Zither Emperor

Chapter 10 – The First Match of the Freshman Competition (III)

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Naturally, an Orange Rank defense wouldn’t be capable of defending against a Roaring Wave powered by four people. Lan Xi and Xue Ling simultaneously extended their right hands and released the exact same orange shield of light as Kong Que, creating a three-layered defense.

When the Roaring Wave collided with the three-layered defense, a magical orange colored tornado suddenly formed out on the training field. Even with the additional support, the defensive shield was still unable to completely ward off the wave.

Over in the spectator’s grandstand, Wa Ge Lei snorted, “How can magical equipment alone stop a magic spell? Even the more powerful magical equipment can only grant the wielder abilities like allowing them to release magic that’s one level higher than their own power. For example, Karachi’s Water Spirit Blessing can reduce the cast time of Water division magic by thirty percent. How could those small fry from the Divine Music division possibly resist this?”

Nina sneered, “You should just watch. I pity the impoverished Water division, who are forever incapable of knowing the true power of magical equipment.” She already knew that Wa Ge Lei had given his own magical staff, the Water Spirit Blessing, to Karachi for use in this tournament. Despite Wa Ge Lei bringing out item after item to pressure them, Nina didn’t appear to be worried in the slightest. After all, the other divisions couldn’t compare to the wealth of the Divine Music division, which often had student from noble backgrounds—like princesses. The number one division’s fame didn’t come from nothing.

Both the four-layered Roaring Wave and the three-layered magical shield disappeared simultaneously. All magical equipment required a certain amount of spiritual power to operate, and the ones used by the Divine Music division were no exception. Using their magical equipment to help reinforce the Orange Rank defense had used up a lot of spiritual power from the Primary Level Red Rank mages Xue Ling and Lan Xi, which had caused their complexions to pale from overexertion.

With Roaring Wave neutralizing the sound of the guzheng, thereby removing its influence, and with the help of Water Spirit Blessing, Karachi was able to finish casting his spell and strengthen it with the help of his companions’ magic. A three-meter long water dragon emerged out of thin air, roaring and flickering with a yellow luster as it advanced towards the Divine Music division party. Having finished casting the spell, Karachi’s complexion became even more pale. The influence of the guzheng music had been too great, forcing Karachi to use his most powerful spell, Cry of the Water Dragon.

The spectators watching the battle couldn’t help but cry out in alarm as they watched this spectacle. Even they could tell that if the Divine Music division’s students were to try and defend with another magical shield, it would be hopeless. After all, it was simply impossible for an Orange Rank defense to hold up against a Yellow Rank spell. The outcome of the match was already determined in their eyes.

At this moment, Ye Yin Zhu smiled serenely as he and the three girls retreated to Hai Yang’s side. It was then that the Divine Celestial Protective Robe on his body released numerous milky white rays of light as it expanded almost instantaneously to a radius of ten meters, completely enshrouding the five students.

Boom——, the water dragon’s might was not something to be underestimated, but when it collided with the shield, the audience couldn’t help but cry out in surprise. The water dragon had smashed and scattered upon impact, creating only a tiny crack in the milky white shield.

“Impossible.” Seeing this, Wa Ge Lei’s eyes widened as he sprung up from his seat in the spectator’s grandstand. Ye Yin Zhu’s body had clearly been releasing a magical radiance at the Red Rank!

Ferguson stared knowingly at Nina with a profound look in his eyes. “Divine Celestial Protection. Even I must envy the Divine Music division.”

By now, the song << Dream >> was already halfway through, and the battle had reached its climax. Neither Karachi nor his four companions casted another spell due to <<Dream>>’s influence. Karachi’s juniors were already fast asleep, and he himself was too drowsy to chant another line of incantation. Naturally, << Dream >> hadn’t influenced Yin Zhu or his companions as Divine Music mages could choose who their special skills affect.

“As the students from the Water division have lost the ability to resist, the Divine Music division wins!” The referee announced. Beating your opponents to a pulp wasn’t the only way to win a match like this. As long as a team could make it so that their opponents can’t fight back, such as by putting them to sleep, they would win.

“Ye——, we won! We really won!” Xue Ling excitedly bounced up and down. She wrapped her hands around Yin Zhu’s neck and passionately kissed him on the cheek, making Yin Zhu blush in embarrassment. He didn’t know how to react.

