Demon Lyre Inheritance

Within the Imperial Capital of the Gama Empire.

A quiet little courtyard, a vast lake roughly a hundred zhang wide, and an artificial mountain more than ten zhang tall.

At the center of the lake stood a small pavilion, square-sided and hexagonal, elegant and exquisite. Its roof was forged entirely from purple gold, while its four pillars were carved from white crystal, adorned with gilded dragons and phoenixes inlaid with green jade.

Gradually, mist rose from the center of the lake. Within the hazy white fog, the illusory figure of a woman could vaguely be seen, like a dreamlike maiden raising her fair hands to gently pluck and stroke the strings.

Only then did the pavilion at the lake's center seem to emerge from the dreamlike mist and gain a touch of reality, as though awakening from a great dream. Like a beauty dressing her hair beneath cloud-like makeup, soft and melodious strings and wind instruments drifted out from the center of the lake.

After that brief moment of reality, the zither music abruptly ceased. A bleak, lingering melody like reed pipes rippled across the water, cold as ice.

Amid the curling clouds and mist, the figure lying on the artificial mountain stirred slightly, as if turning onto his side. Long hair spilled across the stone, white boots raised high, and his green robes hung loose and unrestrained.

"Music to the ears, truly captivating." The young man clapped his hands in high praise.

"Thank you for your praise, Elder. I am deeply honored." The woman in a purple veil held the Yao Lyre in her arms and gave a slight curtsy with a charming smile.

"Thank you, Seventh Princess." Zhang Tian rose and thanked the woman in purple gauze. She was the Seventh Princess of the Gama Empire's royal family, though she had long since married.

The Yun Lan Sect had produced a Dou Emperor, and Jia Xing Tian naturally could not have remained ignorant. A year ago, when Zhang Tian killed the Wu Tan City Lord, the royal family had deliberately chosen not to pursue the matter, as a gesture of goodwill toward him. Now, it seemed their investment had been exceedingly wise, so the Gama Royal Family took the opportunity to invite Zhang Tian to the Imperial Capital as a guest.

Though he did not meet Jia Xing Tian, the king of the Gama Empire personally received him, giving Zhang Tian and the Yun Lan Sect ample face.

After Zhang Tian mentioned his interest in musical theory, the king of Gama, acting under Jia Xing Tian's instructions, directly summoned his own daughter to discuss it with him.

With a reach of his hand, the lake water condensed into droplets.

After he drew out several droplets, the vast surface of the lake began to boil, erupting as though hundreds of bombs had been dropped into it.

Splash!

Following a massive explosion, the boundless lake water shot into the sky and formed an enormous curtain of water before crashing down with a roar.

"My zither. Let me see your power." After the countless streams of water fell, Zhang Tian reached into the water curtain as if grasping something.

He pulled outward, revealing a worn ancient zither.

As the ancient zither emerged, a clear, lengthy cry echoed through the azure sky. A beam of blue light streaked with traces of black pierced heaven and earth, radiating an aura no weaker than that of a Dou Wang.

This battered ancient zither had only three strings remaining. One section of its body was scorched yellow, and several broken strings drifted in the air. Yet faint cries of phoenixes and apes could be heard from its surface.

"So this is the first-stage zither forged from my spiritual will?" Zhang Tian looked at it. Unlike the Phoenix Cry Sword and Dragon Yin Halberd, which moved as naturally as his own limbs, this zither had been forged from a split fragment of his consciousness. It felt more like an independent personality.

Zhang Tian tried to pluck its strings, only to find that he could not move them at all. These strings were actually tougher than the bowstring of the Ten-Thousand-Picul Bow.

Zhang Tian was stunned. With his current strength, even a small mountain could be shattered with a flick of his fingers, yet he could not budge these thread-thin strings.

"Soul Power?" A trace of interest appeared on Zhang Tian's face as he slowly extended his spiritual power toward the ancient zither. As that power approached and spread, the strings began to tremble slightly.

"It isn't finished yet." Zhang Tian waved his hand and fired the few droplets condensed from the cold lake water into the ancient zither.

There were nine small grooves on the zither's body. After nine droplets of cold pool water were embedded within them, blue light flared up. The ancient, battered surface seemed to gain a faint luster, covered by a thin layer of precious radiance.

Though it was still damaged, it no longer looked covered in dust.

"Now it is complete." Rare delight appeared on his face. He pressed a small water droplet with his index finger, shifting and hopping it between the nine grooves. Before long, the nine grooves formed the arrangement of nine stars linked in a row.

