[As expected, Aeons aren't good people at all.]
[Bro, are you a cloud viewer? Jumping straight to stirring drama?]
[Lan is already one of the most approachable among the Aeons. Normally Lan doesn't intervene—once They do, it's because the situation is truly beyond saving.]
[True, and Lan is famously protective of Their own.]
[Aeons are basically philosophical concepts at this point—almost no connection left to humanity. But Lan really is one of the very few willing to help humans.]
[Hoolay's still trying to gaslight Feixiao, hahaha.]
[That's not the real Hoolay anymore—should be a manifestation born from the Crimson Moon. Feixiao's inner demon.]
— —
Hoolay looks down at Feixiao. "Yes, They never respond, allowing us to slaughter each other in this world—that's exactly why we've fought to this day.
If bloodless, tearless, lofty gods refuse to heed mortal prayers, then we must fight for our own desires!
Do you understand now, Saran… the similarities between you and me run far deeper than you think.
You are a beast born for war, destined to die in war!"
"Maybe so." Feixiao doesn't deny it, but counters with a question. "So what is the desire you fight for, Hoolay?"
"To turn the stars above into grazing fields for the borisin. And you, Saran?"
"To ensure that one day, no one ever has to witness another 'meteor' fall… To let one more person live and return to the Yaoqing with me."
[Damn it—for that line alone, I'm stanning Feixiao for life.]
[Not gonna lie, the moment I saw Feixiao I already picked out baby names.]
[The definition of the Hunt just got deeper! Truly the nation's Path.]
[What nation's Path?]
[You can't seriously not know which nation the Xianzhou represents? The meaning of the Hunt is self-evident.]
[Got it!]
— —
"You would rather resist what you were meant to become—fall from a free wolf to a domesticated fox—just to save… one more person?" Hoolay roars.
"Then as you wish! I will feed on your fear and doubt, seize you, devour you—I will replace you… and become 'Feixiao'!"
Feixiao gives a cold laugh. "'We are so alike—monsters born for war and fated to die in war'… You weren't wrong at all, Hoolay."
She looks toward the distant sky. "So pray to the heavens—though They never answer. May the arrows of the Hunt pierce the monster's heart!"
The next moment, a meteor appears out of nowhere in this lightless world.
"Do you see me now… 'meteor'?"
As the light and shadow fade, the meteor reveals itself as Feixiao's weapon.
"'As clouds veil the sky, so shall we shield the Xianzhou.'"
Feixiao slowly walks to the heavy axe. "I will uphold this oath… until my final day."
She receives the glance of the Hunt Aeon Lan.
[Lan: I come to aid you!]
[Lan: 6G network feels so good!]
[Hunt Aeon—Lan!]
[Reignbow Arbiter: I come to aid you.]
[You have passed.]
[The Reignbow proclaims Their decree solely through arrows of light!]
[Reignbow Arbiter AAAAAAHHHH!]
[Lan really does love the Xianzhou.]
[Anyone who says the Hunt is narrow-minded—I'll smash their head first.]
[Welt Yang's heart is panicking hard right now.]
[So badass!]
[Reignbow's divine might—nothing unbreakable!]
[Wait—Feixiao isn't an Emanator? Why is she still getting a glance?]
[The Seven Arbiter-Generals are a line of succession, not Emanators. Like the God-Slaying, the previous seat was Teng Xiao—now it's Jing Yuan.]
[Yeah, this succession seems to just need Marshal Hua's approval.]
[Got it.]
— —
Feixiao draws the heavy axe and points it at Hoolay.
A fierce wind blows past. Hoolay has transformed into Feixiao's likeness, with the massive radiant spirit Feihuang towering behind him.
The subtitles give his name: "Shadow of 'Feixiao.'"
The two clash without a word.
The "Shadow of Feixiao" continues mocking her, but Feixiao responds only with actions.
Because the entire space is pitch-black, the video effects here are genuinely impressive.
[Holy crap! Holy crap!]
[Holy crap!]
[Holy crap! Holy crap!]
[Say something, bro.]
[Damn, these effects are hitting different.]
[Is Feixiao a Super Saiyan? Casually destroying heaven and earth—good thing nothing's here.]
[Did you see the fox behind fake Feixiao? Storms gather, thunder roars at every move.]
[I can only say—the only one who can defeat Feixiao is Feixiao herself.]
[Why doesn't real Feixiao summon this giant fox?]
[Maybe that power was already stolen?]
— —
At first the "Shadow of Feixiao" can still trade blows evenly, bolstered by Feihuang behind it.
But the "Shadow of Feixiao" gradually realizes something's wrong. "Why? Why aren't you disappearing?! Die! Die! Die!"
