Silent Crown

From the first day Aurora was built—no, even before Aurora was built—Great Wall had already existed. For centuries, the sacrifices made by the Nine Families of Dragon Bloodline and boosts by countless musicians resulted in the Great Wall turning into a massive object that was almost like a catastrophe.

As long as Great Wall continued to stand tall, Aurora could never be taken, regardless of if the threat was internal or external. With the Great Wall, the Empress would be able to resist any sort of rebellion.

Therefore, the Great Wall should be something that the Empress would want to protect, instead of overthrowing it. Yet, the Empress did not say a word to counter Bai Heng’s accusations.

“I’ll assume that you staying silent means that you agreed with what I said.” Bai Heng nodded and continued to talk to himself, “A few centuries ago, the Nine Families of Dragon Bloodline relied on the central core to build the Great Wall, so it has already accumulated centuries of power. Based on how much it has accumulated, it may be the biggest deposit of aether in the entire world. The moment something like this is ‘reversed,’ it will seal itself up internally and emit radiation externally. As one may expect, there will be an unprecedented amount of aether flowing in Aurora, which will then spread to the entire world. With such a terrifying amount of aether, perhaps even the World of the Dark will be completely covered as well?”

The Empress still did not say a word. Bai Heng could only answer his own question, “If this foundation was combined with the regulation of the central core and Tung Wang Kung’s order, then it may be possible to forcefully awaken the ancient artifacts of the world and the shards of the colony ship, as long as the aether had flowed to those places. In fact…”

Bai Heng paused and narrowed his eyes before slapping the back of the chair, “By using hundreds of ancient artifacts as pivot points to form a network before extending upwards with an unprecedented resonance, one will be able to achieve a position higher than the Holy Caldron in the realm of aether. By then, all environmental factors will be in place and favorable for the accomplishment of something no one has ever done before.”

He continued, “Cleansing of the Originator.”

Just like that, he clearly and decisively articulated something that musicians of all generations never dared to think or dream about. This was no longer in the realm of something like “changing the world.” This was a power that was capable of destroying and recasting this world tens of thousands of times!

Bai Heng looked at the Emperess and asked softly, “Am I right?”

The Empress back was facing Bai Heng. She looked around the iron temple, where the “feudal thrones” were slowly descending. Finally, she looked at Bai Heng. There were no emotions in her eyes. There was neither the joy of being on the verge of achieving something great nor the fury of having been exposed. She merely looked at him.

It was not a look that belonged to a woman or even any human being. There was a peacefulness and indifference that no human would ever be able to achieve.

But Bai Heng smiled. He was pleased, or perhaps… mad with joy. It was as if he had finally taken a peek at what was hidden beneath layers of disguise. He had finally seen his enemy.

“Is that your guess? Control the Originator so that I can remain as Empress forever? How is that meaningful?” The Empress looked down at him. “I am already the Empress, Bai Heng, and the history of Aurora will remember me as the most brilliant ruler that shall never be surpassed. Why don’t you tell me, how can ‘ruling the world’ be meaningful to me?”

“Indeed, that is a goal that only humans will have.” Bai Heng nodded and looked at her. “In that case, who is this person that I am speaking to right now? Are you my Empress? Or are you my enemy?”

“Don’t you already have the answer to such a lame question?” The Empress’s answer amused Bai Heng.

“This is the first time we are meeting each other, Tung Wang Kung,” he continued, “my name is Bai Heng.”

This was a self-introduction. Polite and respectful, as if he was reporting his name before a fight. Unfortunately, his opponent was not interested in such a gimmick.

“I have long heard that the ‘Three Wise Men’ can exist in all shapes and forms.” Bai Heng looked at him carefully from head to toe and asked calmly, “Hermes is the ‘Guide,’ obsessed with arts and creation, and is a lunatic that has control over all techniques; Nibelungenlied is the ‘Witness,’ who is blinded and foolish and used by humans, and is a bacterial strain that does not even possess a self; and as for Tung Wang Kung, also known as the ‘Leader, ‘who possesses the greatest foresight and would point humans in the right direction. Why have you been possessed by evil spirits and demons from Hermes’ destruction and seal?”

