<b>Chapter 40 – The Silver Dragon Princess (I)</b>


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    <span>After exiting the city, Ye Yin Zhu ran at full-speed. With his Yellow Bamboo Level 5 dou qi, he was the equivalent of a Cyan Rank Sky Warrior. He swiftly arrived at his destination—an open area not too far away from the Mn Institution for Magic and Martial Arts. This ce was a forest where men rarely tread; one would not easily be disturbed here.


    <span>Once again, he drew out the Thundering Spring Zither. Both his hands caressed the strings as he steadied his impatient mind.


    <span>Close by, atop a tree, the violet eyes of a silver figure flickered with astonishment. She suddenly realized that this youth''s temperament had changed in a sh upon gently caressing and stroking the zither strings, the change like the sky and the earth turning upside down. The previous him she had seen had appeared icily arrogant. At this very moment, however, he exuded grace and nobility. His eight fingers lightly brushed the zither, each movement very harmonious. His white robe, flowing ck hair, and handsome appearance, as well as that look of single-minded devotion on his face, all easily made a deep impression on people. She subconsciously stopped herself from punching him like she originally intended to. In her heart, she even looked forward to listening to him y a zither song.


    <span>Ye Yin Zhu was not eager to try his new theory on sound des. Just now, his anxiousness made his mind and aura unstable. He needed to make his heartstrings fuse together with the zither strings before continuing with this unusual theory of his.


    <span>Lightly plucking a string, a sweet, expressive zither song floated in the air. This was not one of the nine great famed songs of the Zither Sect. It was merely amon zither song used to cultivate one''s mind. Although it had no particr effect, this was still Qin Shang''s favorite zither song, and Ye Yin Zhu was equally fond of it. The song''s name was 《 <span>Devastating Allure<span> 》.


    <span>The four fingers of his left hand seemed to be stuck to the strings, while his right hand formed the <span>Rabbit Rise, Fox Drop gesture<span>. Very quickly, a string of melodious zither notes rang out. <i><span>Ling—ling— </i><span>The graceful melody rose in spirals from crisp notes.


    <span>The zither music was exquisite and full of meaning. The calm and collected control of his fingers transitioned between light and urgent. A lively tempo circled around and around, leaving a trail of poignancy—as if the heart was singing an unexpected, mournful melody.


    <span>The silver figure atop the tree was dumbfounded. She had never expected music to actually be so pleasant to listen to or be able to make her heartstrings tremble. She watched Ye Yin Zhupletely immerse himself in ying, watching that single-minded devotion and graceful look on his face. Unconsciously, the rage in her heart gradually quelled. At this very moment, she just didn''t want those eight fingers to stop strumming the zither strings. She wanted him to continue, continue ying that beautiful zither music that wove through the forest wild and free.


    <span>During that touching zither song, Ye Yin Zhu couldn''t refrain from singing softly. His voice was not very rich, but it was clear and bright without a single speck of impurity. It was simr to his zither music, very pure.


    <span><i><span>In the North, there is a beautiful woman,</i>


    <span><i><span>Unequaled and independent.</i>


    <span><i><span>A smile can overturn a city,</i>


    <span><i><span>Another smile can overturn a nation.</i>


    <span><i><span>How could people know such devastating allure would overturn the nation?</i>


    <span><i><span>A beautiful woman is thus rare.</i>


    <span>In the wake of that line, ''a beautiful woman is thus rare,'' the rather short song, 《 Devastating Allure 》, ended as the zither song rose in spirals and lingered pleasantly.


    <span>Both his hands rose gently before falling. It seemed as if the spring breeze was erasing the pleasant effect of the zither music which lingered. Ye Yin Zhu''s face revealed a smile as he thought to himself, <i><span>Maybe this song </i><span>《 <i><span>Devastating Allure </i><span>》<i><span> embodied Grandfather Qin''s feelings for Grandma Nina at that time. But, why aren''t they together?</i>


    <span>The silver figure''s violet eyes disyed herplete descent into infatuation—not for the man below her, but for his zither music and singing voice. "In the North, there is a beautiful woman, unequaled and independent. A smile can overturn a city, another smile can overturn a nation… Ie from the North. Don''t tell me that he is deliberately singing this for me to hear? Don''t tell me that he already discovered my presence? Such enchanting zither music and beautiful lyrics!"


    <span>Ye Yin Zhu''s conscious mind had already adapted quite well. After some reflection, he raised his right hand and Bamboo Dou Qi began to circte his fingertips autonomously. After a light pluck of a zither note a light yellow sound de in the shape of a semi-arc began to float in the air. In the blink of an eye, Ye Yin Zhu''s spiritual forcepletely filled the sound de, allowing him to sense something wondrous.


    <span>He discovered that within the sound de, the instant the string was plucked, his dou qi merged with the string. Like this, the zither music was unlikely to have any influence on creation. After the sound de was released, the dou qi would vibrate and rage in the wake of the zither note, so the rest of the dou qi attack was entirely different. The vibration of the music note and the produced undtion caused the sound de''s velocity to be simr to the music''s speed. At the same time, it had an extremely strong cutting power.


    <span>Previously, it was simply practice. He had never seriously thought this over. Now that he was carefully exploring this aspect, he couldn''t help but admire his teacher, Grandfather Qin, even more. Originally, this was merely a conjecture by Qin Shang! Without any dou qi, he thought up this clever secret art to counteract the drawbacks of a Divine Music mage''s magic execution. Sure enough, he was worth being called the once-in-a-generation Great Magister.


