Zither Emperor

As Nesta drew increasingly closer to Ye Yin Zhu, Ferguson’s heart tensed even more. Although he could easily interfere with this match at his level of strength, he didn’t know when he should do so.

“Quick! President, if Ye Yin Zhu suddenly dies, I…” Right as Nina began to speak incoherently, the situation on the training field changed once again.

Sitting upright in the same place, Ye Yin Zhu still hadn’t begun playing. He suddenly lifted his head and stood, welcoming the scorching heat that flew towards him through the sky. His clear eyes brimmed with longing as he cried out softly.

“Zi——!”

The magical rays of light surrounding Ye Yin Zhu vanished as a milky white halo of light, similar to the light emitted from the Divine Celestial Protection, ignited. In the depths of that milky white halo of light, a ball of violet light burst into flames from between Yin Zhu’s eyebrows. In a flash, the violet light spread through the rest of his body.

No magic Six-Pointed Star appeared. Instead, an illusionary violet silhouette unexpectedly emerged from Yin Zhu’s body.

As the illusionary body turned into reality, one could see violet hair, violet eyes, a tall stature, and an ice-cold appearance. His face resembling a firm and substantial wall, this figure stood in front of Yin Zhu, defending him.

Neither of them spoke, for they didn’t need words to communicate.

Zi lifted his head, the essence of his gaze meeting the Red Dragon Degas that dived down. There wasn’t any use of dou qi, since no rays of light manifested. He merely waved his two fists.

In this moment, Ye Yin Zhu had already returned to his seated position on the ground, certain that Zi could block the blazing “meteor” that rapidly dove down towards him. His eight fingers caressed the zither strings, and a muffled zither song echoed out as his fingers plucked at the strings.

How much power did a Gigantic Dragon have as it dove, in addition to its Heavy Cavalryman rider using all of his strength? It was no longer sufficient to describe their weight with a numerical value—not to mention the inclusion of dou qi and the Gigantic Dragon’s Fire-attributed magic. All of this was superimposed onto a rushing onslaught. The only thing to confront them were Zi’s two fists.

Boom——

Clashing in an instant, the red-green colored light dispersed and scattered. The powerful defensive shield of the entire central training field suddenly trembled.

The Gigantic Dragon and human rider unexpectedly ricocheted away. The Red Dragon emitted an alarmed dragon’s cry while Nesta’s smothered groan called out.

That eight meter long Blood Soul Spear violently shuddered, issuing forth a light, groaning cry. The Red Dragon once more flew upwards. It was just that its speed at this moment was significantly slower than it had been before.

Yes, Zi had used his two fists to block the all-out attack of Nesta and his Red Dragon. At this moment, Zi’s legs were knee-deep into the ground. With him at the center, there was a ten meter wide radius of cracked ground. Only the area where Ye Yin Zhu sat stayed intact.

“Foul; that’s illegal. He actually had an outsider come to assist in the match. From what I see, he’s at least an Indigo Rank warrior,” the Heavy Sword division Dean Lao Houzi exclaimed with shock.

Ferguson’s appearance was grave as he watched the center of the training field attentively. He shook his head and said, “No. Although he is a warrior, he is not human. I do not sense a human aura from him. That summoning command is actually the legendary Ancient Life Summoning.”

Tie Bi’s face also revealed alarm at this moment. He naturally knew how powerful Nesta’s attack was. Even he absolutely didn’t want to face the multi-sided internal impact that attack would have produced. “Are you saying that the outsider is a magical beast? A human avatar…besides the Netherworld Spirit, only rank 9 magical beasts can have one. His strength doesn’t appear as powerful as a rank 9 beast, however.” If it were a rank 9 magical beast, it would be impossible to make Zi’s legs sink into the ground, even if Nesta and his Red Dragon had attacked together.

Ferguson gravely said, “He is by no means a Netherworld Spirit. All of this has already exceeded the scope of my knowledge. I’m afraid that only the Blue Dias Seven Pagoda elders can explain what is going on.”

The explosion from the collision hadn’t affected Ye Yin Zhu’s performance. At this very moment, his zither song was already in full swing.

<< Flock of Geese on the Shore >>

Geese are guests amongst the mist of the highest heavens. As they fly in formation and cry out, it was difficult to determine their origin and destination difficult to decipher.

A dark red magic circle rippled out, using Ye Yin Zhu’s body as the center and dispersing out in all directions.

Hearing Yin Zhu’s zither song, the lines of Zi’s face softened slightly. He effortlessly extracted his legs from the ground—his movements smooth and natural. Evidently, he hadn’t sustained any injuries from his opponents’ attack just now.

At this moment, the one whose heart was the most shocked was Nesta. To him, Zi’s two fists didn’t resemble human hands. That sudden strike felt as though he’d crashed against a hidden silver-metal mountain. His arms were already completely numb. The powerful backlash had caused him to spew out a mouthful of blood. Not only had his Fire Attributed Dou Qi not even harmed his opponent in the slightest, it had caused backlash. If not for his Red Dragon Degas blocking the majority of the rebound, he feared that he would have been unable to steadily ride on the back of his dragon.

Nesta felt Degas shake, shuddering from the scent it caught rather than from any injuries it sustained. Within the Red Dragon race, a mature Red Dragon could reach rank 8. Only a magical beast of higher rank could possibly cause a Red Dragon to tremble. Dragons were an arrogant race, however; Nesta had never heard of any magical beast on the continent that could make a Red Dragon react like this.

Looking down at Zi, who stood beside Ye Yin Zhu, the battlelust in Nesta’s heart died down for the first time. He didn’t know whether he should attack again. Then he heard << Flock of Geese on the Shore >>. The melody rose and fell, the sostenuto unceasingly beautiful to listen to. The main key was beautiful yet also moving. The elegantly flowing music was both meaningful and fresh. It caused his nervous mood to ease significantly.

A dark red halo of light had already covered the entire training field at this very moment. Ye Yin Zhu looked towards Zi and suddenly discovered that his heart was at peace. Having Zi by his side, his longing had eased, his mood joyful. This allowed him to completely immerse himself into << Flock of Geese on the Shore >>.

Dark red magic began transforming. Beginning around Ye Yin Zhu’s body, the color gradually lightened, the dark red gradually disappearing. It was replaced with a faint yellow. Although the color was very light, it was nevertheless especially clear.

Everyone watched this scene with wide eyes. Increasing in rank was not prohibited during the competition. According to the Rainbow Ranking System, however, Red Rank should become Orange Rank. Before their eyes, Ye Yin Zhu’s change had clearly violated this rule. Yellow, that light yellow color clearly represented Primary Level Yellow Rank! If they were aware that Ye Yin Zhu’s magical rank already reached Primary Level Green Rank, they wouldn’t know if their eyes would pop from their sockets.

Pure Zither Heart; Ye Yin Zhu cultivated his Pure Zither Heart for 16 years, finally transcending in rank at this moment. He didn’t rise to Yellow Rank as the spectators had thought; instead, the yellow signified that he had reached the second stage of the Zither Sect cultivation—Courageous Zither Heart Realm. Through unceasing effort and comprehension, Ye Yin Zhu—by Zi’s side— had cultivated his zither magic past its most important metamorphosis.

“Clear and refreshing autumn weather; calm wind level with the sand. The clouds far away, the geese flies in the horizon, crying. By means of far-reaching ambition, these geese express freedom of mind. This song, << Flock of Geese on the Shore >>, is good.” Nina’s gaze became infatuated. She seemed to be seeing Ye Yin Zhu’s master rather than Ye Yin Zhu playing on the central training field. It made her long for the old times she’d shared with him…