[Panicking means you've already lost.]
[Game over now.]
"This hunting game ends here!"
Before the words finish, Feixiao shrugs off her upper coat. The patterns on her back erupt with intense light.
Now both true and false Feixiao stand within a new barrier—like the eye of a storm.
The "Shadow of Feixiao" seems immobilized, able only to watch as Feixiao raises her heavy axe.
Whoosh——
One slash pierces straight through the "Shadow of Feixiao's" body.
Whoosh whoosh——
Two more slashes, swift as lightning—only cold glints flash.
Then three, four, five…
Faster and faster—the "Shadow of Feixiao" is on the verge of shattering.
The storm of attacks doesn't stop. Feixiao leaps high and slams down with a fist.
"Great victory is assured!"
BOOM——
One punch produces a nuclear-blast effect.
The "Shadow of Feixiao" refuses to yield. It raises its weapon for one last strike.
But in the blink of an eye, Feixiao is already behind it.
Feixiao delivers the killing blow.
"To me… my only enemy has always been myself!"
[So cool—Expressionless General.]
[Feixiao, I love you way too much.]
[This character moment—unbeatable!]
[Great victory is assured!]
[What's up with Yaoqing Cloud Knights? What are we supposed to say now?]
[Great victory!]
[Great victory!]
[Great victory!]
[…]
Under a flood of [Great victory] barrages, Feixiao opens her eyes again.
Yanqing and Yunli are jointly holding back Feixiao's glaive; March 7th is desperately clinging to Feixiao's leg from behind.
Feixiao's strength gives out. She collapses onto the three of them.
"General? You're awake, General?"
Hearing Yanqing's voice, Feixiao looks dazed at first, but quickly responds with a smile.
[Hahaha, March 7th is literally leg-dragging.]
[Little March is way too adorable.]
[I'm dying.]
[Hahaha, March 7th really knows how to entertain the audience from a completely different angle.]
[March baby, what are you even doing? Hahaha.]
[It was so hype, and then you pull this? Hahahaha…]
[Risking her life to cling to the thigh. Just say whether she held on or not!]
With this, the "Wolf Hunt Plan" finally concludes successfully.
With the Warhead's defeat, the wolf soldiers lose all resistance and are completely suppressed by the Cloud Knights.
Stelle and Moze find Jiaoqiu on the verge of death.
And at this moment, one final account remains to be settled in the "Hoolay Prison Break" incident.
[Wait? They found him already?]
[Jiaoqiu on the verge of death—wait, so Jiaoqiu wasn't knifed after all?]
[Wuwuwu, at least the writer has some conscience.]
— —
The camera shifts.
Lingsha and Dan Heng, escorted by Cloud Knights, have arrived at Scalegorge Waterscape.
Dan Heng and Lingsha exchange glances and ascend the steps together.
A Vidyadhara with a single dragon horn on his head—seemingly named Taoran—has been waiting for some time. "Dragon Preceptor Taoran greets Miss Lingsha."
One doesn't strike a smiling face. Lingsha responds politely and introduces Dan Heng beside her.
But after courtesy comes business.
Lingsha presents a wealth of evidence. Surprisingly, Taoran's confession is far more straightforward than expected.
He openly admits to colluding with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus and the Lord Ravager.
[That straightforward? There's definitely a bomb here.]
[Clearly a scapegoat—someone sent to take the fall.]
[Yeah, an operation this big couldn't be pulled off by a single Dragon Preceptor.]
[Obviously. With ironclad evidence and the Dragon Preceptors exposed, they have to give Jing Yuan an explanation. Otherwise Jing Yuan would use this momentum to thoroughly investigate the Dragon Preceptors—so they throw out one fall guy first.]
[But isn't that treating Jing Yuan like an idiot? Handing over just one person—Jing Yuan would agree?]
[Don't underestimate him. Jing Yuan can turn even the High-Cloud Quintet's mess around. A mere Dragon Preceptor is nothing. Jing Yuan only needs an opening—the crack will keep widening.]
— —
Taoran shows no remorse for his actions. Instead, he calmly lays out his reasoning: everything was for the future of the Vidyadhara.
Though Vidyadhara can rebirth from eggs, they have no means of reproduction.
One death means one fewer.
That's why Taoran took this step.
Lingsha naturally acknowledges the logic. "I was already skeptical about the Luofu Vidyadhara betraying the Alliance… but after hearing the Elder confess his crimes, I find talk of trust meaningless.
Violating the Alliance's heavenly laws will bring calamity upon the entire Vidyadhara race. Even if reproduction becomes possible again—what then?"
