"Vidyadhara Dragon Lord… Imbibitor Lunae…"
Standing behind them, Jing Yuan murmured quietly.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
When Dan Heng reincarnated, it had been Jing Yuan who ordered his exile.
The Ten-Lords Commission had sentenced the sinner Dan Feng to rebirth.
At the same time, internal strife within the Vidyadhara erupted. Many refused to acknowledge the newly appointed Dragon Lord, Bailu.
And so—
During the reincarnation ritual, certain Dragon Masters interfered.
Part of the Dragon Lord's power did not return cleanly.
Instead—
It fell upon the newborn Dan Heng.
Worse still—
Within the Alchemy Commission, someone secretly used forbidden arts to awaken fragments of Dan Heng's past memories ahead of time.
The intention had been simple:
Let Dan Heng stabilize the Vidyadhara chaos.
The result?
Even greater turmoil.
Left with no other option, Jing Yuan exiled Dan Heng from the Luofu.
The Alchemy physician involved was banished as well.
Jing Yuan knew all of this.
Every detail.
What he hadn't expected—
Was to see that old friend again, standing before him now.
Dan Feng.
No—
Dan Heng.
Imbibitor Lunae Dan Heng.
In Dan Heng's palm, a sphere resembling a yin-yang disc slowly rotated.
It pulsed with immense power from the Path of Permanence.
And yet—
Dan Heng frowned.
He only possessed half of the Dragon Lord's authority.
Could he truly open Scalegorge Waterscape?
"Listen to me. Stop, Blade."
Not far away, Kafka's voice drifted toward Blade.
Almost instantly, Blade clutched his head.
The blood-red madness in his eyes slowly faded.
"…Have we achieved our goal?"
His gaze shifted to Jing Yuan.
"Jing Yuan… my business is finished."
[Ding! Gold Treasure Chest acquired!]
[Open now?]
Evan folded his arms, watching the drama unfold like a spectator at a theater.
Honestly—
At this point, he finally understood what "heartache" meant.
The High-Cloud Quintet's relationships were a complete mess.
At first glance, it seemed like Baiheng had been Dan Feng and Yingxing's shared white moonlight.
But looking at everything—
It wasn't that simple.
If you summarized the Quintet like this:
Dan Feng: "Please stay in the High-Cloud Quintet with me forever."
Jingliu: "Why did you use the Dragon Transformation Technique?!"
Yingxing: "I was never happy being part of the Quintet."
Baiheng: "The weak version of me is already dead."
Jing Yuan: "Come back. I'll do anything if it means bringing you home."
…Yeah.
A disaster.
Evan withdrew his gaze from Blade.
Time to open the chest.
[Congratulations! You have obtained Blade's Gold Chest!]
Reward 1: Mara State (Negative Buff)
Activate to double base attributes
Capable of cleaving stars with a single strike
Moonlight Throne requires no charge during activation
Side effect: No living beings allowed within 100-mile radius or risk berserk state
After effect: Two system-hours of severe weakness
"Power of an Emanator, body of a mortal."
Reward 2: One drop of Shuhu's purified blood
Fully restores host to peak condition
Growth and assimilation properties removed
Safe for use
Evan blinked.
Mara state.
Obtained without being an Abundance-afflicted being.
Instead of permanent corruption—
It became a controllable negative buff.
Double stats.
Star-cleaving power.
But unstable.
Friendly fire included.
And the weakness afterward was brutal.
Still—
The purified drop of Shuhu's blood completely countered the recovery issue.
Shuhu.
The Abundance Emanator who had once nearly broken the Xianzhou Alliance.
The one who revived a dead planet.
The same war that devoured the Xianzhou Cangcheng.
One drop of that being's blood—
Was priceless.
Evan stored both items.
No immediate fusion.
He had Nous's blessing.
He didn't need mara for power.
And Shuhu's blood?
That would be useful someday.
His gaze shifted again.
Jingliu.
Jing Yuan.
More chests.
[Gold Chest — Jingliu]
Reward: Domain — "Ancient Mirror Illuminates the Divine"
Creates a 3-minute freezing field around host
[Gold Chest — Jing Yuan]
Reward: Weapon — "Stoneheart Dreambody" (Shihuomengshen)
Forged from remnants of Lan's light arrow
Crafted by Yingxing during High-Cloud era
Superior to standard Cloud Knight weapons
And just like that—
All five High-Cloud Quintet chests were obtained.
Jingliu.
Jing Yuan.
Dan Heng.
Blade.
Bailu.
Luofu's major treasures were practically cleared.
Evan finally had time to review his gains.
Meanwhile—
Dan Heng completed his transformation.
Lotus bloomed beneath his feet.
Azure currents roared.
The authority of the Dragon Lord fully awakened.
At the same time, Jing Yuan addressed Kafka and Blade.
"Why did that destiny-obsessed man want you back on the Xianzhou?"
Blade remained silent.
Kafka never explained herself.
"…Very well. You may leave."
"This time, you aided the Xianzhou. I've lifted your wanted status here."
"However, the IPC still operates on the Luofu."
"After the Stellaron crisis ends—your fate is your own."
Blade said nothing.
Kafka smiled faintly.
Before leaving, she glanced at Evan.
A knowing smile.
March immediately caught it.
"Hey! She just looked at you."
"She's not into you, is she?"
Evan snorted.
"If I liked Kafka, wouldn't that make me her dad?"
He turned to Stelle.
"Come on, Stelle. Call me Dad in advance."
"…?"
In one smooth motion—
Stelle's bat appeared in her right hand.
And the Lance of Preservation in her left.
Evan laughed.
Kafka's intent was obvious.
She was dangerous.
Far more than people realized.
Blade and Kafka boarded the ferry and left the Ancient Moonlit Sea.
IPC agents had been waiting.
Billions in bounty.
Enough to promote any P40 officer multiple ranks.
The moment they exited Xianzhou jurisdiction—
The hunt would begin.
Back at Scalegorge—
March dragged Evan toward Dan Heng.
She immediately reached up—
Touching his dragon horns.
Then glanced suspiciously behind him.
"Hey!"
"You really look like Lady Bailu!"
"Your horns are longer though."
"And you don't have a tail."
"I told you! I knew you had hidden power!"
"People call me dumb. I'm a genius!"
Stelle leaned in too.
"Dan Heng! Teach me!"
"Then March won't bully me anymore!"
"Hey! Don't spread rumors!"
"What rumors? Every time I dig through trash in Belobog, you drag me out!"
Stelle was barely a month old.
Understandable.
March?
Well.
She didn't remember her past either.
Which meant—
Mentally, she wasn't much older.
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