Lan Xi managed to show more restraint, but even so, a gentle smile still graced her face.

Kong Que arrogantly stuck out her ample chest and said loftily, “The Divine Music division is the most powerful division.”

Hai Yang’s reaction was the dullest. She played << Dream >> until the end, and then she just walked off the training field, guzheng in hand.

During this whole ordeal, the entire audience had been absolutely silent.

When the match began, no one expected the Divine Music division to actually win. This was because matches between mages in the past would normally consist of mutual magical bombardment. The party that exhausted their magical power first would lose the match. It was simply a contest of strength. Today’s match, however, had reached a quick conclusion. The Water division students couldn’t even pull off a successful magic attack before being defeated by the Divine Music division. At this very moment, numerous students were already becoming suspicious of the useless Divine Music division.

Wa Ge Lei sluggishly stood up. “Impossible, this can’t be. It should be impossible for a Red Rank student to obstruct the Cry of the Water Dragon, even if he’s wearing the Divine Celestial Protection.” He had originally been quite happy after hearing that the Divine Music division was partaking in the competition, as he believed it would finally bring the Water division out from last place in the rankings. His expectations had been dashed, and as a result, his mood had fallen to an all-time low.

Nina also stood, arrogantly raising her head. “Mark my words, Old man Wa Ge Lei: this is only the beginning.”

Wa Ge Lei merely growled in response. With the match having finished, the Water division teachers all rose from their seats and left. They were all too ashamed to stay after losing to the Divine Music division.

Ferguson slightly smiled. “The Water division’s magic was pretty good. It’s a pity that Rudimentary Water magic doesn’t have a whole lot of power. Dean Nina, your Divine Music division general Ye Yin Zhu is quite interesting.” There was one matter that he agreed with Wa Ge Lei on: even with the Divine Celestial Protection, it was impossible for a Red Rank mage to block Yellow Rank magic.

The news that the Divine Music Division prevailed over the Water division in their first Freshman Competition quickly spread throughout all of Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts. The match had reached a quick conclusion, amazing everyone who heard. Numerous matters pertaining to the Divine Music division were already being discussed throughout the entire institution, which caused the creation of many rumors. Ye Yin Zhu and the four beautiful ladies had become the targets of such discussions. In these discussions, the topic that was talked about the most was Ye Yin Zhu’s final moment where he released elemental magic to shield Hai Yang.

Ye Yin Zhu didn’t know that others were talking about him, however. When the match ended, the first thing he did was leave training field six and bolt away in one direction. This was because he had heard a voice right before the match ended— one that he was extremely excited to hear.

Yellow rays of light streaked through the road, leaving behind only a faint shadow. A few nearby mages who saw this couldn’t help but think that it was a senior student of the warrior district running from the mage district.

To reach his destination as fast as possible, Ye Yin Zhu didn’t even conceal his usage of Bamboo Dou Qi. After all, the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts was extremely large. Even while traveling at max speed with the assistance of Bamboo Dou Qi, it still took him ten minutes to leave the institution.

Emerging from the institution, Ye Yin Zhu headed north for five kilometers before finally stopping in front of a forest. He had a hard time hiding his excitement after arriving. Overwhelmed with emotion, he shouted out loudly, “Zi, where are you? I’m here.”

Yes, right before the match concluded, Zi’s voice had clearly resounded in his ears. He spoke only one short sentence, “I’m five kilometers north of the institution, in a nearby forest.”

As far as Ye Yin Zhu was concerned, although he had settled down in the Milan Institution for Magic and Martial Arts, it was not his home. He and Zi had been companions for ten years. Apart from his closest relatives, Zi was unconditionally the person he trusted most.

Slowly, a tall and burly figure emerged from the forest. His hair was somewhat messy, and his bright star-like violet eyes appeared to be somewhat tired. Though he looked tired, the strength in his face hadn’t waned. Looking at Yin Zhu, his apathetic eyes became slightly gentle. This change in his expression only appeared when he and Yin Zhu were together.

“Yin Zhu.” The deep voice full of magnetism made Ye Yin Zhu feel intense happiness.

“Zi——.” Yin Zhu yelled with excitement. Like an arrow, his body flickered with an intense yellow light and shot towards Zi in the blink of an eye. Like a nail being set into place, this combination of action and inaction, in spite of everything, didn’t feel even slightly unexpected.