Chapter 171: The Trials of the Celestial Beasts

As Echo and Li Wei approach the massive divine beasts, their forms shimmer with intertwined patterns of staff lines and astral rhythms. The first beast, a towering creature with a lion's body and wings of vibrating harp strings, emits a low growl that resonates as a D minor chord. The second, a serpentine being coiled in a perfect circle, flicks its forked tongue which splits the air into a perfect fifth interval.

"Behold the guardians of temporal harmony," echoes Chen Jiuzhang's voice through the spacetime turbulence. "The 狮身琴翼兽 Lyreion guards the past, while the 环蛇和声兽 Ouroharmon guards the future. Their trials test not strength, but rhythmic empathy."

Lyreion's wings begin to beat in a syncopated rhythm—each flap sends a wave of 7/8 time signatures across the landscape, causing nearby stars to pulse out of alignment. "First trial: syncopation without dissonance," rumbles the beast, its mane glowing with ancient clave patterns.

Echo strikes her peace drum, but the first beat is swallowed by the beast's complex rhythm. Li Wei's charge creates a hi-hat pattern that tries to lock in, but the 7/8 time feels like walking on an uneven path. "We need to feel the space between the beats," Echo shouts, closing her eyes. She begins to play a simple heartbeat rhythm, gradually bending the tempo to weave between Lyreion's syncopations.

Li Wei follows, his charge forming a bassline that anticipates the beast's next accent. Together, their rhythms form a counterpoint that complements rather than clashes. Lyreion's growl softens, and the stars realign in harmonic resonance. "You have heard the past without being bound by it," the beast rumbles, its wings settling into a gentle 4/4 pulse.

Ouroharmon uncoils, its scales shimmering with future tempos—some as fast as 200 BPM, others as slow as 20 BPM. "Second trial: tempo fluidity," hisses the serpent, its body forming a staff line that constantly changes time signatures.

A wave of accelerating beats hits them—starting at 60 BPM, it quickly doubles to 120, then 240. Echo's drumbeat starts to falter, but Li Wei's charge creates a metronomic anchor that adjusts in real time. "Think of it as a river," he yells, "ride the current instead of fighting it."

They begin to play a melody that expands and contracts with the tempo—slowing to a crawl at 20 BPM, then bursting into a flurry of notes at 240. Ouroharmon's scales glow brighter, and the fluctuating time signatures stabilize into a flowing rubato. "You have embraced the future without being overwhelmed by it," the serpent hisses, coiling back into a perfect circle of balanced tempo.

As the trials end, a portal opens between the beasts, revealing a chamber of floating crystal sheets. Each sheet is inscribed with a fragment of the Cosmic Lyre's original score, but they flicker in and out of existence. "The Resonant Relic," Echo whispers, holding out the crystal shard. It begins to glow, attracting the floating score fragments like a magnet.

Suddenly, the spacetime vortex behind them intensifies, spewing forth shadowy figures—Dissonant Phantoms formed from unresolved rhythms of the past and future. "They seek to unwrite the score," Li Wei says, his charge forming a barrier.

Echo raises the Relic, which now hums in perfect pitch with the Cosmic Lyre's missing string. "Play the 'Symphony of Temporal Unity'!" Chen Jiuzhang commands.

Together, they strike a chord that resonates through past, present, and future. The Relic absorbs the score fragments, fusing them into a glowing lyre string. As they place the string in the portal, the entire Rhythm of Time and Space Realm shudders—then resolves into a harmonic resonance that ripples through the multiverse.

The Dissonant Phantoms shriek, their forms dissolving into musical ideas that float upward to become new stars. Lyreion and Ouroharmon bow their heads, their forms transforming into pillars of light that support the newly stabilized spacetime.

Back at the academy, the Resonant Relic has become the first string of the Cosmic Lyre, now displayed in a holographic model. Nova's tuning fork now reads "Temporal Resonance Achieved—All Beats Now Align".

Echo and Li Wei stand before the Harmony Constellation, which now includes two new stars—Lyreion and Ouroharmon, their light pulsing in perfect temporal harmony. "We've restored one string," Li Wei says, "but seven more remain."

Echo nods, her peace drum inscribed with the new melody of temporal unity. "And each string will lead us to a new trial—for the Cosmic Lyre is not just an instrument, but a map of the multiverse's rhythmic soul."

The next chapter will explore the "Crystal Caverns of Rhythmic Memory"—where the second string of the Cosmic Lyre is hidden. There, Echo and Li Wei will face the "Melodic Mnemons"—beings who guard forgotten rhythms—and the "Amnesiac Drones"—creatures that erase musical history. They must retrieve the string while preserving the delicate balance between memory and forgetting.