Zither Emperor

Chapter 41 – The Soul Attachment of a Silver Dragon (II)

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The cyan light surrounding her body transitioned back to violet while the magical elements in the air once again intensified. Lisha's killing intent was broadcasted clearly all over her face as she lifted her right hand. Her mind was currently in an extremely bitter struggle. If she killed him right now, no one would know she had once lost to him. With his strength, it was basically impossible for him to resist her Violet Rank magical attack. Perhaps she would only need the simplest magic spell to finish him off.

Ye Yin Zhu's face was completely contorted in pain, already having difficulty speaking at this moment. His black eyes, however, were still firmly fixated on Lisha, his resolute and dedicated gaze staring straight into Lisha's violet eyes. Even if his body was extremely weak from the overconsumption of his spiritual force, his back was still ramrod straight, resembling a proud and aloof bamboo.

Lisha waved her hand. A dazzling violet light dropped from the sky in response and transformed into a meter-wide pillar of light, enveloping Ye Yin Zhu's body completely. Was this destructive? No, this was absolutely not a destructive light. Instead, it was the sacred power of light.

A comforting, gentle aura poured into Ye Yin Zhu's body; it felt like he was receiving the greatest comfort possible. In an instant, all the agonizing pain quietly disappeared like spinning silk from cocoons. Apart from the residual effects caused by the Nine Needle Great Soul Stimulation Technique, Ye Yin Zhu's body had unexpectedly been completely healed in a split second, including the tremendous expenditure of dou qi.

"Great Recovery of Sacred Protection Technique." Ye Yin Zhu stared at Lisha in astonishment.

Lisha's lips rose slightly, a stubborn expression gracing her attractive face. "A dragon's promise is never broken. A loss is a loss. I want to ask you a question, though."

Ye Yin Zhu nodded and said, "Ask."

Lisha's gaze gentled slightly. "Earlier, why did you let your own body to hit the ground when we were falling from the sky? If you didn't do so, you wouldn't have sustained injuries. You were that certain I would concede?"

Ye Yin Zhu sighed lightly. "When all's said and done, you are still a girl, even if you're of the dragon race. If you didn't force the issue, I wouldn't even fight you. Since I already won, why further harm you? A few days previously, I had read a book which said, 'A man should have the elegance of a gentleman.'"

Lisha bit her lip. "You bastard." A sphere of violet light burst forth from between her eyebrows. With a speed that was difficult to see with the naked eye, the violet light entered the space between Ye Yin Zhu's eyebrows in an instant.

Ye Yin Zhu's vision darkened. He felt as if he had already entered a world of violet. The powerless feeling of being devoid of spiritual force, brought about by the Nine Needle Great Soul Stimulation Technique, disappeared in a flash. Instead, his spiritual ocean became rich as a tremendous spiritual aura caused his Spiritual Imprint to enlarge as well. A bridge-like connection established in his mind instantly. Although it wasn't as clear and as firm as the connection between him and Zi, this bridge allowed him to sense a magical aura brimming with power.

"Damn bastard, I'll come find you again after ten days. Although you are capable of summoning me, you shouldn't count on me helping you with anything." Her voice gradually grew faint as she withdrew farther away, disappearing once her final word echoed through the air. Ye Yin Zhu's mind recovered, becoming clear-headed again.

His surroundings were still dense forestry, the sky still dark as small snowflakes began to slowly drift down from the sky. It caused the air to become significantly fresher, cleaner. The remnants of Lisha's scent had long disappeared, but Ye Yin Zhu's ear still rang with her resentful, indignant voice. Mumbling to himself, he said aloud, "How come when she cursed that I was a bastard, her tone resembles Grandma Nina's when she cursed at Grandfather Qin?"

Tossing his head back, Ye Yin Zhu laughed lightly. Today's harvest had truly been very plentiful. Not only did he find a way to improve the power of his sound blades, he had also gotten a fully mature Silver Dragon's Soul Attachment. Soul Attachment, apart from allowing him to summon Lisha to his side, had an even greater, immediate benefit—it offsetted the side effects of the Nine Needle Great Soul Stimulation Technique and even assisted his breakthrough past the bottleneck of the Courageous Zither Heart Level 2 to Level 3. A Silver Dragon's spiritual force was indeed powerful! Although Lisha was quite haughty, to him, she was still a good girl.

When he had fallen to the ground just a moment ago, his body had hardened. He presumed that it was Zi's power that was seemingly shrouding him in a layer of jeweled amethyst. That was why he had still been able to subdue Lisha even after a drop from a height of twenty meters.

After dealing with Lisha's disturbance, Ye Yin Zhu was no longer in the mood to practice his sound blades. His body rose and headed in the direction of Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts.

✶

This was a chamber, a completely isolated chamber. On all four walls of the chamber, dark blue gems were inlaid, emitting a faint radiance. Although the temperature here wasn't very cold, the ambiance was chilling and hauntingly sinister.

