190 Drifting Hearse

Ye Qingxuan stood above the volcano that was about to erupt and leisurely closed his eyes. He was immersed in the aggressive melody that was a wild and uncontrollable galloping horse. The performer in red was dancing in his heart, setting off flames.

Thousands of threads wrapped around his body, weaving into a dense net that completely covered the island. His senses stretched along the perception threads, as if he had detached himself from his insignificant human body and became one with the vast island.

No, he could even feel that this island was only a mirage that had been created. But at the moment, he seemed to have become an extension of the illusion.

The perception threads were like his eyes, hands, and soul, sensing the existence of all organisms and the waves of the aether. It was like having a pair of eyes higher up that were overlooking the whole world, looking at the scenery that Ye Qingxuan had once overlooked.

The island, beach, dense forest, yellow sand...and the countless students and mimicry were right before his eyes. They were so close that Ye Qingxuan could see them like the veins in his hand.

Under the reflection of the "heart mirror," they shone with different colors, even when covered by mimicry. After discovering flaws through focused studying, Ye Qingxuan was vaguely aware of their changing moods.

"So that’s where you all are." Ye Qingxuan ginned. "Let me give you a surprise."

He thrummed the strings.

Boom! The badge was tossed up. It flipped in the air, reflecting the sun overhead and the lava below, and a red light glowed. The thousands of credits he had hoarded inside the badge were depleted in an instant. The name at the top of the list that hung over everyone's heads disappeared instantly.

Everyone focusing on the rankings was stunned. They had no idea what happened that caused Ye Qingxuan's name to fall from thirteenth to the thousands in an instant. In the midst of consternation, they did not see the flash of light like a falling comet in the sky overhead. Like countless meteorites breaking through the outer barrier, a blazing light was created as they rubbed against the air. They transformed into a meteor shower, falling from the sky!

"What is that?" In the midst of the jungle, the dusty Bart looked up at the sky. In the distance, rays of light flew from the mouth of the volcano out of the thin air, and scattered in all directions.

Ding, ding, ding! Everyone’s badges began to vibrate wildly. They lowered their heads blankly, looking at the list that seemed to be burning. The order of the entire list began to change instantaneously. The ranking connected to the Requiem enchantment broke down in this dramatic change, showing a crack and losing its luster.

At the bottom, a name began burning up. It took a step forward, followed by another step. As the meteor shower fell, the name trembled wildly, breaking through all the obstacles and soaring upward without hesitation.

First, it fell from thirteenth to thousands away; then it rushed back wildly. Everything in its path was in ruins.

Nine-hundred, eight-hundred, seven-hundred…one- hundred…it whizzed past! And then, like a flash of lightning, it jumped into the top ten.

"What the h*ll is this?" Bart, who had been relieved before, now felt his vision going black. He had been completely forced out of top ten, but immediately thereafter came a distant scream.

"He’s cheating! Cheating!" a student from the School of Royalty roared. "That Eastern b*stard! I'm gonna tear you to shreds!"

The meteor shower was still falling! All of the mimicry where the meteors fell disappeared in a flash like absurd fireworks! Instantly, the number of credits behind that name soared again! It jumped to 1950 points from zero instantaneously. His depleted credits had returned. Then it turned into two-thousand points, three-thousand, four…

The name zoomed forward, pushing everyone else’s names down in its path. It was like a mad dog off its leash, a drifting hearse, a military ox on fire destroying the list.

Top ten, top five, top three...In the end, the silent and bleak Banner clenched his fist. With his face twisting, he roared coarsely, "Ye Qingxuan!"

The situation changed in the snap of a finger. On the list, in first place was Ye Qingxuan! And the points behind him were still rapidly soaring. Five-thousand, six, seven…eight thousand! Nine-thousand!

"Nine thousand?" Richard from the executive office was on the beach. His face twitched and looked back at his assistant. "Are you sure he didn't cheat? We should talk to him..." He paused and muttered a curse in astonishment, "F*cking crazy!"

In an instant, the mimicry of more than one-hundred and ninety graduates had their covers blown by the light. The points that followed put a five-thousand point difference between Ye Qingxuan and Banner, who was in second place.

