In the basement, a gentle melody sounded from the youth’s fingertips. The instrument’s strings vibrated softly. The melody was like fine dust floating in the sunlight, peaceful and melodious...
As Ye Qingxuan’s played, strands of water vapor slowly condensed in the air, latching onto his body and fluttering out in all directions.
Across from him, Charles whistled while eating a fruit. The corner of his lips curled up into a smile. "Good job! You succeeded on the third try?"
Ye Qingxuan controlled the threads of water floating in the air and replied. "The melody is quite simple and only uses basic runes. The notes itself are difficult to understand, but you can use the interpretation method to figure it out. It’s not so difficult in the beginning."
"I was just worried about your confidence. I guess I don’t need to say anything now," Charles muttered. He picked up a screw from the ground and flicked it at the white wall behind Ye Qingxuan. The screw smashed onto the wall and bounced straight at Ye Qingxuan’s head!
In the air, a thread of water vapor had been grazed by the screw. Ye Qingxuan instantly reached behind as if he had eyes on the back of his head, and caught the screw easily.
"Oh?" Charles laughed. "Not bad."
Ye Qingxuan shrugged and tossed the screw back into the box on the ground. The barely visible threads of vapor danced stiffly around his body. He was still trying to get used to this feeling. Now, the threads were like an extension of his body. He could detect even the slightest touch.
Gradually, the water vapor lines became more agile, which made Ye Qingxuan nod in satisfaction. "So far, the first measure of Bolero is not complicated. I'll be able to master it this afternoon."
"There is one thing you must be aware of, Yezi." Charles shook his head, patting the youth on the shoulder. "The most difficult part of Bolero is not about playing it, but applying it!"
In the next moment, Ye Qingxuan’s vision swam, and he fell down.
"Sorry, I did a sneak attack." Charles stretched his wrists out and showed Ye the slowly dissipating rune Air. He shook his head provocatively. "How about we practice together? The loser has to dress up like a girl and buy dinner!"
Ye Qingxuan stared at him blankly. After realizing that Charles was serious, there was a glimmer of vicious intent in his eyes. "That means I can do whatever I want to you?"
"Yes, come on, big man!" Charles beckoned with his pinky finger. "Let me see what the so called Vengeful Spirit from downtown can do."
"I know you’re just provoking me, but you have to know that I’m still going to get angry, senior." Ye Qingxuan stood up, cracked his knuckles, loosened his neck, then grinned. "I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time."
"Hehe." Charles laughed shyly, but a ball of blinding light shot out from his hands without warning. Blinded, Ye Qingxuan sensed that someone was in his arms, with their palms on his chest.
"Bingo!" Charles grinned, his fingers tightened
Boom! Rune Air exploded. Severe wind pressure lifted the youth up. Ye crashed against the wall, and finally landed on a pile of dust covers, causing a cloud of dust to rise.
"Forgot to tell you the rules." Charles had cheated skillfully. "You’re in as long as you’re standing. In other words, if you want to surrender, just lie down."
"You’re so considerate." Ye Qingxuan coughed violently and climbed out of the dust pile. "But I will not give you the opportunity to lie down." In the next moment, he snapped his fingers, and the crisp sound was like frost cracking. Rays of frost shot out.
As if Charles had foreseen this, he stepped to the side and jumped back, escaping the youth’s attack. Before he got his footing back, Ye Qingxuan began to fight fire with fire, using the rune Air.
Boom! Ye Qingxuan flew through the air, his eyes wide open in shock.
"That's why people need to be careful of their steps." Charles shook his head and looked down at the runes dissipating on the ground. They were the notes he had left before leaping by using the technique of delayed release. It was easy to lure someone into the trap
"Seems like you have no experience with musician duels other than the concertmaster challenge." Charles shook his head and waved at the youth with great enthusiasm. "Hurry up, let me help you make up this lesson."
Ye Qingxuan spat the dust out of his mouth and charged again.
After three seconds, Charles withdrew his palm from Ye Qingxuan. The youth had lost his strength and knelt down on the ground, heaving violently. Sweat flowed freely from him, leaving wet stains on the ground. That was the note he excelled at—Flow!
"Are you done resting?" Charles leisurely paced around him. "It’s alright. Take a rest and drag it out until dinner time so you don’t have to fight anymore."