“This has nothing to do with you.”

“You’re right. Then let me ask another question that is related to jurisdiction of the central system, something to do with ‘blood’.” Bai Heng raised his head and looked at the countless spots of light that had lit up at the ceiling of the iron temple. They were like an illusion from the future. With a deep rumbling, the central system began to warm up slowly as it seemed to be waiting for a new task.

“Your body already flows with the blood of the royal Zhao family, you have the blood of the previous royal Xiao family in your frozen specimen, and now you have the blood of my Bai family. But if you really wanted the blood of Yunlou, well, Yunlou Qingshu is here. Or if you want even purer blood, you can always look for Yunlou Chaoyue. Why do you still insist on capturing Bai Xi?”

Bai Heng continued, “Besides, if you want the blood of the Ye family, all you need to do is tell Ye Qingxuan to remain seated on a chair for half an hour. All he needs to do is sit still for half an hour and allow his blood to be drawn. It’s not like you are asking for his life. By the time everything is over, he will still be alive and well. As long as you are willing to release Bai Xi, I’m sure Ye Qingxuan will grant your request. I believe your brain, or should I say your computing chip, should have no problems weighing the pros and cons.”

He paused and asked, “So, why?”

Tung Wang Kung did not answer him. “Bai Heng, you ask too many questions.” Tung Wang Kung stared at the ceiling.

The central system had been activated and its roar began to grow louder. At first, it was quiet and distant but now, thousands of giants were screaming underground as they pulled the invisible gigantic wheel with all their might. They had injected fire and power into the quiet “temple.” He was waiting.

“Even if you refuse to say it, I can make a guess. It’s the ‘vessel,’ am I right?” Bai Heng looked into the distance at the teenage girl, who was currently in deep sleep within the iron. He answered his own question, “Based on the quality and talent of Deva, our Empress is merely only passable. Despite inheriting all the movements and music theories of the royal family, she did not manage to produce any outstanding results. I suppose this is what mediocrity means? Without talent, one can only rely on hard work. She probably had to use up all her powers and abilities just to become an Empress. I suppose this is also a form of torture for you? You possess such incredible intelligence and wisdom, but they can’t be fully maximized by the body that you control. It is just like squeezing a giant into a small box. I’m sure it is painful beyond words. But Bai Xi is different. She only needs to use half of her talents to reach the peak of accomplishments achieved by Devas of the past. She is the only who is fit to become your ‘vessel’ to control the Originator.”

The long ensuing silence was only broken by the reverberating roars. Iron cables fell from the ceiling, one by one, and connected to Bai Xi’s body. She was now restrained within the iron as she became a part of it. She was… being fused into the core!

“She does possess such capabilities,” Tung Wang Kung finally replied. He was no longer hiding his goal and was generous in his praise, “She is stronger than ‘me’.”

“Hmm.” Bai Heng nodded. There was a mysterious look in his eyes. “That’s what Hermes told me as well.”

In that instant, there was a scream and the iron roared.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!” There was a scream of fury. The bolts that secured the metal chair were being twisted out with a screech, while the shape of the iron was transforming amidst an ear-shattering scream. On the metal chair, the young man, who was so weak that he could barely maintain his own consciousness, was screaming and struggling with rage. He managed to break free!

Tung Wang Kung frowned. He stretched out his hand and was prepared to push back against the incoming young man. However, he did not expect Ye Qingxuan to fall onto the ground before he had even covered three meters. He was tripped by Bai Heng. With whatever strength he had left, it was already a miracle that he managed to break through the restraints. How would he have the energy to run?

