405 Wash Blood with Blood

"Time, please stop because you are so beautiful." Under the distant song, the climax of Faust was activated. Time turned, burning red-hot, and almost self-destructed. The time flowing through the aether sea suddenly stopped. All music score changes were forcefully frozen.

This time, the melody had followed the music theory of Abstinence, rather than targeting the 'stopping' of the material world. Instead, it acted directly upon the aether, forcing the aether sea to stop changing and reacting to the world. It cut off the path for musicians to resonate with the sea and forced all musicians below the Resonance level.

At that moment, an overlooked knight in the procession suddenly raised a finger. His armor shook and countless music notes flowed from his fingertip. It sketched out a vast structure, going toward the frozen aether sea. The surrounding air warped as if tugged at by a strong attractive force. The mature music theory was disturbing the materials, distorting reality.

It was the Distortion level! There was a musician only one step away from becoming a grandmaster hidden in the knights!

Endless changes were put into the music theory. The multileveled formulas operated instantly, measure by measure. They transformed into a burning hammer that shattered the ice.

Boom! Music theories collided. The piercing noise made everyone's vision go black.

The expression of the 'knight' changed. His raised finger shook and splintered like a segment of bamboo. Fresh blood flew out. The droplets evaporated in the disordered music theory, froze, or disappeared. From his fingertip to his arms, the armor twisted like dried seaweed. It cracked apart, revealing mangled flesh.

"How…" he murmured blankly. Something broke inside of him and his organs shattered. He fell off the horse.

The aether sea froze completely.

In the crowd, many people paled. It felt like they had suddenly lost an important sensory organ, as if they had gone blind, deaf, mute, or could not touch anymore. Resonance musicians co-existed with the aether sea at every second. They rose up in levels and developed due to it. As the aether sea froze and their resonance with the source disappeared, they instantly fell from the Resonance level.

People yelped in shock belatedly. Riot spread through the crowd. Controlled by the hidden Mind score, terror, and panic burst. The crowd scattered and chaos formed outside the city gates.

"Ye Qingxuan…" Within the mess, Colt stared at the musician's broken face. He looked up in all directions, yelling, "Come out, Ye Qingxuan! I know you're here!"

No one replied.

In this afternoon, under the hot sunlight and among the flying dust, a hoarse song traveled from the distance.

"The final judgment will arrive; fire will spread through the graves, burning the organs. The souls will wander from the underworld."

Under the city gates, the old musician strummed his instrument. He sang quietly to bless the hero, "Oh, Lazarus, how will you repay your debt? Oh, Lazarus, are you panicking?"

Colt's head shot up and looked through the crowd. In the back of the crowd, the musician sang with his head lowered. As if a switch was turned on, the eyes of the black-robed priest behind Colt suddenly went blank. He raised his hand subconsciously and pulled a crossbow out of his robes.

As if he had practiced this thousands of times, he pressed it to the back of Colt's head and pressed the trigger. The springs let go, and a poisonous dart shot out. That moment, Colt lowered his head and rolled off the horse. The arrow scraped past his messy hair and nicked the shoulder of the lead knight. Only scraping the skin, the knight instantly fell off. Half of his body went numb, and his lips quickly turned dark blue, his face bloating.

This was not toxic poison. It was something more terrifying—blood clotting agent. Choir musicians used it to stop gravely wounded soldiers from bleeding. If the decimal of the density level was changed, it could turn the wounded into a rubber toy. All the blood would coagulate, and nothing could fix it.

"There is no way to break the curse, to medicine to heal you, nowhere to go. To where else can you go to plead?" the musician sang. "Oh, Lazarus, how will you repay your debt? Oh, Lazarus, are you panicking?"

Missing the first one, the priest aimed his crossbow again and pulled the trigger. Colt grabbed a knight's shield and blocked the arrow. Whistles and crashes sounded continuously. Arrows landed on the shields, caving them in and shattering them. The shields were pulverized by the frightened horses.

Behind a shield, Colt pulled out his sword and stabbed the neck of the priest's horse. The stallion screamed and stood up. The blank priest fell off, and the panicking horse quickly trampled him into ground meat.

However, until death, the priest's eyes were still blank, and his mouth was open, murmuring something silently.

