little bit of money.

What the Illusion Islands wanted was a place and history and the restoration of its own orthodoxy. This was a plan that unfolded over a millennium. A temporary loss would be nothing. Even if they failed, it would be just one more thing to tack onto the column of shame in their school’s history and bring their successors a bit of trouble.

Moreover, the value of the Net of Aether lay in its openness. It lay in everyone’s accumulated contributions. It must have its own rules and regulations. Even the controller Ye Qingxuan couldn’t act against the Illusion Islands without a reason. What would be the meaning of such a vast Net of Aether if everyone was torn apart by dissension and discord?

The Master was not afraid of failure. As long as her people existed, they could still make a comeback.

As for the specific details of their management and cooperation, they could discuss them over time.

This was the best thing that Ye Qingxuan had over the Sacred City.

In business, as long as there was interest, there would be a discussion.

“I look forward to our pleasant cooperation.” The Master opened her fingers, and in her palm, the music theory of the path of commandment intertwined, clapping into Ye Qingxuan’s hand as a witness to the two sides’ cooperation.

The main key had been set, and the details would be left to their subordinates to discuss.

After the Chainsaw Fraternity, Ye Qingxuan had hitched the Illusion Islands to his own cart.

After this, their chat was much more relaxed.

“What do you wish to do with high-level privileges?”

“I am already prepared. Do you have any extra melody terminals here?” she asked. “I can show you.”

Several musicians quickly handed over their terminals. Using Ye Qingxuan as a relay, the Master connected her terminal to a closed regional network.

“I’m not too good at this.” The Master initiated her own music theory, and in a flash, everyone on the bridge was dazed for a short time. When they returned to their senses, they were already in a pure white void.