“No matter how hard I try, I just can’t imagine you as a musician. You might as well become a crazy man. All you have to do is scream while rushing into battles. Must be a great morale-booster.” Even as Bai Heng spoke sarcastically, he stretched out his hand to pick Ye Qingxuan up from the ground before throwing him back onto the metal chair. “It’s not a good habit to interfere when others are still talking, little kid.”

Ye Qingxuan was struggling to break his own teeth in order to absorb the potion.

“Stop wasting your strength. Don’t you understand? This is not ‘poison.’ What kind of poison can possibly bring down a monster like you?” He stretched out a finger and pressed against Ye Qingxuan’s shoulder. With minimal strength, he was able to keep Ye Qingxuan from struggling.

As he finally used up his last bit of strength, an irresistible wave of sleepiness overcame his last line of defense, and he finally sank into darkness. They were countless memories from the past few centuries. Countless shards and images piled up together into an ocean that appeared from within the core of scepter and devoured him entirely. The final Deva inheritance had been forcefully activated, and he was dragged into the deepest of dreams.

“Sleep well.” Bai Heng stretched out his hands and closed both his eyes before he gentle bade farewell, “By the time you wake up, everything will be over.”

…

Everyone was stunned into silence. When Bai Heng drew back his hands, he turned around and smiled. “So, shall we continue?”

There were no emotions on Tung Wang Kung’s face. “There is nothing to continue, Bai Heng. Let’s end this meaningless conversation.”

“What about you? Lord Yunlou?” Bai Heng looked towards Yunlou Qingshu. “Any thoughts?”

“It’s too difficult to talk about something like ‘thoughts,’ Master Bai Heng.” Yunlou Qingshu laughed nonchalantly before bowing to the Empress. “As far as I’m concerned, the Empress will always be the Empress. It doesn’t matter who it is.” With that, he walked towards the chair that belonged to him and sat down.

“What a loyal lackey.” Bai Heng sighed. As Tung Wang Kung continued to stare at him, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly and turned around. Eventually, he still sat down on the chair that belonged to him.

“How is it?” Bai Heng allowed those shackles to bind him there while he looked at Tung Wang Kung. “You have gotten what you wanted. Aren’t you excited and happy?”

“I have yet to succeed, although it is true that you have failed.” Tung Wang Kung looked down at him. “Even so, you were able to keep me down for 15 years by relying only on your own powers. Bai Heng, I must admit that you are a monster that has surpassed a catastrophe. Unfortunately, everything that you have done will only go to waste.”

As an Empress, as a woman, and as human, he declared, “Everything that mankind has known shall be redirected back to how things should be.”

In that instant, something far away seemed to have collapsed. It was the despairing cry of something that had broke. It came neither from the sky, the ground nor from humans. It was the foundation of the empire, the origin of centuries of rule, the long-cherished hopes and Dragon Bloodline that had been pinned on the Nine families of Deva, conviction and unwillingness, scepter and power… it was everything. It was something that even skeletons would be piled up together to repair and maintain.

Great Wall! The Great Wall had collapsed.

At this moment, the torrents of Seven Seas shot up from the depths of the land and up into the sky. An “ocean” that had never been seen by any humans now appeared in this world. Endless aether was gushing out of the broken Great Wall.

After centuries of storage, where the past Devas would carefully store and compress them, the aether had finally attained freedom and had been released. With the collapse of the Great Wall, the entire world seemed to tremble. Regardless of Anglo, Burgundy, Asgard, or even Sacred City, Caucasian, and the World of the Dark, they could all sense it. The silver fluid, that was as hot as melted sun, appeared out of nowhere and flowed in all directions.

It was denser than the “Dark Zone,” its light was brighter than the explosion of stars, while its speed was only comparable to weeping in grief at the top of one’s lungs. It was coming for the whole world.

It was not a movement. No movement would possess such terrifying setup and main axis that could engulf such unlimited aether. It merely swept across and eroded everything.