"Ye Qingxuan…" Colt spun around. He glared at the musician menacingly. "I knew it was you!"

"Time is short, and death is rushing," the musician sang hoarsely as he played his instrument. "Look, fire is burning my body. It's burning my soul, seeping into my bones. There is nowhere to hide, no way to run. There is nowhere to run to!"

"Capture the attacker!" Colt roared to the knights. "No, kill him! Kill him now!"

Controlling his horse, he studied Ye Qingxuan's face coldly. "Stop dreaming, Ye Qingxuan," he murmured. "You can't kill me in Hell, and you can't kill me here! I'm the winner, and it'll be like that forever!"

If he had been terrified before, he was no longer scared now. Ye Qingxuan had gone completely crazy… This was the Sacred City! There were so many different schools, grandmasters, and musicians here. The world's largest enchantment enveloped this city day and night. The Starry Temple controlled the aether waves of the human world. This was the most guarded place in the world!

Even the Secret Keepers could not protect him here. The moment he chose to act, he already became the enemy of the entire Sacred City!

No one could save him anymore!

But for some reason, Colt felt a tinge of panic. Why…didn't the Sacred City do anything yet? He glanced at the city gates with his peripheral vision. The bustling streets were still the same; nothing had happened. No one had realized that there had been an assassination attempt right before the city gates!

With every second that passed, the unrest grew. What was happening?

Clenching his jaw, he gripped the reins until his knuckles turned white.

The knights unsheathed their swords; the stallions panted, and the metal hooves sounded like a thunderstorm. Dozens of knights urged their horses over, galloping and dragging their heavy swords, gouging the ground.

Besides Colt, the knights took off their helmets. They performed a music score, gathering the aether. Though they were no longer at the Resonance level, they could still perform countless restraining scores under coherence.

The earth rumbled, fire brewed, and the air condensed… Dozens of music scores shot out at once, sealing off everywhere the enemy could hide.

The clattering hooves arrived. The knights cast black shadows from above the horses. They raised their long swords and brought them down on the musician!

At that moment, the wind lifted the musician's hood, revealing bone-white hair.

"Can't you see my regret? I will make your life worth it…" he sang with his head down. "Greed and lust, death and dust, can you see my smile within?" Under the gales of wind, his long hair danced like electric silver. Beside him, the cane leaned on the wall suddenly erupted with blazing electricity. It flooded out!

Thunder and lightning cracked. Electric light moved like a cobra, leaving black scorch marks in its path. Like an angry whip, it tore apart all music scores! Surging forward, it jumped between the armor and long swords. The metal melted into red-hot liquid, the horses fell with screams, and the knights vaporized.

The countless wild lightning bolts seemed to weave into a vague yet awesome image—it was the god of thunder, Indrah! Everyone, including Colt, was shocked.

With the aether sea frozen, it was hard for anyone to resonate. Restricted like this, they could only rely on the free aether in the air. No one expected that someone could so easily complete such a vast music score and fight enemies that outnumbered him. He could even recreate a fallen saint's spirit!

"This is definitely not the musician level…" A middle-aged priest stared at Ye Qingxuan. Studying his chest, he tried to find the heart of sound. However, no matter how he probed, the chest cavity was empty. There was no response or any resonance! It seemed to be an empty hole. There was no music theory or aether. All that existed in a shocking void that swallowed all noise…

Sensing his probing, something started brewing in the darkness. It was like the sapling of destruction, showing the tip of the iceberg. In an instant, the priest's eyes filled with blood. The corners cracked, and tears of blood streamed down his white face.

He screamed, "Wha-what are you?!"

Behind the flying dust, the man kept his head lowered as he played the six-stringed instrument. His hoarse voice spread throughout.

"Lazarus, do you see the wildfire burning so richly? Do you see the hellhound, staring so intimidatingly? Are you panicking now? But Lazarus, how will you repay the debts?"

Under the low song, lightning burned and danced wildly. On the cane, the cracked gem shattered completely. In its place, the fallen Holy Spirit was reborn in the lightning. Unprecedented, it opened its eyes.

The world roared! As the land shook, the iron walls reflected the blinding electric light. The song transformed into a judgment from the underworld. It filled the air.

