Game World: I Can Share Talents

Chapter 360 - 8: Wherever Duke Qinghui’s Hand Reaches, Chaos Runs Rampant

A City in the Lake was a standard, vital hub for every Royal Court. And while the Thousand Laws Royal Court had more than its City in the Lake, only that city could truly represent its fundamental nature.

As the name suggests, the City in the Lake was built upon a lake. The pure, placid waters were crystal clear, without a single impurity—not even fish swam within. Only white petals and lotus leaves drifted on the surface.

These lakes had not always been so. On the contrary, before Emperor Qianlu established his Law, the domain known as the Land of Thousand Lakes had been nothing more than a patchwork of fragmented swamps, mires, forests, and river valleys.

Poisonous miasmas and overgrown thickets of thorns were everywhere, and the surviving clans fought to the death over the pitifully scarce habitable lands.

It wasn’t until the establishment of the Royal Court that the Land of Thousand Lakes was truly purified. Wherever the Clear Melody pulsed, no filth could hide.

The aesthetic was one of exquisite Elven architecture, which did not fixate on erecting towering, magnificent spectacles. Instead, it favored finely carved courtyards and palaces, integrating traces of nature into masterfully crafted artifice.

Palaces were plentiful throughout the Royal Court. Arching bridges, pavilions, and an endless array of interlocking, intricate designs were everywhere. Between the spotless courtyards, automata shuttled back and forth as Elves came and went, some rushing, others pausing to converse.

The Central Royal Court, in essence, was much like the Imperial Holy Tree Palace. It housed almost no commoners, only the most powerful and influential figures in the Realm of Order.

Among the Royal Court’s magnificent Elven architecture and above the surface of the lake, a series of Techniques, their invisible contours outlined by towers, encircled the Central Royal Court. They radiated a hazy light and transmitted a gentle melody.

The music was not loud; in fact, one would hardly notice it without consciously listening.

Ethereal, clear, and gentle... it seemed to stir the very strings of a mortal’s fragile soul.

This was the grace of the Thousand Laws Ceremony. Just as Imperial Citizens enjoyed the radiance beneath the lush leaves of the Holy Tree, the subjects of the Royal Court could immerse themselves in the beautiful, eternally playing notes to receive various blessings.

The Royal Court was fortunate compared to the Imperial side. After all, the Celestial God’s blessing had not failed and twisted into a corrupting force that turned on its own people.

But the Royal Court was also unfortunate. While the Divine Ancestor hadn’t set a trap within the blessing, the Demons had severed the Grand Ensemble. It was difficult to say which fate was better or worse.

For now, however, the Central Royal Court did not need to worry about its own survival. The pressing concern was how to restore the Grand Ensemble.

In the main tower, a group of Tuning Officers were performing maintenance on the Thousand Laws Ceremony. Ever since the Demons’ rampage had severed the Ensemble, maintenance and monitoring of the remaining Ceremony had become far more frequent.

When manifested, the nodes of the Ceremony appeared as countless fluorescent strings, chaotically interwoven.

Each string represented encoded data from the Thousand Laws Ceremony. The amount of data processed by a single node at any given moment was terrifyingly incalculable. Navigating this vast ocean of data, precisely identifying and eliminating dissonant echoes within the Ensemble—this was a feat no ordinary person could accomplish.

Only those with the "Tuner" profession were capable of such a task. It was an advanced stage of the Path of Resonance created by Emperor Qianlu, and it granted one of the most central abilities of the Celestial God Path.

And here in the Central Royal Court, at the largest node of the Thousand Laws Ceremony, the one qualified to lead the inspection of the ceremony was, naturally, the leader of all Tuners: the Grand Law Officer himself.

In truth, it was less an inspection performed by a group and more a task completed by the Grand Law Officer alone.

TING, TING, TING, TING...

A crisp tapping sound rang out upon the strings. As slender fingers plucked at the fluorescent chords, countless motes of light flickered. Though the flashing seemed chaotic, the pandemonium soon settled into tranquility under the guidance of his hands.

Haaah...

His soft, pale silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall. A dignified and majestic court robe, alternating between green and white, complemented his tall, well-proportioned frame. The elegant and handsome Elf male waved a hand, smoothing the vibrating patterns on his pointed ears as he let out a long sigh.

"Grand Law Officer..."

"Lord Eilvette."

Opening his emerald eyes, the Royal Court’s Grand Law Officer, Eilvette, scanned his surroundings. Seeing the worried yet hopeful gazes of his subordinates, he spoke slowly.

"All right. The Central Royal Court’s node is stable, as are those in the nearby City in the Lake. The blessing is still active, but its effects... have been greatly diminished. The Demons rampaging through our Land of Rhythm have done immense damage to the Grand Ensemble."

"Lord Eilvette, if this continues, will it continue to decline?"

The Tuners at his side stepped forward, their faces etched with worry.

"The Melody of the Ensemble, created by the Divine Ancestor, will naturally weaken with each passing wave now that its strings are severed. But do not worry. This process will be a very long one. And we will resolve this catastrophe before the Melody fades to an unacceptable level."

With a flick of his robes, Eilvette turned from the node of the Thousand Laws Ceremony. The other Tuners followed their leader, solemnly sealing the node behind them.

The Grand Law Officer strode along the Royal Court’s aquatic corridors, his movements swift and resolute. Wherever he passed, the Elves of the Royal Court—regardless of rank or status—would retreat to either side and bow in reverence.