In an instant, countless instruments of harmonious melody self-destructed, causing tens of thousands of enchantments to break apart. Even the Mountain of Nomadism, which was hanging high up in the sky, was eroded by the torrents of aether and was instantly tossed over tens of miles away. The aether pool exploded, resulting in a fire. Countless machines emitted black smoke amidst the blaring sirens. It was no longer able to remain at its current height, so tens of emergency parachutes were released to slow its descent towards the ground.

The fact that they were falling from such great height was the reason why they were able to take a peek at the horrifying sight of the “ripples” on the ground. Silver light burst forth from the trembling country to form a giant pillar that supported the vault of heaven. Then, with coolness and indifference, it sprinkled its blessing to the entire world.

As such, rows and rows of silver ripples spread out in all directions, towards the east, the west, the south, and the north… Wherever the ripples went, they were accompanied by cloud layers being swept, hurricanes being shredded and the ground being eroded. Amidst the dust and dirt, beams of light lit up in response. They were the remains of light left behind by past civilizations.

The ancient artifacts that had been hibernating in the wild, the mountains, the lakes, the oceans, the islands, and underground, were all beginning to respond, one by one. They had been awakened by force, and their eyes were violently opened as they were injected with life for one last time.

The ear-shattering siren and the gentle sound of the access prompt could be heard at the same time. The giants, who were once dead, had now been awakened once again. They used their broken spines to prop up the rest of their damaged bodies and shouted in unison to respond to the call. It was a glorious yet bitterly cold sight. Amidst the endless torrents of aether and behind the broken Great Wall, an illusional and fleeting movement began to take shape from within.

This was how the image of the Kingdom in Heaven appeared. Originally, the relationship between the Kingdom in Heaven and the Great Wall was a contrast between illusion and reality. The “Kingdom in Heaven,” which was illusional and far away yet definitely once existent, was the core, while the “Great Wall” was cast by the Deva and existed in the present.

But at this moment, with the destruction of the Great Wall, the Kingdom in Heaven, which had been buried in the sands of history, had reappeared above the capital. It was like a miracle. But what was hidden behind the fog were not magnificent buildings made of jade nor palaces fit for immortals, which might be what most people would expect. Instead, it was a miracle made of gold and light!

It was a domain that was as long as a thousand miles. It was made from technology and power that humans would not be able to comprehend at this stage. It was capable of traveling in space and survive solar storms, meteor attacks, absolute zero, and even the pull of the black hole!

Without question, this was just an illusion. It was just a trace of the fallen Kingdom in Heaven that was left behind in the realm of aether. But anyone who witnessed all these would find it difficult to deceive themselves.

This was not something that could be accomplished simply with power. Neither was it a symbol that could be achieved through scheming, experience or technique.

The appearance of the Heaven in Kingdom could only mean one thing—the centuries of music theories of the Nine Families of Dragon Bloodline had answered the call of “Tung Wang Kung.” These music theories, which were cast by the Deva of the first generation then protected by subsequent generations of Deva, gathered the powers of their souls and acknowledged Tung Wang Kung! He was the representation of the legitimacy of Dragon Bloodline!

At this moment, under the light cast upon by the Kingdom in Heaven, torrents of aether had already swept across the entire world. In the former darkness of the universe, countless silver streams of light shot up from the ground to merge with the central core.

As for the metal palace below the palace, Bai Xi and Chaoyue had already been completely swallowed by light. It was no longer possible to see their silhouettes or even their existence. As countless artifacts answered the call, they had already been connected to the central core.

With the support of countless artifacts, the torrents of aether had already gushed into the sea of aether. They broke through the barrier of the Physical World and almost completely crashed the system of the net of aether while extending towards the depths of the realm of aether…

Revolution was almost here. The central core began to tremble violently.

