"The sacred grounds of the Vidyadhara?"
"So you do remember that the Vidyadhara exist…"
At this moment, only two Dragon Elders stood at the center of the grand hall, surrounded by several high-ranking Vidyadhara officials.
The Vidyadhara were a long-lived race.
Naturally, none of them were unfamiliar with the Sword Champion of the Luofu from seven hundred years ago.
Jingliu's indifferent gaze swept over the two elders before her.
Neither of them had yet been tainted by the aura of Abundance—
Yet the hall itself reeked of something deeply unpleasant.
What was it?
Naturally—
The scent of Abundance.
"And where are the other two elders?" Jingliu asked coldly.
"Tao Ran. Gou Chen."
The four Dragon Elders together formed the highest authority of the Vidyadhara on the Luofu—
Completely sidelining Bailu, the Dragon Sovereign, and reducing her to a mere figurehead.
Though Bailu's position had been personally designated by the former Dragon Sovereign, Imbibitor Lunae, under duress during his forced rebirth—
What the current elders truly coveted…
Was the Transmutation of the Dragon technique held only by the Dragon Sovereign.
From what little information was known, the key to Vidyadhara reproduction lay precisely within the dragon-transformation inheritance passed down through successive Dragon Sovereigns.
"Jingliu," Dragon Elder Xuepu said after steadying himself,
"You should know—you are a wanted criminal of the Xianzhou."
"I don't know why you're still alive."
"But believe me—
if I give the order now, General Jing Yuan will be here immediately."
Another elder beside him stared at Jingliu in undisguised terror.
How could they not fear her?
Her name alone shook the entire Xianzhou Alliance.
She had annihilated Borisin fleets that invaded Talassa.
Shattered the alliance between the Wingweavers and the Huǐyìn of the Abundance.
Relieved the siege of the Yǔquè Xianzhou.
Destroyed the living planet Jidu Mirage, preserving the Alliance's eye upon the star sea.
Thirteen peerless military merits.
And yet—
Hundreds of years ago, she fell into mara, battled the Cloud Knights,
forced Jing Yuan himself to summon the projection of the Divine General—
And still escaped into the sea of stars.
Everyone believed she was long dead.
Yet now—
She had returned.
"Jing Yuan?" Jingliu laughed softly.
"You think threatening me with Xianzhou law works?"
"I'm already a criminal."
"The one thing I don't fear is adding a few more crimes."
"Especially crimes committed against you so-called 'righteous' Dragon Elders."
As she spoke—
Frost gathered in her hand, forming a sword.
Its edge gleamed cold and bright.
Frostmirror Moonfall.
The blade shot forward—
Straight toward the two Dragon Elders.
Panicking, both elders immediately activated Cloud Hymn arts.
Cloud Hymn was a Vidyadhara technique unique to each practitioner.
Bailu's manifested as healing mist.
Dan Heng's became a roaring water-dragon chant.
The elders' versions looked… more elaborate than Bailu's.
But blocking Jingliu?
That was a joke.
If they could stop her, her centuries of fearsome reputation would be meaningless.
These were the same elders who once clung to Dan Feng's shadow.
Clang—!
One sword strike—
Skewered both Dragon Elders like skewered Qiongshi birds,
pinning them brutally to the wall of the grand hall.
"Tell the other two," Jingliu said coldly,
"especially Tao Ran."
"I am no longer a Xianzhou citizen."
"Do not attempt to bind me with Xianzhou covenants."
"If she remains unharmed, you will live."
"If she is harmed—"
"I will bathe the entire Vidyadhara of the Luofu in blood."
With that—
She left the frost-forged sword embedded in the wall,
two elders impaled upon it,
and walked out without looking back.
None of the Vidyadhara officials below dared to move.
Jingliu's blade—
Even Hoolay, imprisoned in the Shackling Prison for over seven hundred years,
still trembled at the mere sound of her name.
What chance did these hollow elders have?
"W-What are you staring at?!" someone shouted.
"Report this to the Divine Foresight Bureau immediately!"
"If Jing Yuan doesn't give us an explanation—
we won't let this go!"
The Vidyadhara's internal strife was borderline farcical.
To the Xianzhou, the Vidyadhara's importance stemmed from one thing alone—
The Dragon Sovereign.
Only the Dragon Sovereign could seal Abundance corruption.
No amount of Xianzhou technology could replace that.
