Silent Crown

Ye Qingxuan slowly raised his weapon and aimed it in front of him.

In the silence, everyone heard the noise.

It wasn’t a “bang;” it was a “buzz.”

As the weak flow of aether that came from Ye Qingxuan’s hands penetrated into the “brake valve,” it brought to mind a complicated structure that had never been seen before. It was so fine that even under a microscope it would be difficult to peak into its complex circuits. It was like it had passed through centuries in an instant and evolved into a mythologically advanced piece of mechanical engineering.

If it had to be described with a word, that word would be “miracle.”

He couldn’t make head nor tail of it. He didn’t know how to use it, or how to run it. Even though it was an artifact, he had no clue about it.

This was how it had to be.

For the Devas who, after a hundred years, had left everything in the past, even if they had terrible weapons of the past in their hands they should have no way to get involved. But now, memories that were absolutely not his own flashed in Ye Qingxuan’s mind.

It was a dream that settled in the deepest part of his mind, the experiences and habits that Ye Xuan had had centuries ago. Without knowing why, he pressed his thumb on the grip.

He left a fingerprint on the smooth steel. His thumb hurt a little bit, as if it had been pierced by an invisible needle. Then, a sound like an illusion rang out from his skull.

Then, everything went shockingly red.

“External module: missing.”

“Safety module: missing.”

“Pressure regulation system: missing.”

“Central control program. Cannot connect. Retrying. Cannot connect. Warning, warning, unable to start safely. Unable to ensure user safety. Shut down is recommended. Shutdown is recommended… Safety module: missing. Unable to shut down. Please move away quickly.

“Gene sequence verification complete.”

Finally, Ye Qingxuan willed it and a cold voice rang out, “Super-mass tidal brake vale: engaged.”

Then, a buzzing sound rang out from his fingertips.

Then there was the mighty sound of the tides.

For a moment, Ye Qingxuan felt himself being thrown into the deep sea. Infinite pressure covered him from above his arms, almost completely crushing him.

A cry came from the black gold armor.

Then, a huge force nearly knocked him over. It was like hundreds of carriages were pulling him at the same time, trying to pull him over. In an instant, he slid back dozens of meters as he was pushed almost to the edge of the square by the terrible power that suddenly burst forth.

Then there was a loud rumbling sound.

The mighty palace that faced the scarlet wall trembled and roared. There was a loud noise from the brake valve, and dust rose all around.

A hurricane emerged out of thin air.

Then the scarlet wall began to dance.

Invisible storms gathered into a tornado, originating from the brake valve and sweeping out in all directions, shaking even the color on the wall.

No, the substance that had originally been solid was agitated.

The wall was now like a liquid. Under pressure from the brake valve waves rippled through it, then it started to swirl under some invisible gravity, forming a vortex.

The vortex spread.

In a flash, it spread from his fingertips to halfway up the wall.

The Baizhang city wall could not contain the strange scarlet vortex. Amid the roar of iron sand swirling about, the sound of tides whistling and screaming rang out. The boiling scarlet surged on the wall, and numerous stones were crushed into dust, gathering into the vortex and spreading out in all directions.

A cavity spread inwards within the roar.

Once the several-foot thick wall was completely penetrated it began to truly collapse.

As the brake valve swept through the air, even the huge bronze gates were twisted into distorted scrap metal. They screamed as they collapsed inwards, finally gathering into an invisible line in front of the brake valve formed of black sand and dust particles.

The artificially produced super-massive field caused the material to collapse inward, forming a supermassive object.

The tidal brake valve that had originally been used for deep-sea operations did not have such an effect, because most objects that were to be treated as liquids were composed of water. When compressed to a certain extent, they would evaporate spontaneously, only leaving behind a bit of salt that would dissolve into the sea. But when used on land, it would form an unimaginable disaster.

When the brake valve started, Ye Xuan’s broken memories continuously emerged in Ye Qingxuan’s mind, allowing him to solve 30 percent of the problem in his confusion. There was still 70 percent that could not be solved, and he could only marvel at the miracles of prehistoric times.

Perhaps the Church forbidding technology was in order to cut off these sorts of things that were too far ahead of the times? The original intention had become a simple monopoly on technology. And in the end, even they had begun to go against this and take the lead in studying technology from before the Age of Dark…

From the establishment of the system to its implementation, all had been distorted beyond recognition.

And that was only in 100 years.

As for before that, it had had a long time to decay…

Those hundred years, short or long, had seemed preposterous. But for humanity’s evil nature, it had been nothing short of a miracle.

With a weapon that could cause terrible damage without using aether, even the protection of the Great Wall would be of no use.

The aether reserve that had originally been used for destruction was now used by Ye Qingxuan to preserve his bodily integrity to the greatest extent possible.

Even so, half his body still felt the pain of being completely crushed.

It had only been on for a moment and then immediately turned off, and it still brought such terrible power.

Fortunately, he could still hold it up.

Ye Qingxuan walked into the palace as it collapsed and picked up the dying, armored knight from within the ruins. He still remembered that this guy had been standing on the wall and commanding its defense.

He must be important.

“Sorry, even I could say I do this as a matter of expediency, it’s still despicable of me to do so. I hope you won’t take offense.” Ye Qingxuan smashed his helmet with the sound of twisting steel and pressed on his forehead. A strange light flashed in his dark eyes.