“Warning! Navigation is vacant…”

“Warning! Central engine is not responding…”

“Warning! Recording system, Nibelungenlied, is not responding…”

“Warning! Creation system, Hermes, is not responding…”

“Warning! Maintenance system, Tung Wang Kung is not… Maintenance system ¢p†i尧F个_T}璅nSt墝@<—— Warning has been stopped. Maintenance system, Tung Wang Kung is online. Embarkation complete.”

Countless boxes of warning appeared out of nowhere and almost covered everyone’s eyes. Shortly after, they quickly disappeared into the darkness once again when Tung Wang Kung looked at them. Finally, only a single sentence remained: “Number ??? Voting on Special Item by Naval Crew Committee. Activated.”

“What kind of joke is this?” Bai Heng laughed mockingly. “Aren’t you making me look like the sinner in front of the entire human race now? A monster like you has been thinking about correcting the age before mankind’s Age of the Dark?”

With that, the Empress, who was sitting majestically on the throne, opened her mouth, but it was Tung Wang Kung who was speaking. He was firm and did not accept any rebukes. “This mission is the purpose of my existence!”

In that instant, in the quiet freezing chamber, the “specimen” that had been frozen in the cold was the first to surrender its own jurisdiction. Although its cells were still alive, it was impossible for it to be revived. The captain, who had died and fallen into a deep sleep with the ship, could only exert its influence through the voting machine.

The voice, that used to be hoarse and bold, was heard once again, “Captain, Xiao Huan. For!”

The voting had begun! At the same time, a deep voice declared, “Engineering Department. Absent.

“Weapon Management Department. Absent.

“Medical Control Room. Absent.”

As the announcements continued, the chairs, that represented these committee members, began to sink into the ground, one by one. Although absence would be counted as giving up one’s right to vote, what the naval crew committee was aiming for back then was not necessarily for the highest vote to be passed. Instead, it was meant to prevent crew members from going at each other because of disagreements. It was a rule that was put in place to maximize the entirety of the fleet.

With regards to key items, more than half of the committee members must vote for it in order for it to be approved. Or else, it would be denied by the central core! This was why Bai Heng and rest were so important.

Over at the other metal chair, Yunlou Qingshu had already closed his eyes and was allowing his blood to be drawn and examined in order to dissociate the core that was hidden within the genes. A gentle female voice spoke, “Post-synthesis Committee Member, Yunlou Bai. For!”

Shortly after, the Empress stretched out his hand. A low and thick voice spoke, “Navigation Specialist, Zhao Qian. For!”

Next, it was Ye Qingxuan, who was completely unconscious on the metal chair and was currently drowning in the depths of dreams. A lazy and mild voice spoke, “Mind Control Room, Ye Xuan. For!”

Finally, it was Bai Heng’s turn. He did not resist and silently allowed the central core to draw his own blood. But his face was suddenly devoid of pain, rage, unwillingness, and stress.

Indeed, at this stage, there was no other way to put up a resistance. Even if he tried his best to struggle and use his old and frail body to miraculously break free from the metal restraints and the metal chair, his blood had already been drawn. Any resistance was meaningless now.

But for some reason, those pair of eyes still showed colors that were comparable to those of a catastrophe. They were vibrant and intense like flames. He said, “Tung Wang Kung, you plan to save this degenerating world by redirecting mankind back to a glorious civilization amongst the stars and build up the Kingdom in Heaven. It sounds good. But I don’t like it.”

Tung Wang Kung was indifferent. “This concerns the well-being of the entire mankind. It will not change just because of your personal preference.”

“Hmm, indeed.” Bai Heng nodded his head slowly. He sighed and raised the other hand that could still move. “But now that we are at this stage, there is a secret that I have to tell you…” With that, he combed through his white hair and showed his scalp and hair roots for everyone to see. This was so that everyone could see the ends of each strand of silvery white hair to be dotted with colors. Then, he revealed a smile of satisfaction. “My hair is dyed.”

The moment he finished speaking, a cold voice declared, “Executive Committee Member, Bai Nan. Absent.”