Chapter 178: I cast one vote for the Miraculous Method of Dragon Transformation!
「 "This internal trial is your final chance. Hand over the Transmutation Arcanum now, and the Preceptors might still help you keep your secret buried."
"Transmutation Arcanum?" Stelle glanced at Dan Heng in confusion.
"Isn't that draconic abomination you created the very proof of the Arcanum's success?"
"Mn. It is said that Dan Feng, consumed by greed and obsession for the power of the Dragon Ancestor—The 『 Permanence 』—created a massive draconic entity. That must be what he refers to." Dan Heng shook his head and sighed. "Thus, a hero of the Xianzhou fell to become a sinner of the highest order."
Bailu detested the Mirage Echo's condescending tone and high-and-mighty attitude. She gave a soft hmph. "He thought that the Vidyadhara was superior to other races and that he was superior to other Vidyadhara... As if the Vidyadhara would never progress without their plans."
She looked up at Dan Heng. "I guess Dan Feng probably never told them the secret of the Transmutation Arcanum..." 」
「 ..... 」
〜Journey To The West World〜
"If the Dan Feng of old had truly handed the 'Transmutation Arcanum' over to the Preceptors, I fear the Scalegorge Waterscape would be crawling with draconic abominations by now, wouldn't it?"
Ao Run smiled faintly. Though she knew little of the Vidyadhara Preceptors, this single Mirage Echo was enough to offer a glimpse into the Elders' true attitude toward the Arcanum.
What they rejected was Dan Feng, not the 'Transmutation Arcanum' itself.
"Heh, so what if it's an abomination? Compared to the survival of the entire Vidyadhara race, what does one monster matter… or even a few?"
Ao Shun sneered coldly, looking up at Ao Guang coiled upon the towering stone pillar.
"Brother, don't you agree?"
"…"
Ao Guang remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking.
"…Indeed. Nothing is more important than the continuation of our kin. If I were this High Elder, I would have chosen the same path."
His status within his own clan mirrored that of the former High Elder. Ao Guang understood the crushing weight on his shoulders all too well…
They bore not merely personal prospects, but the future of an entire species. Compared to a single failed experiment, a distant and inevitably gray future was the outcome he found hardest to accept.
"But I recall such research is strictly prohibited on the Xianzhou, isn't it?"
Ao Qin stuck his head in to ask.
"This is a matter of grave importance. Before doing something like this, wouldn't it have been better to notify the General?"
"…Heh, notify?"
Ao Shun shot a cold glance at his younger brother.
"If you're going to do it, why bother notifying anyone? If the General forbade it, would you simply stop?"
"Well…"
Ao Qin was struck speechless, sheepishly retracting his head.
—
「 Along the way, the group eliminated several more assassins before encountering a Mirage Echo with a female voice.
This Echo was Xianzhou's former Chief Alchemist, who seemed quite familiar with Bailu. Her vivid tone and demeanor made Bailu think, more than once, that she had come to drag her back.
However, sensing the aura of the High Elder within Dan Heng, she—like the previous Echo—mistook him for Dan Feng.
Facing 'Dan Feng, ' the Mirage Echo spoke with feverish excitement: "Master Dan Feng, I finally understand your painstaking efforts! That little girl is the key to the Transmutation Arcanum! My research has made a significant breakthrough!"
"Master Dan Feng, your changes to the Transmutation Arcanum created a draconic abomination that wreaked great destruction... but it also created a new life! This is the hope that will one day allow the Vidyadhara to reproduce!"
"Allow the Vidyadhara to reproduce again?" Stelle frowned slightly, realizing the situation was far from simple.
"In the past, my understanding of 'reproduction' was limited by the imagination of common mortals. How narrow-minded I was! Why should Vidyadhara reproduction remain trapped within the confines of our race..."
"To unearth the potential might of Long's blood... and incorporate other races into the flesh of the dragon — isn't that the real meaning behind the Transmutation Arcanum?" The Echo's voice rose a few octaves. "Those Preceptors are short-sighted. They cannot see your peerless genius and even want to install a different High Elder. Truly the height of stupidity." 」
「 ..... 」
〜Zenless Zone Zero World〜
New Eridu, Hollow Special Operations Section 6—
"Integrating other races into the Vidyadhara?"
Asaba Harumasa's eyes went wide with surprise.
"This High Elder is really… uh, how should I put it? Thinking outside the box?"
"…I believe 'audacious beyond measure' is the correct term."
Tsukishiro Yanagi's gaze darkened.
"The appearance of the abomination likely exceeded Dan Feng's expectations entirely… In his plan, the Transmutation Arcanum should have created a normal dragon, not a rampaging beast. There must have been a deviation in one of the steps that resulted in the 'Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae'."
"Even he couldn't pinpoint where the modified Arcanum went wrong… which is why he refused to hand it over to the Preceptors, right?"
"Yanagi-nee, Dan Feng already caused the 'Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae'. Do you still think he qualifies as a competent High Elder?"
Harumasa asked.
"Heh, Harumasa… I am merely a humble clerk in the Hollow Special Operations Section. You ask me to judge a High Elder of the cosmos?"
Yanagi smiled faintly, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose.
"What right do I have… But if you insist on knowing, my answer is undoubtedly yes."
"…Even if he ultimately brewed a catastrophe, it does not diminish his greatness in the slightest."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"…He was not just a High Elder, but also one of the 'High-Cloud Quintet'. To be mentioned in the same breath as General Jing Yuan… surely these five achieved something truly magnificent back then to become legends of the past."
"However, there is one thing I cannot yet fully determine… and that is upon whom Dan Feng used the Transmutation Arcanum back then."
Yanagi mused.
"The only one I can think of is the Foxian pilot who exists only in Jing Yuan's memories, mentioned but once. She was also one of the High-Cloud Quintet."
"I wasn't sure before, but seeing the astronomically high mortality rate among pilots like Yukong—where barely one in ten survives—I believe… the subject of the Transmutation Arcanum was, in all probability, her."
—
「 The group pressed on, rounding a corner only to encounter the Mirage Echo of a young woman's voice.
Sensing Bailu's aura, she appeared visibly panicked: "Miss Bailu, what are you doing in my pharmacy? Don't tell me you've already heard about Sanctus Medicus... Have you come here to make an accusation?"
The Echo seemed to suffer a massive shock, screaming hysterically: "I never believed in any High Elder from the start! You are not worthy to judge my sins!"
"Especially you, Miss Bailu! You possess none of the High Elder's power to command wind and rain. Why should I believe you can do any better than Master Dan Feng?"
"The Preceptors, the clansmen—they all think the High Elder is the Vidyadhara's only salvation. That is nothing but high-minded rhetoric, utterly impractical! Have you seen what the Merciful Medicus can do?"
"Restore the ability to reproduce," Stelle interjected suddenly.
"Exactly!" the Echo declared with piety. "The Merciful Medicus will surely help us spread our branches and scatter our leaves. What the High Elder cannot do, the Medicus can!"
"One day, you will all know that I was right!" 」
「 ..... 」