The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 1092: Jade Harmony Flute

After Vaan left Dreamy Pearl Venture, he browsed the other busy stores on the bustling street while contemplating the events that had occurred earlier. He expected resistance from the higher-ups, but he still found their actions to be so swift and blatant.

’Since Dreamy Pearl Venture was already tipped to cut all possible business dealings with me, are the higher-ups planning to cut off all avenues for me to earn contribution points?’ Vaan mused.

If he wanted to enter the doors of the Grand Hall of Sound to study the divine art of sound, he needed both contribution points and a good instrument.

Talented as he was, Vaan didn’t believe his innate voice could be superior to a mermaid’s.

Moreover, if singing alone could resonate with the soul so well, there would be no stringent demand for the quality of one’s instrument. Since the voice was lacking, a greater emphasis on the instrument was required.

’Singing possesses the power of sound and language. Of the two, the latter’s advantage is greater. However, it also comes with obvious restrictions,’ Vaan thought.

A vocal song could tell a story with its lyrics, but an instrumental song could tell many stories through sound: a different listener, a different interpretation. Of course, vocal songs could also produce different interpretations of the story, but they would all share strong similarities.

On the other hand, the interpretations of a pure instrumental song could be more diverse. A sad melody can strangely have a happy story, and a happy melody can equally and strangely have a sad one.

Naturally, this was related to one’s experience. Different sounds and words invoke different memories. The combination of vocal and instrument, while limited in interpretations, invoked the strongest effect.

That said, Vaan wasn’t concerned about vocals and only considered picking and polishing his instrumental skills. After all, he chose to cultivate the sound arts to resonate with his own soul, not to assist others with theirs.

As such, an instrument was enough.

As for which instrument to learn, Vaan decided to settle for a flute. Not only did it have a simple design, but it was also easy to carry. He also found it to be the most practical instrument if he were to use it in battle.

Considering sound arts could be used in battle and also possessed immeasurable power, Vaan felt that it would have been a waste to purely learn sound arts for the sake of kick-starting his path in Soul Master cultivation.

For that reason, he felt the flute was most appropriate.

A true master of the sound arts wouldn’t be troubled by their environment. They could draw out the musical power and charm of their instrument in any setting, whether it be under the sea, on land, or in the void.

After looking around the stores, Vaan set his eyes on the Jade Harmony Flute, a Rank 6 Divine Instrument, priced at a whopping 10,000 CP. It was even more expensive than most cultivation resources for Divine Knights and could even compare to some Rank 8 resources.

Although the cost was high, its abilities would save him a lot of trouble in the early stage of learning and would still be useful to him much later in the future.

The Jade Harmony Flute was forged by a True God and was engraved with the charms of the Endlessness Law, allowing its musical sounds to be heard in any environment, its structure to be durable and self-repairing, and, more importantly, it was also self-evolving, capable of birthing an Instrument Spirit and upgrading its rank. 𝘙á₦ốBÊṣ

As such, while the Jade Harmony Flute was graded as Rank 6, its future certainly wasn’t limited to Rank 6.

The product of a True God couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

Unfortunately, even if Vaan could gather enough CP to afford the Jade Harmony Flute, it was questionable whether the store owner would sell it to him, considering his situation.

If the higher management of the Myriad Sea God Palace were hell-bent on suppressing him to make him surrender his independence, no person or business would be willing to buy anything from him or sell anything to him.

Considering what happened at Dreamy Pearl Venture, Vaan figured that it was already happening.

That said, if he wanted to grow, his rise couldn’t be stopped.

Most disciples wouldn’t be willing to offend the higher powers of the Myriad Sea God Palace due to their fear, but not everyone was afraid. His previous visit to the Grand Chamber of Dilemma had already earned him a group of loyal followers.

If there was no other way, he could still rely on them and see the extent of their loyalty.

After Vaan formulated his plan, he went around Whispering Pearl City looking for opportunities to earn CP.

However, sure enough, stores that were looking for assistants and workers refused to hire him. Pawnshops, thrift shops, and consignment shops also refused to buy goods from him.

Given all the good stuff in his storage space, Vaan could earn a lot of CP if he exchanged them. However, the Grand Exchange Hall no longer accepted any dealings with him after it received some words from the higher-ups.

As such, Vaan also considered opening a street stall to sell some of his goods to other disciples. Unfortunately, such stalls also require a business license, and that, too, was denied by the Commercial Administration Office.

Some fish-men and mermaids, who followed him from the Fish-men Domain and witnessed the entire ordeal, felt indignant on Vaan’s behalf. They quickly ranted online, causing the other followers to feel outrage.

"This is so frustrating! Lord Vaan is a Noble Being! How could they treat him like this?!"

"Indeed, it is frustrating. However, this is nothing new. There are countless cases in the past. It’s only the first time that it has happened to a Noble Being."

"Sigh! I used to have great respect for the Myriad Sea God Palace, but now I see that this holy land of cultivation is nothing more than a birdcage! When your intentions don’t align with those in power, they will silence your voice of difference and cripple your path of cultivation!"

"Such a disappointment. When did the Myriad Sea God Palace become so corrupted and rigid?"

"Now I see why the Myriad Sea God Palace hasn’t had any substantial development in eons. No, it might even be declining!"

...

While Vaan was getting denied wherever he went, he didn’t express any disappointment. He only felt they were within his expectations.

Nevertheless, with most paths cut off, Vaan ultimately turned his attention to the black market district, which operated within the grey zone.

The rules and laws of the Myriad Sea God Palace were poorly regulated there, and people even conducted businesses without a business license issued by the Commercial Administration Office.