The completely unreasonable change made everyone feel suffocated and powerless, as if they saw the abyss between the two. At that moment, countless students squeezed a hopeless moan from their throats, "That Eastern f*cker…"

-

In the conference room in the second floor of the auditorium, the professors felt the change much more directly than the dramatic changes of the ranking. The aerial display projected on the wall flashed at that moment. A black spot in the middle of that desert island emitted a blinding light. It was the overlapping depletion of hundreds of credits.

Immediately thereafter, the red dots of the entire map began to vibrate wildly. Patches disappeared at a time. It was as if an invisible palm descended from the sky and swept across, wiping away all the mimics. Finally, only a few sparse ones that had slipped through the net remained on the entire map. And in the few seconds of total chaos of the rankings, Ye Qingxuan completed the big jump from the bottom.

Under everyone’s eyes, he moved unbridled. He broke through the rankings and rushed to the top, leaving all other students behind him. The gap between them was as large as a natural moat.

The whole conference room fell into a long silence. Nobody had processed what had just happened. When they finally did, there was an explosion of movement. No matter how they tried to restrain themselves, nothing could stop the professors from whispering to one another.

Amongst the crowd, Ingmar's complexion was livid. "The Easterner...is he mad?" He gritted his teeth, clenched his fist under the table, and looked angrily at Abraham. "Abraham, what the h*ll just happened?!" Everyone became quiet in an instant and looked at the silent man.

Under everyone’s gazes, Abraham dully looked up with a puzzled expression. "Even if you ask me, I’m not sure either…"

"Are you f*cking kidding me?" Ingmar took Abraham's obtusity as mockery. His face reddened as he said through clenched teeth, "Your student rushed to the first place as if he was cheating, and you tell me that you don’t know. What kind of professor are you?"

"This..." Abraham thought for a moment and shook his head. "Yezi is a very good student. He learns things quickly. And, well, he constantly gives people surprises. Just like now. Well, it’s not a big deal if everyone gets used to it ... "He squeezed out a reluctant smile. "Yes, just get used to it."

Get used to it your *ss! Ingmar practically spat out blood. He glared at Abraham with hatred and took out the aether ball. Connected it to the Requiem enchantment, he began to analyze the fluctuations in the illusion and aether directly.

After years of immersion in the School of Modifications, Ingmar instantly had his aether ball reflect the changes in the illusion, as well as the complex changes in the aether.

The layers of silver tracks revealed intricate music scores and melodies. The notes that had practically solidified intertwined and formed an illusionary image. It was essence realized by a musician who had thoroughly mastered the heart of the music score.

He saw it. There was a reddish turbulence in the silver dust of the aether ball. It was a red skirt on the stage. A coquettish girl was dancing. Her moves were sometimes gentle and sometimes passionate. It was a captivating dance, wild enough that it seemed the red dress was set on fire. One could not help but be captivated.

"A music score from Modifications?" Ingmar said to himself and immediately reacted. No, the movement of Modifications had always been known for its explosiveness and change. There would not be any human intention.

So, what score was it?

It was seemingly frenzied and passionate, but it always followed a rhythm. The interpretation and construction of the music score was incredible. The aether followed the rhythm’s guidance, changed from a gurgling stream into a torrent, thunder-like power brewed silently within.

The composer’s undeliberate breath, and his round and smooth movements were admirable enough. Not to mention the unimaginably high control of aether needed…The source was unknown, but Ingmar was sure that there was absolutely no score from Revelations that had such an image!

In an instance, something seemed dawn on Ingmar. His expression changed drastically and he stared directly at Abraham with ferocious eyes. "Abraham, if I find out that you violated the military’s confidentiality agreement and taught that eastern kid the School of Abstinence, I will make sure you’re punished for it."

The atmosphere of the entire conference room became stifled. Everyone looked at Abraham with suspicion. At the front, even Princess Mary frowned.

Given the immense destructive power of the School of Abstinence, its teaching must be carried out under the supervision of the silent authority of the Musicians’ Union, endorsed by the military, and after multiple agreements had been signed.

If anyone violated the law, the most lenient punishment was that both professor and student would be thrown into the Mithril Cellar and never be able to come into contact with aether ever again. If Abraham had really bypassed the agreement’s restrictions with some trick and taught the School of Abstinence to his students…then not even the Royal Academy of Music would tolerate him anymore!

Abraham suddenly became everyone’s target. He froze in bewilderment as if he had not yet processed everything.

After a long time, he looked at Ingmar and asked uncertainly, "You... have you misunderstood something?"