"Lazarus, the wildfire is burning," he sang. "It is burning, fire shooting into the sky. The faraway stars will not be able to guide you… I will write my name with blood. Lazarus, wash blood with blood and write thy name! Wash blood with blood and create thy name!"

The instrument strings snapped. The weathered six-stringed instrument broke apart. Lightning poured from it.

The world was so dark.

Lightning solidified in his hands. With the apparition of Indrah, he aimed at his enemy, locking onto Colt. Pained by the lightning, Colt's face reddened. All the blood seemed to collect on his face.

"Ye Qingxuan!" Roaring, he pulled out the anti-tune and sliced down at the music theory composed of countless lightning bolts.

Boom! The anti-tune sword shattered and melted in the air. Then the lightning passed through all the protection, crushing the defense. No matter if it was water, mud, shields, or legendary phantom beasts, they all became fragile bubbles before the lightning.

Everything broke apart! Instantly, dozens of musicians turned to dust. The lightning surged forward like a dragon. It swallowed Colt's arm.

And then there was an angry roar in the air, "Presumptuous!"

The majestic bells rang one after another. With pure, saintly light, Will descended from the sky. The glorious Score of God's Punishment sounded. It collided with the shackles of Faust. The Double Snake Time Meter shook; the red-hot needle trembled and sped up. It could not continue for much longer.

In an instant, six beams of light flew from the Sacred City. They carried immense power, slamming against Faust's territory like falling stars. They still carried echoes of the bells of the Sacred City!

Every ring of the bell represented reinforcement of the Sacred City. Their power surpassed that of the Distortion level, moving close to the level of grandmasters. Under the attack of six grandmasters, a hole appeared in the frozen aether sea.

Under the glow of God's Punishment, Will descended and shielded Colt. He brought his sword down on the wild lightning.

At the same time, the priests in the beam of light went into coherence. The forced the frozen aether sea apart, absorbing the immense power. Countless complex music theories were constructed, releasing a pure and ethereal hymn.

"Holy! Holy! Holy! The Holy King! Light fills the world! All praise belongs to the almighty lord!"

It was "Requiem – Holy."

An unyielding barrier was constructed, protecting Colt. In an instant, the devastating lightning flooded onto it. Soil melted into red-hot liquid like sulfur.

Faced with the terrifying attack, the light around Will trembled. He stumbled back. Half of his armor had been vaporized. His holy sword was practically melted.

"Ye Qingxuan!" Will narrowed his eyes at the young man darkly. "You truly have gone crazy. Destroying a church, attacking the Witch Hammer, killing a Sacred City priest, committing such an atrocity before the city gates…" He raised a sword and coldly declared, "Death does not suffice!"

In the stillness, someone laughed.

Though protected by the territory of Holy, Colt still stepped back involuntarily because the white-haired man finally looked up.

Black rain seemed to fall from a nightmare, bone-chillingly eerie. Those eyes stared at Colt, seeming to reflect the dead. They stood in the underworld, looking into the world through those eyes, and smiled.

"Colt, are you ready?" the man asked, gripping his cane. "I'm here to kill you."

Will's expression changed. The red-hot Double Snake Time Meter in Ye Qingxuan's open left hand started shaking. Light shot out of it, and it shattered! Along with it, the territory of Faust was destroyed as well. The music theories frozen in the aether sea erupted. The absolute silence instantly became absolute activity.

The aether sea was tossing!

Within this, an instrument string that passed through the material and aether world emerged. Controlling the frantic and absolutely destructive power, it forcefully reigned over the raging sea. The aether sea poured into the thunder and transformed into lightning.

Everyone formed a bizarre hallucination: everything in the world dissipated like a dream. All that remained was this bolt of lightning. The wild electricity surged from all directions, joining into a boundless sea. It filled the world, burning the sky and earth. It had become the physical incarnate of destruction. The temperament was upended; all rules were broken.

The complex music theory that had become lightning distorted reality and transformed into a tangible sea. And above that wild sea, a broken moon appeared, casting down silvery light.

It was the moon above the sea!

The moon in the mirror, the flower on the sea.

The electric sea raged, but the moonlight was serene. The two combined into one body with ineffable poetic beauty. It was so illusory yet so real.

