Zither Emperor

Pure yellow dou qi ignited around Ye Yin Zhu’s body. The four fingers of his right hand clenched the sword, his gaze firmly and carefully examining his opponent.

Oliveira was amazed to discover that Ye Yin Zhu just stood there without revealing any flaws. He sent forth his pressure towards him, but it proved ineffective. How could Oliveira have known that with Ye Yin Zhu’s spiritual force, it was impossible for Ye Yin Zhu to feel any pressure unless the person was at least five ranks above him.

Waving his right hand, a light indigo radiance emerged. Oliveira’s rice straw-like sword appeared in his grasp, the sword blade resting on his shoulder lightly. An indigo sphere of light flashed psychedelically before immediately flying up into the sky, causing cries of alarm to ring out. Primary Level Indigo Rank. Primary Level Indigo Rank; he deserved to be called the strongest student at Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts.

His strength had already reached the level of a Silver Star Dragon Cavalry Commander, and when his Gigantic Dragon reached rank 8, he could then become a Gold Star Dragon Cavalry Commander.

“Take care.” Oliveira stood motionless, gripping his sword one-handed. He raised it with lightning-speed, the movement ripping the air apart with a sharp hiss. Light indigo dou qi condensed, and in a flash, the sword hacked at empty space. Immediately, a dazzlingly beautiful indigo arc of light flew straight for Ye Yin Zhu’s right shoulder. The powerful dou qi was like a roaring tsunami; in the blink of an eye, the air between the two was sliced into nothingness by this blow. With the air around him sealed, even if Ye Yin Zhu dodged it would be useless.

Ye Yin Zhu didn’t dodge and instead swung the sword in his right hand. Although yellow dou qi appeared to be significantly inferior to indigo dou qi, he was the one who grasped the heavy sword and suddenly released seven beacons of lights that soared into the sky.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they watched this scene play out. Apart from Ma Liang and Chang Hao, who were amazed by Ye Yin Zhu’s dou qi, the others believed that Ye Yin Zhu was done for. The disparity between Yellow Rank and Indigo Rank was truly immense. Behind Oliveira’s body, Freud even began to rejoice at Ye Yin Zhu’s misfortune.

The yellow and indigo lights collided in a flash.

Hong—hong—hong—hong—hong—hong—hong—!

The seven notes echoed out simultaneously, whilst the tremendous wave of dou qi pushed the nearby students three meters away from the two fighters in the center.

The lights and shadows of dou qi vanished. Ye Yin Zhu still stood in his spot, but the sword had been sent flying from his hand, landing ten meters away. Even though Oliveira was also standing in his original location, he was dumbstruck. A dark-green brilliance was pointed directly at his Adam’s apple, the ice-cold aura causing him to be prudent and not to act impulsively. The end of the sharp silk thread of radiance was held in Ye Yin Zhu’s other hand.

In a direct clash, Ye Yin Zhu would lose. As even if he moved at the speed of light and sent out seven attacks, in the end, his dou qi, which was the equivalent of a Intermediate Level Cyan Rank, was not a match for Primary Level Indigo Rank. His Jade Silk, however, threatened Oliveira’s throat the moment the collision ended. If he wanted, he could concentrate his dou qi through the Jade Silk and pierce Oliveira’s throat at any time. The supple and strong Jade Silk was now sharper than a pointed needle.

“I don’t know if this can be considered as receiving Senior’s one sword blow; is it?” Ye Yin Zhu tranquilly asked.

Oliveira’s eyes displayed anger and fear, but he did not dare to move. He knew that as fast as he could release his dou qi, this person could release his own even faster. “You dare to cheat?” He had looked down upon Ye Yin Zhu, so he hadn’t used any sort of technique when attacking. He absolutely didn’t expect a Divine Music mage to actually have this kind of attack strategy, however.

“Enough. You already lost,” an aged voice rang out. It was unknown when an extra person had come to the training field.

Wearing a set of magical armor forged from mixing violet-gold and mithril, this person released an intensely powerful pressure that forced Ye Yin Zhu to channel dou qi into his Jade Silk to prevent the immense pressure from making it soft. He withdrew his hand.

Hair as white as snow hung down the back of this man’s head. He turned his back to Ye Yin Zhu, and with both hands behind his back, he faced Oliveira.

“Grandfather.” Oliveira shamefully lowered his head.

“Oliveira, I am disappointed in you. Do you know where you lost? You lost in arrogance. What is even more shameful is, as a member of the Violet Clan, you lost and yet refuse to recognize your loss. I, Maldini, as the generalissimo of the empire, strip your qualifications to be the captain of the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts group. You will be replaced by Ye Yin Zhu.”

“Ah! No—grandfather, how can this be allowed?” Oliveira cried out.

“Why can’t this be allowed? Give me reason.” The aged voice was now brimming with power, causing everyone to feel suffocated; no one dared to speak.

Oliveira hesitantly said, “Because, because I only said I wanted him to receive my sword blow, not to duel. If it was a genuine duel, I wouldn’t have given him a chance.”

“Humph. I fear you still don’t clearly see. Ye Yin Zhu’s right hand only has four fingers. You should understand the difference between four fingers and five fingers. Although I don’t know how he accomplished this, but from the exchange of moves I saw just then, if he had five fingers, he definitely would have been able to grip the heavy sword tightly.”

Only then did Oliveira see that Ye Yin Zhu’s right hand really was missing its pinky. His heart immediately became ice-cold. Indigo Rank losing to a Yellow Rank… in his heart, this was really hard to accept.

“Oliveira, let me ask you. On the battlefield, would an enemy give you a fair fight? Especially if your opponent is weaker than you. If you think this, then it won’t be long before you become another corpse on the battlefield.” Maldini’s voice became even more severe.

Oliveira’s gaze gradually changed. He said, ashamed, “Grandfather, I understand. I accept your punishment and yield the captainship. But in order for the students of the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts to be compatible with the army, I request for you to allow me to hold the position of vice-captain to aid Ye Yin Zhu.”

Maldini smiled. “Good, now this is my grandson.” After he said this, he slowly turned around.

When Ye Yin Zhu looked at Maldini’s appearance, his eyes widened with shock. The intense paralysis his right hand suffered from the collision seemed to disappear all of a sudden.

The generalissimo of Milan Empire, the Violet Clan head, the Violet Star Dragon Cavalry Commander, the most well-known, powerful figure on the continent—Maldini. Maldini had numerous medals he unexpectedly recognized.

“Old horse, it’s you?” Yes, that was right. This violet-gold armor-wearing Maldini was the elder who had visited Floating Orchid Pavilion every day to listen to him play, the old horse who was abnormally respectful towards Anya!

Maldini smiled. “It is I. Yin Zhu, you have once again given me a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect your martial arts to be just as remarkable as your zither music.

At this moment, Ye Yin Zhu’s soul gradually returned. “Hello, Generalissimo Maldini.”

Maldini nodded towards him and then turned to face all the students going to war for Milan. He profoundly said, “Just now, the words I told Oliveira, you should all have heard. I did not direct it only at him; at the same time, it was for all of you. I must impress upon you that the battlefield is not a trifling matter. Amongst you, many possess a profound background, an extraordinary background. On the battlefield, however, these cannot assist you. I want all of you to survive the cruelty of war, so you can only rely on yourself and your comrades. Therefore, I hope all of you will become one cohesive unit. For the honor of the empire, follow me and set off.”

“Yes, Generalissimo!” Everyone was provoked by Maldini’s impassioned words, especially the warriors. Everyone stood at attention and saluted.