Bailu was still a child.
A scene this bloody wasn't something she needed to witness.
So Evan handed Bailu over to Yanqing, then turned and began walking—step by step—toward the Dragon Masters.
"You—you! What are you trying to do?!"
"I am a Dragon Master! A Dragon Master of the Vidyadhara! You can't treat me like this!"
As Evan advanced, they retreated.
One step forward. One step back.
"Taoran, right?" Evan said lightly. "And you must be Gouchén."
Behind them, two frost-laced swords were still embedded deep in a pillar, humming faintly with cold.
"You have no right to judge us!"
"If anyone passes judgment, it should be the Ten-Lords Commission!"
"The Ten-Lords Commission?"
Evan kept walking.
And as he did, he began reciting.
"'The guilty were exiled, secret arts lost, the ancestral line severed. Generations of accumulation reduced to nothing.'"
"'We had no choice but to send the girl to your office for training. This is our sincerity.'"
Silence.
"Bailu is not the Dragon Sovereign reborn from the Imbibitor Lunae," Evan continued calmly. "So you sent her to the Alchemy Commission—not merely to study medicine."
"'Ten samples delivered with this messenger for experimentation. Awaiting favorable results.'"
"You sent forbidden items of the Xianzhou to the Alchemy Commission."
"And the messenger who delivered that branch of the Ambrosial Arbor—he's already dead, isn't he?"
With each sentence, Gouchén's pupils dilated further.
When Evan mentioned the dead messenger, cold sweat poured down his forehead.
"H-how do you know that…?"
His voice was hoarse—nothing like the dignified tone expected of a Vidyadhara elder. It sounded more like some shrieking night-creature in a stage villain's role.
Evan didn't answer.
He simply stepped closer.
"'Regarding the girl—she has learned well under my predecessor. Only her experience is lacking.'"
"'Her temperament is too lively. Your envoy must watch her at all times.'"
"'Do not worry. In the short term, she will not escape control.'"
"Dragon Master Gouchén."
"You didn't send Bailu to the Alchemy Commission just for medical training."
"You needed a hostage."
"And a test subject."
"You—you—!"
"Dan Heng!" one of them suddenly shouted. "You are the reincarnation of the Dragon Sovereign! Will you stand by while outsiders slaughter Vidyadhara elders?!"
Bailu had stopped crying.
She carefully pried at Yanqing's fingers, trying to peek through.
Though young, she understood far more than most thought. She knew exactly how the elders viewed her.
"Dragon Lady," Yanqing murmured softly, shielding her eyes again. "It's a bit bloody. Don't look."
She couldn't see.
But she could still hear.
And that was enough.
At those words, Dan Heng drew his spear—Cloud-Piercer.
"Yes! That's right!"
"Our internal affairs are none of his business!"
"Shut up."
The moment Taoran finished speaking, Dan Heng's spear left his hand.
It shot forward like lightning and nailed Taoran to the wall.
BOOM.
"Dan Feng! You dare—!"
"I already told you," Evan said lazily, "Xianzhou law doesn't really apply to either of us. If you've got the guts, issue a warrant."
"Oh. Right. Jing Yuan should be here by now."
As his voice fell, footsteps echoed through the hall.
General Jing Yuan arrived—with March 7th, Trailblazer, and Fu Xuan in tow.
Jing Yuan took in the scene.
Instead of intervening, he walked straight to Yanqing and flicked him on the forehead.
"Ow! General!"
"You little brat," Jing Yuan sighed. "Something this big, and you didn't report it? Planning a rebellion?"
"General, please, let me explain!"
Meanwhile, March 7th rushed to Bailu.
"Hey, little dragon! Who bullied you?"
"Don't cry! I'll deal with them!"
She immediately raised her bow and fired.
Six-Phased Ice exploded outward, freezing the trembling Dragon Masters in place.
The Trailblazer didn't hesitate either.
A bat swung down hard.
THUD.
Bailu stared blankly.
An unfamiliar emotion welled in her chest.
Since hatching from her dragon egg, she had been burdened with the title of Dragon Sovereign.
Rules.
Restrictions.
Orders.
Even in the Alchemy Commission, she had always been watched.
Bànxià. Huànxī.
One was an assassin.
The other tied to forbidden teachings.
No one had ever truly stood for her.
But now—
Dan Heng, another bearer of Dragon Sovereign power, shielded her without jealousy.
Evan, who had jokingly asked her to call him "big brother" on their first meeting, truly treated her like a little sister.
March. The Trailblazer. The strange uncle. Even the General.
They all cared.
Her eyes grew wet.
"Jing Yuan! Do you intend to violate the Xianzhou alliance?!"
"This concerns our agreement with the Vidyadhara!"
Jing Yuan frowned.
He hadn't come to save them.
The letters had already confirmed Gouchén's identity. But their hands were clean—too clean. No evidence sufficient for formal arrest.
He sighed.
"Why must you trouble me with this mess?"
"I truly don't want to deal with your internal nonsense."
He looked at them calmly.
"Dragon Masters Gouchén and Taoran. You unlawfully restricted the Dragon Lady's personal freedom. That violates Xianzhou law."
"The Dragon Lady is free. She may go wherever she pleases."
"And furthermore…"
He stepped beside Evan.
"This man is Seat #85 of the Genius Society. An Emanator under Nous."
"I am injured. I am not his opponent."
"So whatever he does…"
"I cannot stop him."
He retreated to Bailu's side.
After all—he wasn't the one lifting a hand.
One was an Emanator.
The other, the reincarnation of Dan Feng.
Nameless.
Champions of injustice.
If the elders died here?
So be it.
Evan moved.
His sword slashed.
But what Gouchén felt was not steel.
It was something far worse.
Taixu Sword.
Sword of Consciousness.
In his mind—
A colossal Xuanyuan blade descended from the heavens and cleaved straight into his Sea of Consciousness.
—
Not long after, half of the Luofu Vidyadhara Dragon Master Council lay dead.
Gouchén and Taoran survived.
But they were empty.
Mindless.
They would not recover until delivered to the Divination Commission of the Yaoqing.
Only under that ship's Master Diviner could their minds be restored.
Jing Yuan still lacked legal grounds for sentencing.
Evan did not.
Some elders involved in the Alchemy Commission chaos were sent directly to the Ancient Sea for forced rebirth.
Others—royalist factions who had treated Bailu decently—were spared.
Bailu was still young.
Dan Heng would never reclaim the throne.
She needed at least a few functional elders left.
As for protection—
Evan casually upgraded Heavy Bunny, transforming the armed puppet into a combat unit capable of unleashing a strike approaching Emanator-level output.
Restricted to emergency use only.
And usable only by Bailu.
Even if Gouchén and Taoran recovered—
They would never control her again.
"Where to next?" someone asked.
"To check your brain."
"…Huh?"
"Your memories are sealed, aren't they?" Evan glanced at March 7th. "Let's ask Fu Xuan to run them through the Matrix of Prescience."
"Oh! Right! I almost forgot!"
Evan stared at her, speechless.
But this trip would likely disappoint her.
The seal within her memories seemed entangled with the Aeon of Remembrance.
Even envoys from the Garden of Recollection had been drawn to it.
What secrets did this girl carry?
They tidied up and headed toward the Divination Commission.
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