Chapter 177: The High-Cloud Quintet... Just hearing that title makes them sound incredibly powerful!
"Wow, that really sounds like something a hero would say."
Kamijou Touma smiled, though his gaze remained earnest.
"But, Misaka-san, you chose to help others because you wanted to, not because someone forced your hand, right?"
Misaka Mikoto's face flushed slightly.
"O-Of course! But what does that have to do with…"
"So the crux of the issue isn't whether they should bear the responsibility,"
Kamijou Touma cut in,
"but whether they had the freedom to make that choice."
"If people like Bailu and Dan Heng are stripped of their right to choose freely because of the title of 'High Elder,' leading to turmoil within the Vidyadhara, then the fault doesn't lie with them… it lies with the tradition of the 'High Elder Succession' itself."
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「 "The High Elder is the existence closest to The Permanence among the Vidyadhara," Dan Heng recalled. "According to historical records, achieving the High Elder succession requires the execution of the secret ritual known as the 『 Transmutation Arcanum 』, as well as the heavy artifact regarded as the [Dragon Heart]. Once the succession is complete, the former High Elder molts and hatches anew, while the new High Elder begins to display dragonic features."
Dan Heng looked toward the distant Ambrosial Arbor. "However, Dan Feng's ritual failed. His power remained within me… yet for some reason, it also created you."
Bailu sighed in agreement. "Looks like this guy was just a quack doctor who changed the prescription on a whim. Just great—he suffered for it, and dragged everyone else down with him."
Seeing that Bailu hadn't recalled anything further, Dan Heng decided to proceed with sealing the Ambrosial Arbor first.
"Shun the tree's growth, the residual plague.… Waters of the ancient sea, heed the High Elder's decree: Hereby, suppress the Eternal Root!"
Dan Heng drove the Orb of Abysm, yet the sensation was starkly different from when he unsealed it; the Ambrosial Arbor showed absolutely no reaction.
Bailu, seeing his troubled expression, mimicked his movements to perform the sealing on the Arbor.
Accompanied by Bailu's chanting, her tender, childish voice intertwined with Dan Heng's solemn tone, completing the seal on the Ambrosial Arbor in an instant. Simultaneously, a wondrous sensation surged through Bailu's body… she stared at her own hands in disbelief.
"You… did it! You need no outsider's validation; this alone is proof enough that you are the genuine High Elder." Dan Heng looked at Bailu with relief.
"Did you remember anything while rebuilding the seal?"
"Mmm…" Bailu rubbed her head. "It was like a tide rushing through my mind. I felt like I became super, super huge, and the entire Scalegorge Waterscape was answering my voice, resonating with me."
Just as Bailu intended to ask Dan Heng to teach her other techniques, the surrounding air suddenly began to tremble. A group of assassins slowly manifested from thin air, having silently encircled the group long ago. 」
「 ..... 」
〜The Outcast World〜
"Hoh? These assassins didn't crawl out of the Tang Sect, did they? This technique looks suspiciously like our sect's… Phantom Body Barrier?"
Tang Wenlong stared curiously at the band of assassins. Had Dan Heng not spoken up to warn them, even he wouldn't have noticed the anomaly in the air.
"I don't know how this lot pulled it off, but strictly speaking of the stealth effect… it seems a bit more versatile than the Phantom Body Barrier,"
Zhang Wang commented indifferently from the side.
"If not for the presence of a High Elder like Dan Heng, I fear no one would have detected them."
"Master Wang, are you implying that when it comes to concealing one's tracks, these guys who don't look human at all are actually a cut above us?"
Ma Long, sitting beside Master Wang, found this hard to swallow.
"Hmph, there's nothing hard to accept about it."
Zhang Wang closed his eyes and let out a cold snort.
"Even outside the Tang Sect, there are surely masters of concealment and evasion who surpass us. If others do it better, you should just humble yourself and learn… provided you can learn it."
"Besides, no matter what exaggerated techniques appear on this Xianzhou, I'm no longer surprised… Compared to Phantylia casually detonating stars or Jing Yuan summoning the Lightning-Lord to chop people up, I actually find these weird-looking assassins quite charming."
—
「 These assassins were just like the previous wave—appearing menacing, yet completely failing to weigh the High Elder's true power.
With a mere lift of Dan Heng's finger, countless surging water dragons tore them asunder in unison; the squad of assassins perished on the spot without so much as a grunt.
Having resolved this, Dan Heng did not lower his guard. Instead, he scanned the surroundings vigilantly. "Using Cloudhymn to manipulate the water mist—cheap tricks to deceive the eye. Just like when we arrived, assassins have likely been lying in ambush here for a long time… It seems someone has lost all patience with our appearance."
For safety's sake, Dan Heng proposed they retreat first.
However, on the return journey, Dan Heng's party encountered a Mirage Echo that had yet to dissipate. Sensing the surging power within Dan Heng, the Echo's aged voice trembled slightly: "Dan Feng… is that you? You have returned?"
"I'm afraid you have the wrong person," Dan Heng replied coldly.
"There's no mistake... This old man would recognize your voice anywhere. Hehe... Have you come to this sacred place to repent?"
"The favored son of the heavens, the great hero of the High-Cloud Quintet, heh heh… You fought against us your whole life, only to end up in such a pitiful state?"
"You abused the Transmutation Arcanum and created that Draconic Abomination, nearly destroying the Scalegorge Waterscape!" The Mirage Echo's voice seemed to carry a hint of gloating satisfaction. "If not for your close friends uniting to slay it, the seal on the Ambrosial Arbor would likely have been destroyed as well. Watching it fall… did it break your heart?"
"As the high elder, you should have freed us from the plight of rebirth and set foot on a brand-new path... but instead you were seduced by your reputation and abandoned yourself... You counted Xianzhou natives and even short-life species among your friends..." 」
「 ..... 」
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
"The High-Cloud Quintet… that title alone sounds incredibly powerful. It should be Jing Yuan, Jingliu, Dan Feng, and Blade, right? Who was the last one?"
"If I recall correctly, I remember hearing someone mention… it was a pilot who flew Starskiffs. She should be a Foxian, just like Yukong, right?"
Frieren reminisced.
"…It feels like Foxians are exceptionally talented when it comes to piloting Starskiffs."
"So, why did Dan Feng use the Transmutation Arcanum to create a draconic entity?"
Fern felt puzzled.
"Fern, have you forgotten the plight of the Vidyadhara? For a race like theirs, if someone truly dies, the population is permanently reduced by one. Due to their cycle of self-reincarnation, no new life is ever born among the Vidyadhara."
"…Perhaps it also had to do with the war against the Denizens of Abundance?"
Frieren speculated.
"When the Vidyadhara population suffered significant losses, Dan Feng, as the High Elder, must have had to find a way to perpetuate the race."
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