Ye Qingxuan knew clearly that this b*stard was still provoking him. He simply sat on the ground, refusing to get up. His frustrated eyes gradually calmed.
No, there was something wrong. He was getting completely crushed! It was like challenging a formless monster. Every defeat was weird and mysterious. It was not about how excellent the other side’s strategy was, nor how powerful the enemy was. It was not because of his own weakness either. What was wrong? This guy acted as if he could predict his next step!
Predict…Ye Qingxuan’s eyes flashed. He raised his head, eyes narrowing.
Under the faint light, the dust disrupted by the two men scattered under the light. But when the youth looked closely, he realized that there was something different about Charles’ surroundings.
Around him were dozens of slender and hidden threads of water vapor. They floated from his body, stretched through the air, and finally…
Ye Qingxuan looked along the thin lines, and it finally dawned on him. The threads were wrapped around his own body! "This is the application of Bolero?"
"Great job. It only took you five minutes to realize. I wanted to play with you for half an hour before telling you. What a pity." Charles shrugged. "Shall we continue?"
Ye Qingxuan pulled himself up. This time, he stood and stared at Charles. "How do you do it?"
"What? You mean prediction? It's just an illusion." Charles put up a finger. "Everything I know is from you. Think about it, and think about it more closely. How do I know?"
"Because of the ‘perception threads’ created by Bolero’s first measure?"
"You’re getting closer to the answer, but it's not enough." Charles wagged his finger. "If I only relied on the threads, at most, I could determine your location. If I wanted to beat you up completely, I would need some other things—things that you haven’t noticed yet. Think, Yezi, think! Don’t stop…keep thinking! Never stop thinking when you're in a duel. If you stop, you lose. If you lose, you die!"
The next moment, Charles charged. Ye Qingxuan subconsciously stepped back and created a shield effect for himself. But then the image coming at him…dissipated?
Rune: Mirror! Charles's hand sliced down on the back of Ye Qingxuan’s neck like a knife, pushing him down easily. Under the boy's puzzled eyes, Charles whistled and wiggled his fingers. At his fingertips, a few threads connected to Ye Qingxuan glittered and flashed. "Passive defense is useless," he said. "I know all of your thoughts."
A flame ignited on Ye Qingxuan’s fingertip in reply. He was expressionless as he burned the connected perception thread and pulled himself up. "Again."
"Alright."
The next moment, the two pressed on their own instrument in unison, the same melody sounded at the same time. It was the first measure of Bolero! In that gentle and quiet melody, a number of perception threads rose out of Ye Qingxuan’s body, and wrapped around Charles.
Perception threads came from Charles’ hands as well. The threads ran into each other, becoming a tangled mess.
The moment the perception threads wrapped around Charles, Ye Qingxuan’s expression became shocked and surprised. He could…sense the aether controlled by Charles?
"What's the matter? Is it really that surprising to be able to sense someone else’s aether?" Charles did not care that Ye Qingxuan could perceive the changes in his aether and said lightly, "Now can you understand? The threads aren’t a replacement of touch. They’re the extension of perception! That's what they do. They’re a musician’s eyes.
"A pair of eyes that knows the enemy's every intention, every movement, and fluctuations of each note. Nothing can hide from these eyes." Then he said, "Congratulations, you are finally getting started."
There was a crisp snap. Charles raised his hand and released a frost ray without warning. It was loved by students for being easy to cast, and requiring low exertion.
Ye Qingxuan could not process it in time! He could clearly feel the changes in the other’s aether, but in the midst of everything, Ye Qingxuan did not realize that he was playing a note. His face was covered by weakened white frost. He could not even breathe.
"What's wrong? I’ve put everything out in the open for you." Charles cocked his head. "You couldn’t even tell that I was going to cast a rune?"
"Instantaneous notes are so fast. You have to at least give me time to react." Ye Qingxuan reached out and wiped the white frost off his face. "The changes are so confusing that I can't find the patterns."
"Come on, use your brain." Charles sighed. "Translation and interpretation method. What have you been learning?"
