Fu Xuan looked curiously at the Bub Seed in front of her. What kind of creature is this? It looked quite cute.
The Bub Seed continued absorbing the medicinal fumes.
More than three hours later, it successfully absorbed all the fumes.
Just as March 7th was about to scoop up the Bub Seed for a cuddle—
The Bub Seed suddenly burst into dazzling light, so bright that everyone had to shield their eyes.
After a few minutes, the light faded. In its place stood a sprite that resembled the Bub Seed, but much larger.
This sprite was about as tall as a person, with a pink daffodil blooming on its head.
"Bubbu~ Bubbu~"
Hearing its voice, March 7th finally realized—
"You're… the Bub Seed?!"
The now-evolved Bub Bloom nodded with a smile.
At that moment, Stelle suddenly remembered:
"This must be what Ye Yun meant by 'evolution'!"
She looked down at the tiny Fire Monkey, still wrestling with an empty soda can.
Who knows how long it'll take for it to evolve? And what would it look like afterward?
Oh, right! She still had a high-grade spirit egg! Once they returned, she'd hatch it to see what kind of sprite came out.
Then she'd have two spirits!
With a shout of joy, March 7th dashed forward and hugged Bub Bloom tightly. Its body was soft and plush—perfect for cuddling.
"Bub Seed, you've changed so much! I almost didn't recognize you!"
Bub Bloom smiled and nodded.
"Bubbu~ Bubbu~"
Welt also curiously observed the evolved Bub. Who would've thought that tiny little thing could turn into something this big?
Noticing Welt's gaze, Bub Bloom waved enthusiastically.
Before its evolution, the Bub Seed used to visit Welt while he watered the flowers. Every time, he'd pour a little water for the Bub Seed too.
And every time it got watered, it would dance with joy.
Welt had always liked the little creature.
Now, with the toxic fumes gone, Fu Xuan immediately rallied the troops and launched the final assault on the Alchemy Commission, Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
Bub Bloom stayed close to March 7th during the battle, acting as her protector while she focused on dealing damage.
Several Mara-Struck Soldier soldiers tried to ambush March 7th, but Bub Bloom summoned powerful vines and crushed them, draining every bit of energy from their bodies.
The battlefield quickly became one-sided. Fu Xuan led the Cloud Knights straight through enemy lines.
Deep within the Alchemy Commission, the sect leader Dan Shu looked down in fury at the collapsing defenses.
"Damn it! Where's Destruction's people?!"
Danshu had dared to launch this reckless rebellion only because of her alliance with Destruction. Without that support, she never would have exposed the Alchemic Sect like this.
Soon—
Fu Xuan, Stelle, March 7th, and Welt led the Cloud Knights to confront Danshu and defeated her.
Danshu slumped to the ground, bruised and bloodied.
"Phantylia! Where are you?! Where are the reinforcements you promised?!"
At that moment—
Tingyun stepped out from the Cloud Knights' formation.
"My, my... Why does everyone always force my hand? This goes against my style of Destruction style, you know? Little pawn."
Stelle, March 7th, and the others looked at Tingyun in shock.
"Tingyun, you…!" March 7th stammered.
Tingyun looked at her with a cold smile.
"Oh, are you calling out to the original owner of this body? Sorry—she's no longer here."
Then, she stepped toward an Mara-Struck Soldier soldier.
"You've already received the blessing of Abundance. Now, let me grant you the grace of Destruction!"
She gently traced a finger along the soldier's body.
In an instant, a wave of destructive energy erupted from within him.
In the blink of an eye, the Abyssspawn soldier was transformed into a Voidranger.
Then, Tingyun suddenly turned her head to look at everyone. Her head tilted at a grotesque angle, then her body crumpled and dissolved into light.
March 7th jumped in shock.
"T-this…!!!"
Fu Xuan quickly led the Cloud Knights to destroy the remaining Voidspawn soldiers Phantylia had corrupted.
"We should return for now. The Alchemic Sect is no more. Next... we deal with the Arbor."
The trio returned to the Alchemic Commission's temporary base to rest.
After a short break, they joined the main Cloud Knights force and set off for the Arbor's location: Scalegorge Waterscape.
Elsewhere
Dan Heng, Su Shang, and Luocha arrived at the Alchemy Commission.
Su Shang turned to Dan Heng and Luocha.
"Alright, we're in the safe zone now. I'm heading back to report in. See you later~!"
She waved goodbye and left to report for duty—she had been transferred from another Xianzhou ship, Yaoqing, and wasn't local to Luofu.