To the side wall of the chamber, a tall man sat atop a gigantic throne. Because of the dim lighting, his appearance was difficult to distinguish. At this moment, his right hand was rapping a rhythm against the armrest of his throne.

Kneeling before the throne was an individual garbed in a blue cloak, his posture highly deferential. "Master, our first gift has already been delivered to Mjolnir Stronghold. Guti has been very satisfied, but he still continues to brood about last time and wants us to give him an explanation for the outcome. Sir, you see…" After he spoke, he slowly raised his head, revealing that he was the advisor of Thor Tribe's Tribal Chief Guti of Mjolnir Stronghold—that mage Emerson.

"The truth of this matter is already clear." Sitting atop the throne, the tall man spoke indifferently, his voice a deep bass. Although he didn't sound aged, he gave off a unique, unusually oppressive feeling. "Return and tell Guti that this matter was merely a coincidence and to not fault us for the information leakage. Those students from Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts coincidentally went to Konya City to gain experience. Among them was a first-year Divine Music mage with an unusual technique that allowed him to forcefully promote his strength and use a special magic to cause his side's own tamed dragons to spontaneously detonate. This is what produced that frightening power."

"Divine Music mage?" Guti looked at the tall man in astonishment, his tone brimming with reluctance to believe.

"What, you look down on Divine Music mages? Compared to the beastmen, the Wavast Kingdom has even more bad luck. A genuinely powerful Divine Music mage appeared within the Kingdom of Arcadia, causing the hundred thousand army of the Wavast Kingdom to be practically wiped out. This vocation which had continually been neglected produces the best war mages. Our men had already begun to research. Guti wants me to give him an explanation? I have already given him many things. Tell him that since this is a cooperation, both sides must put forward sincerity. Deliver the second gift with haste."

"But, Master. Will Guti accept our explanation? Would it not be better if we grab that Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts student and deliver the mage to him?" Emerson spoke with slight worry.

"He will accept. We have given him all that he needs the most. Moreover, this is merely the beginning. That student will naturally be taken, but we cannot gift him. He can order a thousand tamed dragons to explode, yet he is still shy of twenty years as well. Even if his strength is insufficient, there are very few with such talents. This is the real kind of talent that I need. Do you understand?"

Emerson suddenly saw the light. "Master is wise."

The tall man waved his hand and declared, "You may withdraw. Guti is there, but you must constantly take note of changes within the other two beastmen tribes. Now that our cooperation with the Thor Tribe has stabilized, we will commence communication with the other two tribes. Beastmen are blessed by heaven, their innate quality significantly more powerful than humankind. They are natural warriors. They lack, however, the wisdom of humankind, but they prove useful. Beastmen are sharp daggers and inciting them to move for our benefit is a very easy matter."

Emerson deferentially said, "Yes, revered Master." After he spoke, he slowly withdrew. When he retreated to the wall on the other side, a layer of dark blue radiance suddenly discharged from the gems on the wall, enveloping his body. In a flash of light, Emerson disappeared from sight.

The tall man's hand slowly rapped his throne as he had done earlier. He spoke up with an inquiring tone. "Krishna."

"Present as always." A slender figure quietly appeared from a shadowy corner of the chamber.

"Who has been sent to grab that Divine Music mage?" the tall man inquired.

"He had been dispatched immediately upon receiving the news. Rest assured, he is my most capable subordinate. I do not wish for that old codger from Silver Dragon City to grab him first."

The tall man nodded and said, "Well done. This boy is very important to us. Regardless of whether he has any relation to that Divine Music Great Magister and the Kingdom of Arcadia, we must have him. If he cannot be used by me, then he absolutely cannot be given to Milan. I find it very strange, however, that after the Battle of Konya City, those Behemoths disappeared off to somewhere. They consisted of close to a third of the Behemoths under the rule of the Thor Tribe."

Krishna faintly said, "This matter, I have also dispatched men to investigate. There have been no news, though. Those Behemoths seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Not even the slightest of traces have been left behind. I honestly cannot determine where they have left to. Even if the common Behemoths had died from the exploding dragons, the Gold Behemoths are unlikely to have as well. Not to mention that the Gold Behemoths in question are the famously powerful Dis and Perkins. If they haven't died, however, then where did they go? Even if Guti wants to order them around, he must still have their permission. As rank 9 magical beasts, who can capture them along with two hundred or so Behemoths!? That is not a small number, and their bulk is gigantic."

The tall man suddenly said, "Space ring. Didn't I give the Thor Tribe ten space rings? When the dragons had exploded, the majority of those Behemoths had received heavy injuries. If able and for an immediate retreat, Dis and Perkins could have exploited these ten space rings to run away with their kin. Although there is no air within the space rings, with the naturally tyrannical bodies of the Behemoths, staying in the space ring for a short period of time will pose no issue. Perhaps because of the severity of their injuries, they sought out a healer and have yet to return to the Thor Tribe?"

Krishna nodded and said, "This is actually plausible. But, it has already been a month. If they are healing, with the Behemoth's powerful self-healing ability, they should have already returned. This matter, if given to me, I can once again launch a careful investigation."

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