"Interpretation?" Ye Qingxuan froze, as if he had suddenly found clue. He involuntarily followed Charles’s guide and continued thinking. "Interpretation method…"
In the basement, a gentle melody sounded from the youth’s fingertips. The instrument’s strings vibrated softly. The melody was like fine dust floating in the sunlight, peaceful and melodious...
As Ye Qingxuan’s played, strands of water vapor slowly condensed in the air, latching onto his body and fluttering out in all directions.
Across from him, Charles whistled while eating a fruit. The corner of his lips curled up into a smile. "Good job! You succeeded on the third try?"
Ye Qingxuan controlled the threads of water floating in the air and replied. "The melody is quite simple and only uses basic runes. The notes itself are difficult to understand, but you can use the interpretation method to figure it out. It’s not so difficult in the beginning."
"I was just worried about your confidence. I guess I don’t need to say anything now," Charles muttered. He picked up a screw from the ground and flicked it at the white wall behind Ye Qingxuan. The screw smashed onto the wall and bounced straight at Ye Qingxuan’s head!
In the air, a thread of water vapor had been grazed by the screw. Ye Qingxuan instantly reached behind as if he had eyes on the back of his head, and caught the screw easily.
"Oh?" Charles laughed. "Not bad."
Ye Qingxuan shrugged and tossed the screw back into the box on the ground. The barely visible threads of vapor danced stiffly around his body. He was still trying to get used to this feeling. Now, the threads were like an extension of his body. He could detect even the slightest touch.
Gradually, the water vapor lines became more agile, which made Ye Qingxuan nod in satisfaction. "So far, the first measure of Bolero is not complicated. I'll be able to master it this afternoon."
"There is one thing you must be aware of, Yezi." Charles shook his head, patting the youth on the shoulder. "The most difficult part of Bolero is not about playing it, but applying it!"
In the next moment, Ye Qingxuan’s vision swam, and he fell down.
"Sorry, I did a sneak attack." Charles stretched his wrists out and showed Ye the slowly dissipating rune Air. He shook his head provocatively. "How about we practice together? The loser has to dress up like a girl and buy dinner!"
Ye Qingxuan stared at him blankly. After realizing that Charles was serious, there was a glimmer of vicious intent in his eyes. "That means I can do whatever I want to you?"
"Yes, come on, big man!" Charles beckoned with his pinky finger. "Let me see what the so called Vengeful Spirit from downtown can do."
"I know you’re just provoking me, but you have to know that I’m still going to get angry, senior." Ye Qingxuan stood up, cracked his knuckles, loosened his neck, then grinned. "I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time."
"Hehe." Charles laughed shyly, but a ball of blinding light shot out from his hands without warning. Blinded, Ye Qingxuan sensed that someone was in his arms, with their palms on his chest.
"Bingo!" Charles grinned, his fingers tightened
Boom! Rune Air exploded. Severe wind pressure lifted the youth up. Ye crashed against the wall, and finally landed on a pile of dust covers, causing a cloud of dust to rise.
"Forgot to tell you the rules." Charles had cheated skillfully. "You’re in as long as you’re standing. In other words, if you want to surrender, just lie down."
"You’re so considerate." Ye Qingxuan coughed violently and climbed out of the dust pile. "But I will not give you the opportunity to lie down." In the next moment, he snapped his fingers, and the crisp sound was like frost cracking. Rays of frost shot out.
As if Charles had foreseen this, he stepped to the side and jumped back, escaping the youth’s attack. Before he got his footing back, Ye Qingxuan began to fight fire with fire, using the rune Air.
Boom! Ye Qingxuan flew through the air, his eyes wide open in shock.
"That's why people need to be careful of their steps." Charles shook his head and looked down at the runes dissipating on the ground. They were the notes he had left before leaping by using the technique of delayed release. It was easy to lure someone into the trap
"Seems like you have no experience with musician duels other than the concertmaster challenge." Charles shook his head and waved at the youth with great enthusiasm. "Hurry up, let me help you make up this lesson."
Ye Qingxuan spat the dust out of his mouth and charged again.
After three seconds, Charles withdrew his palm from Ye Qingxuan. The youth had lost his strength and knelt down on the ground, heaving violently. Sweat flowed freely from him, leaving wet stains on the ground. That was the note he excelled at—Flow!
"Are you done resting?" Charles leisurely paced around him. "It’s alright. Take a rest and drag it out until dinner time so you don’t have to fight anymore."
