The Witch Hunter System

Chapter 1141: The Four Movements, Power of Thought Confirmed

The following three days of persistent practice with the Jade Harmony Flute were considered hellish for the viewers in Vaan’s Pomposity channel. The grating, screeching sounds he produced were truly unpleasant and maddening.

As such, for a period, the traffic of his Pomposity channel entered a record low.

Everyone aware of his awful instrumental play avoided his Pomposity channel like it was a dreadful plague. In fact, it could be considered a disease of sound; anyone who caught it would feel ill for extended periods, even if there were no other symptoms to show for it.

Nevertheless, the viewers who stubbornly remained and managed to endure the horrible sound bombardment were Vaan’s most devoted followers; they weren’t much different from blind worshippers of a cult.

Despite the unsavory opinions circulating about Vaan’s talent for sound arts throughout the Myriad Sea God Palace and online, their faith in him remained strong and unwavering.

Even if they couldn’t deny the awful sound piece he had been playing for the past three days, they believed this was just a temporary hiccup and not a true representation of his sound art talent.

After all, countless sound art disciples in the Grand Hall of Sound’s core practice region had sung praises of his song’s miraculous effects at the beginning.

In time, Vaan would definitely prove his talent to the naysayers.

Interestingly, these devoted followers grew stronger during this period in a way no one had expected. As if their ears had grown calluses, their resistance to sound attacks improved.

Even their mental fortitude and willpower also improved.

Those who could persevere through this sound calamity period would naturally reap its benefits. Although the effects were minor, any improvement was still an improvement.

More importantly, while Vaan’s sound bombardment was atrociously horrible to hear, it was harmless. As such, enduring it was no different from receiving risk-free tempering of the mind and will.

Of course, Vaan’s devoted followers only realized this later.

Their conviction was rewarded even though they didn’t expect any. The unexpected gain naturally filled them with happiness, strengthening their resolve and faith.

"As expected, Lord Vaan doesn’t disappoint. Have faith in Lord Vaan, and we will prosper," a viewer exclaimed emotionally.

The gratification from having their faith validated and proven true was exhilarating and addictive.

Meanwhile, whether the sound art disciples in the core practice region wanted it or not, they had also received their fair share of improvements in the tempering of mind and will.

Most of them only stuck around because they were unwilling to leave, knowing that securing another sound chamber in the core practice region would become extremely difficult once they left.

After all, the Grand Hall of Sound was currently experiencing explosive popularity due to Vaan’s visit. At the same time, a large group of brain-dead fanatics would follow him wherever he went. řа₦ÔᛒĚȘ

As such, even if they weren’t devoted to the study of sound arts, they might just book a sound chamber in the core practice region to stay close to their location.

Nevertheless, after enduring the sound torment and realizing its benefits, their feelings became complicated, leaving them unsure whether to rejoice or lament.

...

’I’ve finally recovered enough soul power to re-create the charm of the Ode of Pain and Joy.’

Vaan softly sighed, estimating that playing the song one more time, he would enter the right state to reconnect with the Astral Soul Realm.

That said, the past three days of instrumental practice were quite fruitful.

Although his abilities had been significantly limited, he wasn’t oblivious to how his horrible practice would affect others.

Generally speaking, only the first day was the most difficult to bear. By the second day, while the sound of his flute play was still awful, it was still a significant improvement over the first.

And by the third day, his flute play was just bad, still not pleasant to hear, but it wouldn’t make its listeners uncomfortable to the point of wanting to bang their heads and knock themselves out.

Moreover, the occasionally hint of charm produced by the Ode of Pain and Joy made everything ultimately bearable.

That said, the effect of the mind and willpower tempering actually came from the first day’s practice. The effect only grew weaker each day as he recovered his soul power and refined his flute play.

Thanks to this experience, he discovered that by altering the tempo, rhythm, and dynamic of the Ode of Pain and Joy, he could produce different effects or strengthen a specific one.

Over the past three days, he conducted numerous experiments, dividing the Ode of Pain and Joy into four movements.

The first movement covered the original effect, which was the refinement and strengthening of the Sacred Will, along with its varying minor benefits, such as emotional healing, soul power recovery, and spiritual fatigue relief.

The second movement focused on tempering the soul, mind, and willpower, improving one’s resistance against sound and soul attacks, reducing their damage, preventing scattered thoughts and disorientation.

The third movement focused on spiritual healing, aiding the recovery of soul power and mental energy, even mending soul injuries.