Taoran laughs loudly. "Quite the opposite. Once my plan succeeds, the Alliance will regard the Vidyadhara as saviors. Because the ultimate interests of the Alliance and the Vidyadhara are aligned."
"Oh? Unable to discuss 'survival,' Elder now turns to 'interests'?"
"The Alliance has fought the Abundant for a millennium without a victor. Have you ever considered why? If the Alliance wins, it becomes the next Abundance. If it loses, the Alliance faces extinction.
Thus they've long maintained this fragile, eggshell balance through hypocrisy. But I have a way to break free.
The Alliance's path to salvation lies hidden in the 'Dragon-Transformation Secret Art'!
Imagine—if there were a method to convert other lifeforms into Vidyadhara. The Alliance would gain an endless supply of soldiers, no longer troubled by casualties."
[So after all that drama, they still just want the Dragon-Transformation Secret?]
[Dan Feng says: I'm familiar with this.]
[Looks like Dan Feng really held the core technology. But now it's Dan Heng.]
— —
Lingsha knows Taoran is beyond saving. She orders the Cloud Knights to act.
At that moment.
Several Voidrangers drag Bailu out, presenting her before Dan Heng and Lingsha.
[Hahaha, courting death.]
[Bailu is the High-Cloud Quintet's group darling—you dare touch her?]
[Good thing Blade and Jingliu aren't here. If those two old monsters showed up, he'd be diced on the spot.]
Taoran still wears a smug, villainous grin, completely unaware of the killing intent rising in Dan Heng's eyes. "By the covenant between the Alliance and the Vidyadhara, no Vidyadhara blood may be shed in Vidyadhara territory. Do you intend to break the oath under the witness of the Luofu Dragon Sovereign?"
"Lady Dragon, fear not." Lingsha says indignantly. "Elder, the Vidyadhara sacred land and the Dragon Sovereign are not your life-saving charms!"
Dan Heng says coldly, "Elder lectured so nobly—seeming to care for country and people, full of grand reasoning. Yet at the final moment, you use a little girl as a hostage. Truly laughable and pitiable."
"I've said it already—seeking survival is never a crime. We are all Vidyadhara; you should understand my painstaking efforts. As a Vidyadhara, I also leave you all a dignified way out—different yet harmonious." Taoran states his terms.
"Leave Scalegorge Waterscape now. Petition the Alliance high command. Let the Six Charioteers publicly judge and sentence me to Scale-Shedding Execution—rebirth and reincarnation."
Dan Heng: "Mr. Taoran's wishful thinking is crystal clear to me. Vidyadhara reincarnation wipes away all sins of the previous life… but I'm well aware of the dirty tricks Dragon Preceptors pull during reincarnation. You may not be 'you' anymore, but you'll still be you. I won't excuse my past sins with 'I knew nothing,' nor will I let you slip through the cracks."
"Dan Heng, I've always hated your stubbornness. In reincarnation, you haven't changed at all."
Dan Heng turns to Bailu, his gaze softening. "Miss Bailu, as the Dragon Sovereign of the Luofu Vidyadhara, please tell me—what are your thoughts right now?"
Bailu blinks, looking aggrieved. "I… I don't want to stay here. I don't want to be ordered around anymore! I'm not a puppet for anyone to manipulate! Please take me away!"
"I understand." Dan Heng nods, as if resolving something.
"By the covenant, Alliance citizens may not kill or harm Vidyadhara here. But I am no longer an Alliance citizen. I am merely a Nameless—free to come and go."
Zero-frame startup—Dan Heng draws his spear. "The Xianzhou's oaths do not bind the spear in my hand!"
In an instant, Dan Heng becomes the legendary Javelin King. One strike nails Taoran to the wall.
"Act! With everything you've got! I want these people gone for good!" Taoran, panicked and furious, orders the Abundant abominations to attack.
[Hahaha, Legendary Javelin King!]
[Cloud-Piercer never leaves his side.]
[Yingxing: How many times have I said—Cloud-Piercer isn't used like that.]
[Yingxing: It's meant to pierce dragon scales.]
[Rules are made to be broken. Looks like Dan Heng really has changed a lot.]
[Comedic energy is contagious.]
[My favorite episode.]
[If Jingliu and Blade were here, Taoran would've already been sliced into pieces.]
— —
Unfortunately.
Under the overwhelming combat power of the Cloud Knights and Dan Heng, the abominations are quickly slain. Bailu is successfully rescued.
Taoran is at his wit's end. He clutches the shoulder pierced by Cloud-Piercer in agony.
Suddenly, a figure appears before him.
Cold sweat pours down his forehead. "You… You actually came in person?!"
Jing Yuan steps up to Taoran and looks down.
"Otherwise, how could I hear the Elder's lofty discourse?"