Ye Qingxuan knew clearly that this b*stard was still provoking him. He simply sat on the ground, refusing to get up. His frustrated eyes gradually calmed.
No, there was something wrong. He was getting completely crushed! It was like challenging a formless monster. Every defeat was weird and mysterious. It was not about how excellent the other side’s strategy was, nor how powerful the enemy was. It was not because of his own weakness either. What was wrong? This guy acted as if he could predict his next step!
Predict…Ye Qingxuan’s eyes flashed. He raised his head, eyes narrowing.
Under the faint light, the dust disrupted by the two men scattered under the light. But when the youth looked closely, he realized that there was something different about Charles’ surroundings.
Around him were dozens of slender and hidden threads of water vapor. They floated from his body, stretched through the air, and finally…
Ye Qingxuan looked along the thin lines, and it finally dawned on him. The threads were wrapped around his own body! "This is the application of Bolero?"
"Great job. It only took you five minutes to realize. I wanted to play with you for half an hour before telling you. What a pity." Charles shrugged. "Shall we continue?"
Ye Qingxuan pulled himself up. This time, he stood and stared at Charles. "How do you do it?"
"What? You mean prediction? It's just an illusion." Charles put up a finger. "Everything I know is from you. Think about it, and think about it more closely. How do I know?"
"Because of the ‘perception threads’ created by Bolero’s first measure?"
"You’re getting closer to the answer, but it's not enough." Charles wagged his finger. "If I only relied on the threads, at most, I could determine your location. If I wanted to beat you up completely, I would need some other things—things that you haven’t noticed yet. Think, Yezi, think! Don’t stop…keep thinking! Never stop thinking when you're in a duel. If you stop, you lose. If you lose, you die!"
The next moment, Charles charged. Ye Qingxuan subconsciously stepped back and created a shield effect for himself. But then the image coming at him…dissipated?
Rune: Mirror! Charles's hand sliced down on the back of Ye Qingxuan’s neck like a knife, pushing him down easily. Under the boy's puzzled eyes, Charles whistled and wiggled his fingers. At his fingertips, a few threads connected to Ye Qingxuan glittered and flashed. "Passive defense is useless," he said. "I know all of your thoughts."
A flame ignited on Ye Qingxuan’s fingertip in reply. He was expressionless as he burned the connected perception thread and pulled himself up. "Again."
"Alright."
The next moment, the two pressed on their own instrument in unison, the same melody sounded at the same time. It was the first measure of Bolero! In that gentle and quiet melody, a number of perception threads rose out of Ye Qingxuan’s body, and wrapped around Charles.
Perception threads came from Charles’ hands as well. The threads ran into each other, becoming a tangled mess.
The moment the perception threads wrapped around Charles, Ye Qingxuan’s expression became shocked and surprised. He could…sense the aether controlled by Charles?
"What's the matter? Is it really that surprising to be able to sense someone else’s aether?" Charles did not care that Ye Qingxuan could perceive the changes in his aether and said lightly, "Now can you understand? The threads aren’t a replacement of touch. They’re the extension of perception! That's what they do. They’re a musician’s eyes.
"A pair of eyes that knows the enemy's every intention, every movement, and fluctuations of each note. Nothing can hide from these eyes." Then he said, "Congratulations, you are finally getting started."
There was a crisp snap. Charles raised his hand and released a frost ray without warning. It was loved by students for being easy to cast, and requiring low exertion.
Ye Qingxuan could not process it in time! He could clearly feel the changes in the other’s aether, but in the midst of everything, Ye Qingxuan did not realize that he was playing a note. His face was covered by weakened white frost. He could not even breathe.
"What's wrong? I’ve put everything out in the open for you." Charles cocked his head. "You couldn’t even tell that I was going to cast a rune?"
"Instantaneous notes are so fast. You have to at least give me time to react." Ye Qingxuan reached out and wiped the white frost off his face. "The changes are so confusing that I can't find the patterns."
"Come on, use your brain." Charles sighed. "Translation and interpretation method. What have you been learning?"
"Interpretation?" Ye Qingxuan froze, as if he had suddenly found clue. He involuntarily followed Charles’s guide and continued thinking. "Interpretation method…"