Between the illusory and the real, amidst the cool moonlight and destructive lightning, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei developed into complex music theory. It transformed into the Heaven Ladder, connecting the axes. Guiding the immense power, controlling under the consciousness of the performer, and converging in…Ye Qingxuan's hands!

Music notes clanged. The sea of lightning pressed down, suffocating the musicians! The changes were like turning stars. The shockingly vast and beautiful music score unfolded in Ye Qingxuan's hands. They overlapped, knotted, and formed layers of complex structures.

A holy city of white jade seemed to rise. It was an impeccable control and was shocking. The music theory broke free from the Resonance level and instantly surpassed Distortion. The aether and material world overlapped, transforming into a terrifying protection.

The overture ended, the fifth section of the large movement, the first chapter of the main section…It was followed by Call, Go, Practice, Meditation, Soul Return, Loot, Crown, Rainbow, Wind, Fury…until the sixteenth Light, seventeenth Fall, and eighteenth Sword… It was all completed in one breath. The melody did not show any decline until it reached the third measure of the tenth section. At that time, the blazing sun had disappeared. All that remained was a pure moon hanging in the sky.

As Ye Qingxuan raised his hands, cool moonlight fell. Everyone's faces were stark white under it.

It was "Moonlight!"

"This is…impossible…" Gritting his teeth, Will felt the common knowledge and music theory break apart in his heart. He stared at the moon; his pupils dilated, and his eyes grew bloody. He had checked all of Ye Qingxuan's files. He knew everything the youth could do! Not even the sub-originator could contain such large music theory!

How could a man's mind and will control such a terrifying score that could disturb reality, distort material nature, and perform a natural phenomenon?

Even destroying the Double Snake Time Meter and Indrah's Eye to absorb the strength within… How could someone who was barely even an official musician maintain such terrifying power?!

The next moment, Ye Qingxuan lowered his finger. With the help of the Philosopher's Stone, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei finished the last note. Moonlight shone on the ground, swallowing everything. Countless odd figures appeared.

Perhaps it was the meteorite attacking the moon, or the white rainbow piercing the sun, or the eagle assassinating the emperor… In the end, everything returned to the pure white moon.

There was a sword on the ground, and it was moonlight.

The bells rang, and Will roared. The light around the six grandmasters swelled. Under their coherence, they pushed the Score of God's Punishment, creating the illusion of the Holy Spirit of punishment. The bells continued ringing.

Will raised his sword. With the vast power, he swung at the moonlight!

The pure white light and the music of punishment collided silently.

It disappeared.

As if it was a hallucination, as if nothing had happened, everything was still the same. But the fire of God's Punishment had disappeared.

Gripping his cane, Ye Qingxuan walked forward step by step. As if he had used up all his energy, his steps were slow and seemed difficult. But he walked past Grandmaster Will, who had a raised sword and menacing face.

Crack. Everyone screamed. Will's blade shattered and scattered like metal sand. As the hot wind blew, Will turned to dust and disappeared. Face stark white, Colt stumbled back.

From the other side of the Holy territory, the countless grandmasters beside him gave him some sense of security. He managed to squeeze out a taunting smile to protect his dignity. He opened his mouth to speak.

But then Ye Qingxuan looked up. Seeing Colt's stiff smile, he raised a hand and knocked the barrier that was known as ultimate protection. "The Sacred City isn't as powerful as you thought," he said quietly. "You were happy too soon."

Something shattered quietly. The holy singing cut off. It was as if countless pieces of glass cracked, shattered, melted, and disappeared under the hot sun. In the territory, five grandmasters who still maintained their original poses shook and turned to dust like Will.

In the dust, Colt's stiff smile shattered. His features twitching, he stumbled back. "I…" Expressions battling, his mouth dropped open. "I…you…no…Ye-Ye Qingxuan…it can still be salvaged! Yes, it can still be salvaged! Don't be brash. I can—"

All that replied to him was a sword.

Ye Qingxuan tossed out a half-melted but cooled sword. It stabbed into the ground before Colt.

"Come, Colt. Haven't you always been waiting for this moment?" Ye Qingxuan said indifferently, "I'll give you the chance for a fair fight. If you're a man, pick up the sword. You can do anything. Just stop talking."

In the silence, Colt froze.