Listening to Elder Qin’s words, Ye Futian felt a wave of sorrow. He made it sound like a farewell. He knew that Elder Qin was already really old and that Minister Hua was right. At this age, he would not be able to withstand a battle of this caliber. But because of him and Hua Jieyu, Elder Qin came running to their aid just because he was worried for them after hearing news from the School of the Emperor Star.
“Grandmaster,” called Hua Jieyu. In Ye Futian’s arms, Hua Jieyu still had tears in her eyes. Deep down, she felt that something bad was going to happen. She never wanted to drag anyone into this situation. She even had her uncle tell Ye Futian not to come to the Nandou Palace today but he came anyway. Now, even Elder Qin was getting dragged in, Hua Jieyu felt awful.
“Senior Brother, why are you doing this to yourself?” asked Headmaster Yan Shao of the Emperor Star school. He sighed inwardly. He did not think that Elder Qin could change the situation in any way. Even with Yi Xiang, it was impossible. The difference in power between the two parties was too great.
Minister Hua came as ordered by the emperor. Everything was already set in stone. There were only two options for Hua Jieyu and Ye Futian: have their lives be controlled by the royal family or die. There was not a third option.
But Elder Qin did not seem to have heard his words. Gently, he said, “Futian, this is a piece that I wrote but have yet to name. Today, I’ll let you name it for me.”
“Okay,” answered Ye Futian. He felt awful but still nodded in agreement.
Receiving a reply, Elder Qin smiled. Following that, his Life Spirit appeared. The Guqin Spirit did not seem to be just an image, but a real guqin. It descended in front of Elder Qin. Lifting both hands, he placed his fingers of the chords elegantly.
“Kill them,” Minister Hua spat. Yan Shao and Han Mo both jumped into action. A frightening storm blew past everything in its way and headed straight for the people on the crane.
At the same time, the crane called loudly while Elder Qin began to stroke the chords. The two sounds combined, shaking the earth and destroyed the oncoming storm. The sound had everyone shaking. Yan Shao looked at Elder Qin. It seemed that despite his old age, Elder Qin had realized the true essence of Musical Sorcery after many years of quiet cultivation. He had become more fearsome. However, Musical Sorcery needed to be boosted by Spiritual Energy, particularly with the stronger spells. At Elder Qin’s age and in his condition, how was he going to withstand this battle?
Minister Hua’s expression remained cold. He reached his hand out into the air and with a single swipe of his palm, a straight line appeared and shot forward, cutting through the air.
Elder Qin played the guqin with both hands as the crane flapped its wings to the rhythm. Slowly, the crane was lifted up into mid-air. Its head pointed upward as it called out, again and again, harmonizing with the sound of the guqin. The two sounds traveled far and wide. Elder Qin was always a hermit but today, his music was going to be known by all of the East Sea.
A loud wave of music crept deep into people’s ears, piercing their eardrums. In a single moment, they were able to feel the power hidden in the sonorous sounds of the guqin. Every attack aimed at Elder Qin was completely destroyed. With the crane as an epicenter, a crazy storm of music exploded and swept over everything.
A storm of ice hit and froze the area over. At the same time, a mystical tree appeared in the sky. Its branches grew in a wild manner and created a canopy cover the area. The branches continued to grow, creeping closer to the crane. All the cultivators around were releasing their powers as they tried everything to prevent the crane from leaving the area.
Elder Qin was oblivious to all this. He was still focused on his piece. His fingers moved so fast, it was just a blur, but he movements only got quicker. As the music escalated, Elder Qin’s frail body released a shocking aura. His white hair blew back and his long robe fluttered in the wind. He now seemed to have returned to his youth. His aura was frightful and reached higher than the sky.
The sound of the guqin traveled through the air, another storm struck and cracked the ice covering the earth below. The vines headed for them were also disturbed. Once this piece was played, there wasn’t any that could be done to stop its force.
Ye Futian stood behind Elder Qin. He listened and observed quietly. The ever-escalating sounds of the guqin were getting increasingly powerful. It caused his blood to pump in excitement.
“Chaos,” said someone from below. Every cultivator from the Nandou clan lifted their head to look up at the sky. Their hearts pounded wildly. It was unbelievable that a frail old man could play so swiftly and fiercely. It was an earth-shattering sound. Chaotic. This musical piece was able to destroy any spell and could throw the Spiritual Qi into a frenzy. Spells couldn’t be formed from Spiritual Qi, unless the piece was interrupted.
“Have you gone mad?” asked Minister Hua. He was now in the air and followed the crane. Naturally, he was also afraid of what Elder Qin could do. Elder Qin kept getting stronger and the sounds of the guqin kept escalating, its effects more powerful. However, Elder Qin did not have Spiritual Energy strong enough to upkeep this type of musical spell. That was unless he had a death wish.
Elder Qin was too immersed in the music, not hearing a thing Minister Hua said. The crane rose higher and higher into the sky. After breaking through the canopy formed by the branches of the mystical tree, the crane headed out of the Nandou Palace. The elder was set on bringing the young couple away from this place.