“Where is Bai Xi?”

In a flash, School of Heart music theory spread through him inextricably. It went through his lines of thought. It went through his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth, and after forcibly linking to his nerves, it violently broke through his brain’s outer defenses and began arbitrarily flipping through his memories.

In a flash, the heat caused a layer of sweat to break out on his head.

Countless broken scenes and memories had already passed through his lines of thought back to Ye Qingxuan.

“Tianlu Pavilion? Thank you.” Ye Qingxuan let him go and fell into a daze. The half-dead knight was dropped to one side. He looked up.

Amid the sound of ear-piercing sirens, countless armored knights were rushing over, and their large-caliber fused lead weapons were aimed at Ye Qingxuan. They surrounded him.

“So, the problems have come…” Ye Qingxuan scratched his head helplessly and looked at the people around him. “Who knows how to get to Tianlu Pavilion?”

A roar burst forth.

…

It was a roar that came from the shaking of the earth and the mountains.

The people in the huge, cold palace turned pale as they listened to the sound of the turbulence. They crouched to the ground, not daring to move.

In Weiyang Palace, it was like a feast was being held. But compared to the hustle and bustle of the past, this feast was extraordinarily quiet, as there were only two participants.

The Empress and the Sinner.

Bai Heng sat at the low table below the steps and looked up at the Empress. He silently raised his teacup and put it to his lips. But there was an explosion in the distance, and dust fell from the roofbeam into his cup, turning the liquid in it a disgusting gray.

He put down his cup, shook his head, and sighed.

“What on earth are you thinking?”

The Empress said nothing and just looked outside the palace as she listened to the continuous explosions.

Flustered people continuously walked in from outside and kneeled down to report, “Your Highness, the rebel Ye Qingxuan has broken into the Blue Pool!”

“Your Highness, the rebel Ye Qingxuan has broken into Jiaofang Temple! Liu Langren was so shocked that he spat up blood…”

“Ah.” The Empress lowered her eyes. “Did he die?”

“That depends on Your Majesty’s blessing. He’s in shock…”

“Actually it doesn’t matter if he dies,” the Empress interrupted the eunuch. Her tone was cold. “If he’s not dead, then you can calm down and not be so noisy anymore.”

The eunuch bowed and kowtowed forcefully, not daring to speak.

Only Bai Heng put down his teacup slowly and lamented, “After all, after one night as husband and wife, love lingers on for a hundred years. Your Highness is so indifferent, this is not a blessing for the Empire of Aurora.”

The Empress glanced at him but did not bother to say anything.

There was another explosion that came from far away.

“It seems that Wuyuan Pavilion has also collapsed.” Bai Heng shook his head and looked at the Empress. “Why are you being like this? You forced Ye Qingxuan to oppose you in vain. Biting the hand that feeds you is not so much fun, is it?”

The Empress still said nothing.

She just listened.

No more explosions sounded.

Ye Qingxuan had broken the final wall.

…

Amid the dust, Ye Qingxuan walked into the steel corridor and entered the darkness.

As he went forward, it seemed like he was entering deeper and deeper into it.

Time seemed to go backward rapidly as there were fewer and fewer traces of modernity. Instead, there was cold steel, a sleekly designed corridor labyrinth, in which it was difficult to tell direction, and an old fashioned incandescent lantern above him.

It was like he was walking into the past.

Creations from another world seemed to be buried underneath the palace of the Empire of Aurora.

In a daze, Ye Qingxuan thought he might be dreaming, still immersed in Ye Xuan’s memories. There were faded and incomplete letters in some places, reminding him that this was not the place he had once thought it was.

But the further he went, the stronger he could feel Bai Xi.

It was the lock that had been bound by Hermes himself and inscribed on Bai Xi’s body. The alchemy arrays resonated, and aether acted as a messenger, guiding Ye Qingxuan towards her.

Forward, forward, and forward again.

Amid the roar of broken steel, he passed through layers of broken cables, stamped out some sparks, and jumped into the huge open space.

He had been here before.

Or rather, Ye Xuan had been here before.

He still remembered that it was here that Ye Xuan had accepted interrogation from his ship’s crew committee for his blasphemous actions. But at that time, the hall had been dark; it was not bright light it was now.

It had also not been so cold and strange as it was now.

It had been emptied of everything unimportant. He did not see any tables or chairs, and there were none of the quaint data and scenes projected into the air.

It was like a temple of steel.

But it was not God that was worshipped on the altar.

It was a tied up girl.

In her sleep, she heard the roar coming from in front of her. She opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on Ye Qingxuan. She looked elated.

It was like a light had shone in the darkness.

“Long time no see, cousin.”

In the long silence, time seemed to freeze.

She stared at Ye Qingxuan and then blinked.

“Did you miss me?”

Ye Qingxuan was struck dumb. He lowered his head and scratched his nose. He suddenly felt a bit awkward and wanted to look somewhere else.

He didn’t know what he should say.

Even though, compared to the distance between them, the time they had been separate was short, she had changed so much that he hardly recognized her.

She’d grown much taller.

Her hair was much longer.

Her legs had grown longer.

Her chest had also gotten much bigger.

She was nothing like the annoying little devil of the past.

She finally seemed like a girl.

Ye Qingxuan smiled softly, reached out and squeezed her cheek, feeling her familiar touch.

“You’ve gotten so beautiful, Bai Xi.”