Looking at the blue droplets embedded in all nine grooves, Zhang Tian followed the instructions in his mind and inserted a Fifth Order Magic Core from a fire-attributed Secluded Valley Spirit Snake.

A flash of light passed by, and traces of fire attribute energy seemed to leak out. The originally blue zither body appeared to be tinged with a hint of jade green.

Seeing that it worked, Zhang Tian inserted another sixth-order fire-attributed Magic Core, seven fifth-order fire-attributed Magic Cores, and a fourth-order Magic Core from a Dou Ling Rank magical beast.

At this point, the entire zither had changed dramatically. Steam continuously rose from the little lake, as though it had been boiled by the zither's heat. The zither body became increasingly crimson, gradually turning transparent like fiery red glass.

Twang!

Following the instructions in his mind, Zhang Tian stirred his Soul Power and plucked the strings once more with fingers that were not particularly slender.

A wave of fire swept across the lake. Billowing steam instantly rose from its surface, and once the fire wave passed, the water level of the hundred-zhang-wide lake had dropped by half.

Crack. A crisp sound rang out. One of the nine Magic Cores embedded in the zither had been unable to bear the strain and shattered. It was the Magic Core from the fourth-order magical beast.

Although the other Magic Cores had dimmed slightly, they remained as warm and lustrous as jade. Embedded in the zither, even the power within them no longer seemed violent, but calm as water.

The sixth-order Magic Core at the very top still shone brilliantly. Crimson light occasionally flowed beneath its gem-like surface.

"So this is the Demon Lyre Life and Death Game?" Zhang Tian closed his eyes and sensed it. The music of this demon lyre directly attacked an enemy's soul, and it could also transform into Dou Qi attacks carrying various attributes.

"The Dou Di Space truly is wondrous." Zhang Tian marveled inwardly. With merely one sixth-order Magic Core and several fourth- and fifth-order Magic Cores as energy sources, he could already sense that its full-power strike would absolutely be no weaker than an attack from a Dou Zong.

"A sixth-order Magic Core already has such power. What about a Rank 7 Magic Core, or even a ninth-order Magic Core?" The thought alone was chilling. Thinking of the Rank 7 Magic Core from the Fire Eyed Jade Hoof Beast resting quietly in his storage ring, he could not help but smile.

"A Dou Zun's attack is nearly the limit of what I can achieve now."

At present, Zhang Tian could unleash attack power at the level of a Dou Zun when going all out, but he only had one chance. With the power of the Demon Lyre Life and Death Game added in, he could use such trump-card attacks twice.

That was right. Three days ago, Zhang Tian had advanced his Quick Spear Technique another step. Now, he could thrust more than three hundred times in an instant, each thrust possessing power comparable to a Mystic Rank Mid Level Dou Skill.

Once he broke through to Dou Zun, he would be able to thrust a thousand times in an instant, with no single thrust weaker than an Earth Rank Dou Skill.

Meanwhile, under Yao Lao's careful guidance, Xiao Yan had comprehended the essence of Eight Extremes Collapse and learned this Mystic Rank High Level Dou Skill.

That day, Zhang Tian had comprehended a Heaven Rank Mid Level Dou Skill called the Demon Lyre Life and Death Game from the Dou Di Space. However, one had to understand musical theory to successfully cultivate it, making it a unique Dou Skill.

Thus, he had spent the past three days studying music.

Xiao Yan had now mastered Eight Extremes Collapse. He and Yao Lao had agreed to break through at a barren mountain near the Monster Mountain Range seven days later.

"Xiao Yan is about to break through to Great Dou Shi as well. After devouring the Azure Lotus Core Flame this time, I wonder how many stars of Great Dou Shi he will reach." Zhang Tian looked at the wisps of green flame winding around his hand, yet he felt no reluctance. Compared with his own breakthrough, the Azure Lotus Core Flame truly amounted to nothing.

Even if he possessed two Heavenly Flames, they could never contend with his Dou Zong self.

"Thank you to the Gama Empire for its generous hospitality these past days. Should a crisis arise in the future, I will act once without charge against anyone below Dou Zun." Zhang Tian cupped his hands toward the woman in purple gauze, then turned and left without looking at the delight in her eyes.

Although Jia Xing Tian was absent, how could Zhang Tian not understand their intentions? Jia Xing Tian was old. Once he died, what would become of the Gama Empire?

They could not have wished for anything more than to win over a young Dou Emperor.

The Demon Lyre Life and Death Game was an independent entity split from his own consciousness, and it counted as a living thing, so it could not be placed in a storage ring. Thus, Zhang Tian simply found a rope and carried the pale white zither on his back.

"A song that rends the heart and soul—where under heaven might one find a kindred spirit?"