Finally, the fourth movement focused on relieving spiritual and physical fatigue, restoring energy levels, enhancing relaxation and comfort, ultimately conditioning the body, mind, and soul to the optimum state for entering the Astral Soul Realm.

After Vaan played the Ode of Pain and Joy’s first movement, recreating the original wondrous charm that brought a multitude of benefits, he realized it was better to focus on the fourth movement.

However, during this period, countless Grand Hall of Sound disciples rejoiced after receiving the original blessings of the Ode of Pain and Joy. They resumed their praises of the song’s miraculous effects, quickly silencing the doubts that had accumulated over the past three days.

"Lord Vaan has finally decided to play that original supreme song again. Sigh, if only he could stick to this song piece and stop exploring its variations. I don’t know how long people can continue to endure its disastrous dissonance."

"Heh, no matter how peerless the song is, do you think its miraculous effects can be abused? I’m sure Lord Vaan is aware of its limits. That is why he created variations, allowing us to continue experience varying effects until the peerless song’s effectiveness can be reused."

"Hm... Is that really the case?"

After the Grand Hall of Sound disciples spread word of the Ode of Pain and Joy’s effectiveness, countless beings began viewing Vaan favorably once more.

At the same time, millions of viewers began pouring into his Pomposity channel, restoring its former popularity, much to the displeasure of his devout followers.

"Damn, the grasshoppers are back. Why are you faithless bastards back here? How dare you people come back? Do you all have no shame?" a devoted follower began lambasting the Returners in chat.

"Hehehe, forgive me, my brothers and sisters. My faith was lacking. I hope I can rely on you, seniors, for guidance. Please teach me the way. How can I be as strong as you guys?"

"Hmph! There is no easy way to become strong! Do you think you can just gain strength by simply wishing for it? Lord Vaan may give us blessings, but he also gives us trials to overcome. As long as you persevere and overcome them, you’ll definitely become strong! Don’t be caught lacking again, Junior."

"I understand, Senior. Thank you for your guidance. I will do my best not to disappoint you."

"Hmph!"

Although the devoted followers wanted to further criticize and condemn the Returners, they found it difficult to maintain the tough stance when the latter adopted soft approaches.

Ultimately, they were all followers of Lord Vaan, even if their faith was not on the same level.

Whether they like it or not, they had to accept these Returners and their flaws. How could they claim to be Lord Vaan’s most devoted followers if they drive away supporters?

It didn’t take long for Vaan’s Pomposity channel to regain its former liveliness, even though a hidden rift now existed between the original members and the Returners.

Meanwhile, Vaan paid no attention to these matters, wholly focusing on self-improvement.

After completing the First Movement, he ultimately focused on the Fourth Movement, finding the First Movement’s effects insufficient for conditioning his tired body and soul.

Fortunately, it only took a single replay of the Fourth Movement before Vaan slipped into peaceful slumber, re-entering the legendary Astral Soul Realm.

Upon leaving the Astral Soul Realm’s sound chamber, he immediately noticed his previous efforts were gone. The Astral Soul Realm had restored its former scenery, leaving an endless grass plain.

The ancient ruins were gone, even the moon and stars.

Nevertheless, this discovery didn’t bother Vaan. He simply picked a comfortable spot to sit and began drawing in the world’s sea of soul essences to accelerate his soul power restoration.

A week later, Vaan returned to reality, fully refreshed and in peak state. This time, he noticed barely any time had passed.

’Seems like significant time dilation exists between the Astral Soul Realm and reality,’ Vaan thought, feeling pleasantly surprised.

This discovery indicated he could spend more time in the Astral Soul Realm with peace of mind.

Moreover, as long as he regularly visited the Astral Soul Realm, spending much time there on soul cultivation, his advancement in the Soul Path would seem extremely fast from the perspective of others.

’Never mind that for now. Time to confirm the power of thought.’ Vaan’s eyes twinkled.

With a thought, a mana stone of the highest grade was quickly produced on the palm of his hand, quickly reducing the surrounding environment’s mana levels. With another thought, another mana stone was created on his other palm, seemingly made out of thin air.

The environment’s mana level wasn’t reduced, but his soul power reserve had taken a small toll.

Although the same result was produced, the methods were completely different. The first method took existing resources, while the second method created them.

Even if it was only a minuscule amount, Vaan had increased Chaos’s overall mana quantity.

’Indeed, the power of thought wielded by Soul Masters is truly heaven-defying. With this kind of ability, no resource is finite,’ Vaan mused with amazement.