“Chase after them!” ordered Minister Hua. The cultivators stepped into the sky and followed after the crane. Did Elder Qin and Yi Xiang really think they could escape with the couple with a line-up like this?
Nandou Tai was also chasing after them. He was shocked to see every attack thrown at Elder Qin repelled by the wave of music.
Headmaster Yi Xiang of the Finance Star school and Elder Qin of the Emperor Star school were two people of the highest status and they actually put themselves in danger for Ye Futian. If Ye Futian was able to promise Nandou Tai the throne of the Nandou Nation, what could he have promised Yi Xiang and Elder Qin? Perhaps nothing at all. Perhaps they simply believed in him. But why did Ye Futian deserve this? Were his extraordinary gifts a good enough reason for these two big shots to risk their lives for him?
Nandou Tai tossed these thoughts to the back of his mind. He did not want to think of this right now. His first priority was to keep Ye Futian and the others from leaving. Nandou Tai had already made the decision to kill him. If they let Ye Futian go today, it would only mean trouble in the future.
The large group headed out of the Nandou Palace. The guests of the party also followed. They wanted to know how this battle was going to end and what the fate of these young lovers was.
The sound of the guqin was still escalating. Yi Xiang stood beside Elder Qin and looked at him with great respect. Any person of his level was able to see through this situation. This was probably the last piece Elder Qin would ever play.
Ye Futian turned around, his back now towards Elder Qin. He shifted his attention to those chasing after them and saw every attack being destroyed by the music. He felt calm and at peace.
“Grandmaster, the name of this piece is ‘A Chaotic World’,” said Ye Futian. Yi Xiang eyes blazed with emotion. Ye Futian named the piece ‘A Chaotic World’. The meaning behind the name needed no explanation. If Ye Futian didn’t die today, then it was going to get chaotic in the Nandou Nation.
As the elder continued to play, he smiled and nodded. “‘A Chaotic Nation’. What a fitting name.”
The crane has finally flown out of the palace property. They watched as another group of people rushed into the skies. It was Xia Feng and his people who had been waiting outside the palace. They didn’t think that Ye Futan and the others would make it out alive. This came as a surprise to Xia Feng and the people of the East Sea Prefecture.
With a sharp sword in his hand, Xia Feng waved it around in the air. Spiritual Qi began to flow around him and formed the intent of sword. As the crane headed in his direction, Xia Feng raced forward. Following him, was the intent of sword. A stream of swords appeared, prepared for mass destruction.
The stream of swords swept toward the crane. It seemed that Elder Qin had not yet noticed this. He focused solely on playing the guqin. The music continued to escalate, wanting to break through into the heavens. The scary wave of music cut through the stream of swords and pierced into Xia Feng’s head. His movements ceased and after a moan of pain, he spat blood. His face paled. However, his sword did not stop advancing. The stream of swords was also still on the move.
Yi Xiang took a step closer to the front of the crane. He threw out both fists at an incredible speed. His punches were so quick that it looked like a thousand punches were being thrown at once. The punches broke through the stream of swords, destroying everything. The crane moved with the punches and flew right through the stream with no problem. They continued on their way.
Xia Feng fell to the ground. He lifted his head to watch the figures above. His expression was not so good. He did not have much Spiritual Energy to begin with, and Musical Sorcery was able to attack Spiritual Energy. With this piece that Elder Qin was playing, if Xia Feng tried to challenge it head-on, he would die of Spiritual Energy exhaustion.
When he saw Minister Hua, Nandou Tai and the two headmasters of the Emperor Star school chasing behind the group, Xia Feng knew that they too were unwilling to face the power of the music head-on.
“Senior Brother, this piece is indeed very powerful but for how long do you think you’ll be able to last?” said Minister Hua. “There is no escape for you guys.”
The music continued. Elder Qin had no intentions of stopping. Slowly, he lifted his head with a smile. “Yi Xiang, take Futian and Jieyu and leave.”
Yi Xiang looked at the elder. He made no objections and nodded. “Alright.”
“Grandmaster.” Ye Futian’s heart clenched. He knew what was going to happen next.
“Child, don’t be sad. I didn’t have much time left anyway. If I am able to help you guys escape today, then I can die happy,” said Elder Qin. He seemed so at peace.
“Grandmaster, didn’t you say that you had to see us get married?” Hua Jieyu had tears in her eyes.
“Child, I have lived a long life and don’t have much time left. Promise me that you two will live a happy life, and like I said before, always love each other,” said the elder. He smiled and he turned around abruptly. “Xiao Gao, take them away from here and don’t come back.” Finishing what he had to say, the elder stepped off the crane and headed towards the group chasing them from behind.
Tears fell from the crane’s big eyes. It flapped its wings quickly and continued to advance, never once stopping.
“Grandmaster!” called Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu.
Yi Xiang watched in silence and told them, “Don’t let Elder Qin die in vain. You both must live on.”