After she left, Dan Heng also found an excuse to separate from Luocha.
He was determined to catch up with Stelle, March 7th, and Welt.
The sights along the way were sobering—signs of war were everywhere.
As he neared the Scalegorge Waterscape, more memories of his past life began surfacing in his mind.
Then, just as Dan Heng approached the port—
A sharp sword came flying from the side. He quickly drew his Cloud-Piercer spear and deflected it.
Blade had appeared, lying in wait along Dan Heng's path.
Blade grinned wickedly and let out a chilling laugh.
"Hahaha! I finally found you! Of five people, three must pay a price! And you... you're one of them!"
Blade lunged at Dan Heng with his sword. Without his memories, Dan Heng could only barely hold him off.
Looking for an opening, Dan Heng used a spatial shift to put some distance between them.
He spun his Cloud-Piercer horizontally, then warped again to Blade's rear and struck.
Blade blocked with one hand, then instantly countered with a slash.
Dan Heng, prepared this time, jumped away using another spatial shift.
The two clashed back and forth—Dan Heng relying on his warping ability to keep up with Blade's relentless assault.
But neither could gain the upper hand.
Suddenly—
A barrage of flying swords struck Blade, forcing him back.
It was Yanqing, who had tracked Blade and sworn to capture him.
"Well, well, if it isn't that pup who follows Jing Yuan around. Kid, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. This fight isn't for you."
Yanqing snorted and dashed toward Blade.
"Who decides that? Take this!"
Blade casually parried his strikes. Yanqing was strong for his age, but still no match for Blade.
But Blade had an idea.
He suddenly turned and charged straight at Yanqing.
Yanqing was caught off guard and couldn't react in time.
Seeing this, Dan Heng warped behind Blade again—
But Blade spun around and stabbed him mid-air.
Dan Heng was flung backward, crashing hard.
Yanqing glared at Blade.
"You criminal…! I swear I'll bring you to justice today!"
Blade laughed maniacally.
"Criminal? Kid, let me introduce the guy behind you… he's one of the Ten Sins, a traitor to the Xianzhou—Imbibitor Lunae!"
Yanqing turned around in shock.
A stream of water lifted Dan Heng from the ground—
Imbibitor Lunae has arrived!
***
Yanqing thought to himself that things were not looking good—he had certainly heard of the name "Imbibitor Lunae".
But he was a man who aspired to become the Sword Champion—there was no way he would back down!
Yanqing drew his sword and faced Dan Heng and Blade.
"None of you are leaving today!"
Yanqing launched an attack toward Blade and Dan Heng.
Dan Heng, holding the Scalegorge Waterscape Pearl, summoned a dragon-shaped tidal wave that instantly shattered Yanqing's assault.
"My apologies, but I must catch up with my friends."
Dan Heng and Blade attacked simultaneously, instantly forcing Yanqing back. The flying swords behind him scattered to the ground.
The two didn't go all out—they didn't want to hurt Yanqing.
To Blade, this young man was still a junior.
To Dan Heng, he didn't want to make an enemy of Yanqing either—he just wanted to catch up with Stelle and help resolve the Stellaron crisis.
Just as Yanqing was about to strike again, Jing Yuan appeared.
"Yanqing, stand down."
Seeing Jing Yuan arrive, Yanqing was overjoyed.
"General!"
Jing Yuan looked at Yanqing and gave a slight nod.
"You can step down now, Yanqing. Leave this to me."
Yanqing frowned, looking at Jing Yuan, then at Dan Heng and Blade.
"But General!"
Jing Yuan said, "It's fine. You may leave now, Yanqing."
Yanqing hesitated deeply but ultimately chose to obey orders.
As a member of the Cloud Knights, he had to follow commands.
Reluctantly, Yanqing put away his swords.
"Yes, General."
After Yanqing left—
Kafka, who had been watching the whole time, looked at Jing Yuan.
"Well, it's done. Time for us to go."
Jing Yuan glanced at Kafka. He had already learned from Fu Xuan about the Stellaron Hunters' intentions this time and chose not to interfere.
Right now, the Luofu was in the midst of a great crisis—there was no room for new enemies. Besides, they had come to help.
Seeing Kafka and Blade leave, Dan Heng also prepared to depart.
Just then, Jing Yuan stopped him.
"Long time no see, old friend."
Dan Heng took a deep breath—he disliked being addressed that way.
"I am not him."
Jing Yuan chuckled bitterly.
"No, you're not. But as his reincarnation, there are some things you must face."
