Zither Emperor

Chapter 9 – The Divine Music Division Treasure Trove (I)

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“Praise Blue Dias! You don’t have a fever, do you?” Sura felt Ye Yin Zhu’s forehead. His hand was very small, but his fingers were quite long. The ice-cold touch gave Yin Zhu a very comfortable feeling.

“You don’t have faith in me either? Really, we Divine Music mages aren’t completely useless,” Yin Zhu said quite seriously. “Unfortunately, I lost my zither and space ring on the journey here, so I cannot play a song for you to hear.”

A strange light flashed through Sura’s eyes as he sighed regretfully, “That is indeed unfortunate. Well, you must be starving. How about I whip something up and let you have a taste of my cooking. I’ll prove to you that those three coins you spent were not wasted.” After saying those words, he quickly departed.

Sura’s movements were indeed swift. In just a moment’s time, lunch was ready. There were two dishes and some steamed rolls. The dish contained common green vegetables without even a speck of meat, but Yin Zhu was amazed to discover that Sura’s cooking was indeed fantastic. He made the common green vegetables smell, look, and taste phenomenal. As a child, he mostly ate bamboo shoots while growing up. He naturally preferred light food, but he wasn’t picky. As such, he ate the exceptionally aromatic food without complaint. And so, the Zither Emperor Ye Yin Zhu and the Night King Sura ate their first lunch together.

Ye Yin Zhu was completely unaware that the news of the Divine Music division’s participation in the Freshman Competition had already spread like wildfire. Everyone knew who he was. He had essentially become a celebrity in the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts.

Yin Zhu crawled out of bed very early in the dawn of a new day, only to find that Sura had disappeared. The table had a plate of steamed rolls and a bowl of porridge on it. Clearly his breakfast had already been prepared. Even though it was just a simple breakfast, Yin Zhu still felt very warm inside. Sura might love money, but he was really adept at cleaning and cooking. Those three coins were well deserved.

He stretched his body and began slowly circulating Bamboo Dou Qi. Meanwhile, a cozy and carefree feeling started to spread through every meridian in his body. He had grown accustomed to meditating and cultivating every morning and night. Ye Yin Zhu grasped his right wrist and murmured to himself, “Fortunately, it is not lost.”

Yin Zhu realized during his chat with Sura yesterday that the red-white vertical striped school uniforms held some importance. For example, a pair of red-white vertical stripes represented a first-year student. Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts ran on a five year system. Of course it was compulsory to take an exam each term in order to enter the next grade. If you didn’t pass the exam, you would be required to remain and repeat the grade. Every student who graduated Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts was at least an Advanced Level Yellow Rank.

The school uniform appeared to be made with quality materials. When Yin Zhu donned it, it made him feel valiant and formidable looking. The institution was quite humane. In addition to the school uniform yesterday, Yin Zhu also received a map of the campus. It was fortunate that he had this item because now he was able to easily find the location of the Divine Music division on his own.

Yin Zhu ran nonstop for close to an hour to get from the mixed district to the Divine Music division. He was used to exercising his body, so it didn’t bother him one bit.

The Divine Music division was located in a small and elegant looking four-story white villa—which was situated on unusually good terrain in the middle of the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts. To the left of the villa was a small lake approximately a thousand square meters large. Whereas the other side was filled with numerous plants. Only a few paths led to the main building from various directions. To the rear of the main building was the Divine Music division’s dormitory. The small white villa was extremely unique. Naturally, if you wanted to live here, you would have to pay bills for expenses and lodging. The price would also be extremely expensive.

“Yin Zhu, over here.” Xue Ling was leaning out of a second-story window and had seen Yin Zhu arriving in the distance.

According to the map in his hands, Yin Zhu could see that the spiritual magic education center was on the first story of this small four-story villa. The other three stories housed classrooms.

Yin Zhu’s first impression upon entering the school building was that this was a palace, not a school. Gold and jade decorations hung in glorious splendor upon a large quantity of plants, which didn’t appear to be tacky at all. It was not yet time to attend class, but the sounds of music could already be heard coming from the villa as instruments were played.

“It truly is a good location! No wonder it’s so expensive,” Yin Zhu said to himself.

“Expensive? Everyone knows that the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Art’s tuition and education quality are equally high.”

Yin Zhu turned around and saw that Dean Nina, who he had unknowingly called Grandmother yesterday, had arrived by his side.

“Hello, Grand… oh no, Dean Nina.” Ye Yin Zhu had a good long-term memory and managed to correct himself before Nina flared up.

Nina hummed, “At this institution, you should pay attention to your words. I heard that you accepted the Wind division’s Freshman Competition challenge. You want to participate in this year’s Freshman Competition?”

Yin Zhu nodded.

“Are you sure?” Nina’s eyes flashed with a certain radiance.

“Yes,” Yin Zhu replied simply, watching as Nina’s eyes revealed her astonishment.

“Yes? Why do you want to participate?”

“I am a Divine Music mage; naturally, I want to prove my music magic.” Ye Yin Zhu gazed at Nina with clear eyes.

Nina lowered her head in thought. “Alright. If this is the case, then come with me.” She led Ye Yin Zhu directly to the second floor and toward the first-year freshman classroom.

The huge classroom could hold up to 40 students, however, including Yin Zhu, there were only 12 new students. Even with everyone present, the classroom appeared spacious and empty. Nina pointed a finger and made Yin Zhu find a seat.

In the end, Yin Zhu unhesitantly sat down beside Lan Xi, causing Lan Xi to blush. It wasn’t because he held a favorable impression of Lan Xi, but rather because he and Lan Xi were alike since they both studied the zither, even if he didn’t have his zithers…

Nina stood up on the platform and swept her gaze over the new faces. The entire classroom was silent.

Nina announced, “First of all, I am the Dean of the Divine Music division. On behalf of the Divine Music division, I welcome your arrival. Regardless of your reasons for choosing the Divine Music division, I hope that you can complete your studies for the sake of your future careers. Lessons will officially start in one week. I believe you all know the reason why: the school’s annual Freshman Competition is in three days. During the next three days, the other divisions will be selecting their best candidates to participate in the competition. Our Divine Music division is the only exception. During yesterday’s registration, however, student Ye Yin Zhu decided to represent our Divine Music division and announced that we are competing. Now I want to know who is willing to compete alongside him. If we do not have five participants, the Divine Music division will not even qualify for the competition.”

“Dean Nina, I am willing.” Xue Ling raised her hand. Soon after, Lan Xi also stated that she would participate.

A smile appeared on Dean Nina’s face. “Good, but we are still short two people.”

“Dean Nina, Senior Hai Yang said that she would participate in the competition with us yesterday. We only need one more person.”

Nina looked somewhat amazed as she responded to Xue Ling, “Hai Yang really wanted to participate? Well, we are just short one person then.”

This time, the classroom went silent. Nina didn’t see anyone open their mouths and dully said, “Our Divine Music division has always been the best division in the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts. I know, however, that there are those who call us trash mages behind our backs. Since it was Student Ye Yin Zhu who proposed that we participate in the Freshman Competition this time, I want you to defend the Divine Music division’s honor – regardless of the outcome. I, representing the Divine Music division, will gift a musical instrument and three hundred gold coins to each and every student who competes.”