    <span>The sound de''s strength was influenced by several factors. If he used a different zither, the different strings could create different sound des to an extent. Generally speaking, the sound de, the zither, dou qi, and spiritual force had something to do with blended dou qi-zither music vibrations. These four aspectsbined to bring forth the genuine might of a sound de. Improving each factor would definitely amplify the power of the sound de.


    <span>Even though he had his own dou qi and several martial skills from the Bamboo Sect, seeing Seedorf''s tyrannical sword attack today made Ye Yin Zhu clearly understand howcking his closebat ability was. His main vocation was as a Divine Music mage; it was impossible for him to devote a great amount of time on practicing martial skills. Grandfather Qin had already warned him of this fact a long time ago. Practicing dou qi was merely in order to supplement his vocation as a Divine Music mage, nothing more. Wanting to improve his closebat ability would require him to start with his Divine Music magic, and the sound de was the best option.


    <span>Not to mention the improvement of the sound de was rted to the three previously mentioned basic factors which were predetermined. The zither was different. This he could not change. As for his dou qi and spiritual force, those required constant practice and would steadily improve incrementally over time. Today, he realized the fourth aspect; wasn''t this the key to improving his sound des?


    <span>As he pondered this, Ye Yin Zhu once again began ying 《 Devastating Allure 》. It was just that this time, he was using his spiritual force as he yed, making it a true song yed by a Divine Music mage with zither magic.


    <span>《 Devastating Allure 》''s influence was irreversibly bound to express emotion. Even though zither magic was cast, it merely strengthened its influence. At the moment, Ye Yin Zhu wanted to better sense the wonder within his sound des rather than practicing the zither song. A yellow sound de arc drifted above his eight fingers. The sound de fluttered in the air, forming a soft glow.


    <span>With a fixed, internal vibration frequency, the farther the sound de flew, the dimmer the glow became. The vibration frequency also gradually reduced until the glowing and vibrationspletely disappeared, where its formidable power would alsopletely vanish.


    <span>Since his dou qi advanced to Yellow Bamboo Level 5, the might of Ye Yin Zhu''s sound des could already effectively reach a range of 30 meters. Past 30 meters, the sound de''s might would immediately decrease, and upon reaching 40 meters, the sound de wouldpletely dissipate.


    <span>His dou qi vibrated along with the music. As he yed the music, he would create sound des. The zither notes would receive the influence of his dou qi, so his sound des would not diminish within the range his zither magic epassed. In other words, the sound de affected the range at which the sound wave oscited. The dou qi reduced the frequency at which the music note vibrated. So what would happen if he could make his dou qi and music maintain an equal vibration frequency? Not only could the range of his sound des and its cutting power be even more formidable, it could also allow his zither music''s diffusion range to remain unaffected.


    <span>This was the fundamental music foundation theory Ye Yin Zhu had gained enlightenment on, and it was also the main reason he had suddenly ran here so excited. As he thought of this, he cut short 《 Devastating Allure 》. His right hand strummed the strings at lightning speed. The instant a yellow sound de suddenly formed, his left hand very quickly flicked the string, sending the sound de off.


    <span>Apanying the whistle of the sound de, a deep and low zither note immediately became impassioned. The sound de''s yellow radiance intensified. In a sh of light, it sharply cut through a hundred meters of the forest before disappearing from sight.


    <i><span>Hua—</i><span> The path at which the sound de carved had seven to eightrge trees toppled over, the incisions resembling the cut of a sharp de—exceedingly smooth.


    <span>"Fantastic, sess!" Ye Yin Zhu shouted excitedly. He didn''t remain excited for very long however, as an expression of regret appeared on his face. He shook his head and talked aloud to himself, "No, this won''t do. Even though I can form my sound des in a split second and then use dou qi to make it vibrate a secondter, if it''s like this, how can Iplete a zither song? Zither music is the Way of the King!<sup ss="footnote">1</sup> It seems that the method I have pondered over is correct, but the execution is wrong."


    <span>"Trifling Yellow Rank strength, what point is there in being right or wrong?" A voice brimming with contempt rang out. In a sh of silvery light, another person appeared in front of Ye Yin Zhu. This was the person who hade from Silver Dragon City, Lisha.


    <span>"You?" Ye Yin Zhu was startled. Lisha''s face didn''t hold a single trace of tears. Even though the corner of her mouth still held a trace of disdain, it appeared that presently, she was a bit gentler than she had been back at the Royal Library, her violet eyes holding even more curiosity.


    <span>Lisha snorted and said, "Ye Yin Zhu, because of you, I have been disgraced today. It is now the time for you to repay me."


    <span>Ye Yin Zhu''s hands pressed into the strings of the Thundering Spring Zither as he said in feigned surprise, "Your behavior today is known as inviting disgrace upon yourself, right? Even if you want to retaliate, you should do so against Generalissimo Seedorf. What do I have to do with this?"


    <span>"You…" Lisha was angry. A moment ago, her gentle mood that had arose because she had been listening respectfully to 《 Devastating Allure 》once again became irascible. Ayer of hazy, violet light quietly appeared, swirling around her every movement. The elements within the air fluctuated and immediately intensified. A viscous pressure once again enveloped Ye Yin Zhu''s body.


    <span>Ye Yin Zhu didn''t move. "If my guess is correct, I am someone your Silver Dragon City wants. It is unlikely that you would kill me. Am I right?"


    <span>Lisha coldly replied, "Correct, I won''t kill you, but I can make you think it would be better to die."<hr>


    <> <ol><li id="fn-12908-1"> Aka above all else, the best, the most important thing (in this use of the expression) <span>?</li></ol>