Dan Heng understood what Jing Yuan meant.
"If it's something I must face, I won't run away."
Jing Yuan was relieved—he had feared Dan Heng might refuse.
The Arbor was sealed deep within the Scalegorge Waterscape.
To resolve the Arbor crisis, someone had to break the seal.
And the only ones who could break it were the Vidyadhara High Elders.
This generation's elder was Bailu—but she was still a young girl, not yet capable of unlocking the seal.
Therefore, Jing Yuan had to ask Dan Heng.
Dan Heng carried half of the dragon's power within him—he should be able to break the seal.
Soon after—
Dan Heng followed Jing Yuan to the Scalegorge Waterscape.
At this time, Stelle, March 7th, Welt, and Fu Xuan were already waiting there.
March 7th and Stelle's eyes widened the moment they saw Dan Heng—completely shocked by his appearance.
They rushed up to him.
March 7th exclaimed, "My Gosh! Dan Heng, you really were hiding power this whole time!"
Stelle examined Dan Heng's new outfit—it looked incredibly cool, especially the dragon horns on his head. Her hand itched to touch them.
"Where did you get this outfit? It's awesome!" Stelle gave him a big thumbs-up.
Dan Heng simply nodded and replied calmly, "Mm."
Stelle and March 7th were instantly speechless. Even after unlocking his hidden power, Dan Heng was still as taciturn as ever~
Jing Yuan was briefing Fu Xuan on the plan.
Fu Xuan immediately objected.
"General! No! You can't go in alone!"
Jing Yuan smiled and looked toward Welt, Dan Heng, and the others.
"I'm not going in alone. I've got many friends with me, don't I?"
Fu Xuan glanced at the Astral Express crew.
Welt was examining the statue of the Dragon Lord.
Stelle and March 7th were circling Dan Heng, still marveling over his look.
Several times, Stelle tried to touch the horns on his head, only to be smacked away by Dan Heng.
They were strong. With them, Fu Xuan could relax a little.
Jing Yuan said,
"This time, we're not just facing the Arbor. There's also a Lord Ravager to deal with.
Fu Xuan, if I don't make it back, the Luofu is in your hands."
Fu Xuan clenched her small fists. Indeed, the Luofu couldn't go a day without a leader.
If both she and Jing Yuan were lost, chaos would break out.
"General, you jerk!"
After that—
Fu Xuan stayed behind with the Cloud Knights to guard the Scalegorge Waterscape Realm's entrance.
Jing Yuan, Dan Heng, Welt, Stelle, and March 7th proceeded deeper into the realm.
Along the way, Dan Heng studied the murals within the ruins and recalled the incantations needed to lift the seal.
The group finally arrived at their destination—before the Arbor.
Stelle pointed at the towering tree.
"General Jing Yuan, we just need to chop this thing down, right?"
Jing Yuan chuckled.
"In theory, yes. But the Arbor isn't so easy to destroy—and someone's already inside it."
As soon as he said this—
The Arbor began to transform, slowly morphing into a giant woman.
She held a wooden fan and looked down at them from above.
"Benefactor, we meet again."
Stelle and March 7th instantly flew into a rage.
"So it's you! We're settling the score today!" March 7th shouted, pointing at Hualong.
Stelle signaled the others to fall back.
"You all stay back. Let me handle this one-on-one. I haven't gone full power in a long time—time to cut loose!"
Stelle drew the Judgement of Heavenly Fire.
"Judgment of Shamash, Annihilation!"
"Second Engine, Activate!"
Stelle activated the full power form of her weapon, and the second Stellaron within her began to operate.
"Let's fight! Let's go!"
She kicked off the ground with explosive force, reaching Phantylia's head in a blink and slashing down with her sword.
"Battle time! Let's go wild!"
Stelle unleashed a barrage of attacks, surrounding Phantylia in endless flames.
Phantylia was stunned. Wait, you opened with your ultimate move!?
Stelle didn't care. She'd been scared by Hualong's creepy head tilt earlier—now it was payback time.
"Full power! Ora ora ora! Ora ora ora!"
Stelle slashed again and again at Hualong.
Watching Stelle unleash her fury, March 7th became even more determined to go all in at Ye Yun's shop with her Star Coins.
Jing Yuan was delighted—this made the fight much easier.
"Everyone, let's go!"
Dan Heng, Welt, and March 7th launched their attacks on Hualong.
Jing Yuan began charging up the Divine General's energy for a heavy strike.
The Divine General is winding up!