So long as a Dragon Sovereign existed, the higher powers had to give the Vidyadhara face.
And yet—
These elders still sought to abolish Dragon Sovereign authority entirely.
After the Imbibitor Lunae incident, some even pushed for Dan Feng's execution.
Dragon Sovereigns were meant to lead,
but rebirth as a child made them vulnerable to elder manipulation.
Dan Feng was a once-in-generations anomaly.
Now—
With internal informants reporting—
Dan Heng had returned.
The exiled Dragon Sovereign was back.
And so—
One of the four elders had already made preparations.
Assassinate Bailu.
Only by killing Bailu could they bind Dan Heng permanently to the Luofu.
This plan—
Had already been silently agreed upon.
Divine Foresight Bureau — Shen Ce Manor
Yanqing stared blankly at the strange Divine Resonance technique Evan had passed to him.
He'd listened for ages—
Still had no idea what it actually was.
Then he noticed Jing Yuan's expression turn complicated.
"How did you know?" Jing Yuan asked helplessly.
"She's back—and she stormed the Vidyadhara territory."
"Pinned two Dragon Elders to the wall."
Jing Yuan rubbed his temples.
"As long as she knows those elders threaten Bailu," Evan replied calmly,
"do you really think she wouldn't act?"
Evan raised an eyebrow.
Jing Yuan was powerful—
But his chess etiquette was… nonexistent.
"Still, I didn't expect her to go straight for the elders," Jing Yuan sighed.
"They'll be complaining in my face again."
Jing Yuan had always preferred delay when dealing with the Vidyadhara.
He knew their intentions too well.
"What are you afraid of?" Evan said.
"The evidence linking Gou Chen to the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus is already on your desk."
"You really think Tao Ran is clean?"
"..."
Jing Yuan fell silent.
What should've taken months—
Had been accelerated to a single morning because of Evan.
But evidence alone wasn't enough to immediately arrest a Dragon Elder.
All four had once assisted Dan Feng—
Their prestige among the Vidyadhara ran deep.
That was why Jing Yuan temporarily held the documents back.
"Yanqing," Jing Yuan said suddenly,
"I have a task for you."
Yanqing had been muttering Divine Resonance chants near the board.
The technique was absurdly difficult.
Without Evan's direct mental imprint—
He wouldn't even understand the sounds.
"Ah? Master Evan, what is it?"
"Go challenge Jingliu."
"…Ah?"
"Your grandmaster. Former Sword Champion of the Luofu. Thirteen merits."
Evan glanced back to ensure Jing Yuan couldn't object—
Then delivered a clean checkmate.
Yanqing looked utterly lost and instinctively turned to Jing Yuan for help.
Jing Yuan, however, was fully absorbed in the chessboard.
Children needed to grow wildly, after all.
Yanqing had just learned Tai-Xu sword forms and Divine Resonance—
If he wasn't beaten down a little, he'd shoot straight into the heavens.
So—
Yanqing silently picked up his sword and left the manor.
Watching his retreating figure, Jing Yuan finally spoke.
"The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are under full surveillance."
"Your friends will be fine?"
"March?" Evan asked.
"Relax. She and Stelle will be fine."
"With Welt and Dan Heng around, you can rest easy."
Evan wasn't worried at all.
If anything—
The ones who should be worried were the Disciples.
Of all people, they chose to deceive March 7th and Stelle.
One carefree.
One freshly born.
Neither knew or cared about the Abundance.
Welt was basically security, lingering near the Divination Commission—
Mostly for its ancient texts.
"Dan Heng…" Jing Yuan murmured, frowning—then relaxing.
Every department was already covered.
The Disciples were fully within his grasp.
That was why Gou Chen's correspondence had landed on his desk.
As for Evan—
His real goal was still the Shen Ce Manor treasure chest.
Unfortunately—
It wasn't here.
It pointed toward—
Scalegorge Waterscape.
Xianzhou Luofu — Alchemy Commission
Kafka and Blade appeared quietly.
Although the Luofu had lifted its bounty—
The Stellaron Hunters were still wanted by the IPC.
With many IPC merchants present, discovery would cause trouble.
"Kafka," Blade asked,
"Why bring me here? This isn't in Elio's script."
"Sometimes," Kafka replied softly,
"you don't have to follow the script."
"Side stories can be interesting too."
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito