Blade's gaze was cold and fierce as he charged at Dan Heng with ferocious momentum.
Dan Heng's patience was completely exhausted; he intended to strike hard and kill Blade once more.
At the same time, Kafka saw the man who appeared without warning and caught Yanqing in time; her brows and eyes curved slightly.
"Alright, you two, listen to me—stop."
Blade's frenzied scarlet eyes froze for an instant, quickly calming; he subconsciously reached up to cover his forehead.
Dan Heng felt the killing intent rising in his heart fading; his expression changed similarly.
He glanced at Kafka.
Only then did he notice that, at some unknown time, another person had appeared in the distance.
A familiar person...
"Arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time, General of Luofu." Kafka smiled faintly.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
Jing Yuan laughed heartily and set Yanqing down.
Realizing who had caught him, Yanqing's expression lit up.
"General!"
"Mm."
Jing Yuan nodded, signaling with his eyes for him not to speak carelessly, then swept his gaze over the other three.
His eyes lingered on Dan Heng for several seconds before he smiled and withdrew.
No one saw the complex emotions that flashed across his face when his eyelids lowered.
"You two have returned to the Xianzhou after a long absence, yet always in awkward situations. As an old friend, you should have notified me earlier."
"What I needed to do is done."
Blade sheathed the fractured sword and glared coldly at Dan Heng.
The meaning seemed to be: I'll let you off for today.
"Mm, done."
Jing Yuan looked calmly at Kafka.
"You helped the Xianzhou with a small favor; I am grateful. Take Blade and go. This time, I can pretend I saw nothing."
Yanqing was greatly puzzled and blurted out subconsciously.
"General?! I..."
"Now is not the time for that." Jing Yuan shook his head slightly at him.
Though full of questions, Yanqing would not question Jing Yuan's decision; he could only watch Kafka and Blade leave.
Jing Yuan turned back to Dan Heng.
"Long time no see... old friend."
That gaze directed at him, filled with nostalgia and melancholy, made Dan Heng feel both uncomfortable and uneasy.
"I am not him."
"Mm... sorry."
Dan Heng paid no mind to Jing Yuan's apology and silently lifted his foot to leave.
"Though you are not him, there's no need to be so distant."
Jing Yuan smiled faintly.
"Your Express friends are waiting for you deep in the Scalegorge Waterscape. Let's go meet them together."
"Yanqing."
"Yanqing here; awaiting the general's orders."
"Return to the Alchemy Commission first and assist the Cloud Knights in cleaning up the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus chaos."
"Understood!"
Though still young, Yanqing could now see that Jing Yuan and Dan Heng knew each other and shared an unknown past.
The general's implication was that subsequent situations were not convenient for him to follow.
He unconditionally trusted the general to handle everything.
Though he was very curious why the general was so... kind to a former major criminal.
The cutscene ended; transitioned to a new map without any drag.
"Ancient Sea of Waves, wondrous realm of excellence."
Jing Yuan gazed at the rippling sea surface; a bitter smile touched his lips.
"The scenery of this Scalegorge Waterscape is the same as the last time I beheld it; unchanged."
"Yet you and I standing here now are each different..."
He raised his hand to catch a withered leaf drifting from who knows where, crushed it with a slight force between his fingers, and murmured self-mockingly.
"It seems even the long-life species with immortal bodies cannot stand equal with heaven and earth."
"The general should know the Vidyadhara's habits of reincarnation and molting."
Dan Heng's voice showed no ripples.
"The waters of the ancient sea have already washed away 'Dan Feng's' sins. The person who once stood here with you is no longer."
At this point, Ah Xian paused the plot to digest the information density this segment brought.
Some previous guesses were 100% confirmed the moment Blade called Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae.
"Dan Feng is Dan Heng's name in his previous life. The only thing still unclear is what crime he committed."
"From Jing Yuan's attitude toward Dan Heng, the truth may be very complex."
"Now four of the High-Cloud Quintet have appeared; what about the fifth?"
"In Blade's voice lines, he says Jingliu killed him again and again, yet he relentlessly pursues Dan Heng."
"They were once comrades in the High-Cloud Quintet, yet turned against each other and fell apart..."
"But it seems everyone holds no grudge against Jing Yuan. Even though Blade is cold to Jing Yuan, it's much better compared to his attitude toward Dan Heng."
"Hmm... could it be because of the one who hasn't appeared yet?"
"Perhaps only when Jingliu and Dan Heng's SP enter the pool can most confusions be resolved."
Continued the plot.
"I am Dan Heng. Whether that Dan Feng was a hero or a sinner has nothing to do with me."
"I bear his punishment and accept permanent exile; I have no complaints about that."
"But when the general looks at me, please discard the shadow of the past."
Dan Heng said expressionlessly.
"Alas..."
Jing Yuan sighed deeply; his cloak swayed lightly in the sea breeze, rustling.
"Bringing up old matters is like stirring muddy water; it only invites unpleasantness."
His gaze lingered for a moment on the dragon horns atop Dan Heng's forehead.
"Perhaps it's your appearance... or perhaps these dragon horns, the vaguely familiar High Elder aura, that always links you to my old friend in my mind."
Dan Heng frowned: "...I have already said—"
"Yes, you have."
Jing Yuan tilted his head to interrupt Dan Heng.
"But so what? If one sentence could change how others see you, there wouldn't be so many disputes in the world."
The sea breeze lifted Dan Heng's hem; waves surged on the shore, mirroring his silence.
"You want me to no longer see you as Dan Feng? Fine, I have one condition."
"Help me one last time as Dan Feng. Once this matter is settled, Dan Feng will die, and I will revoke your exile order."
"Henceforth, I can guarantee: at least on Luofu, you will no longer be anyone's shadow."
"As I guessed, Dan Heng was personally exiled by Jing Yuan."
Ah Xian's eyes showed understanding.
"Now it seems Leon's speculation is quite intriguing..."
"From the information he gave, exiled Vidyadhara, even High Elders, would be stripped of their powers."
"But Dan Heng doesn't seem to have lost his past powers; he can still use them freely."
"Why is that?"
"I guess it's mostly Jing Yuan secretly protecting him, or... the Vidyadhara clan has their own little schemes..."
...
...
To satisfy Player's curiosity, revealing the missing final paragraph of the 5-star Leon talent details.
(Level 10)
Afterglow Ember
For every 4 natural turns accumulated by all allied characters, Leon clears all his negative effects and takes action immediately.
After consuming 2% max HP, designate one allied unit other than himself to gain an extra turn.
The target gaining the extra turn clears all negative effects and can choose to cast Basic ATK, Skill, or Ultimate.
Casting Ultimate does not end the extra turn; ignores 20% of enemy DEF when attacking, lasting until the end of this action turn.
If Leon's SPD is greater than or equal to 200, the effect changes to last 2 turns.
Extra turns, follow-up attack turns, and Ultimate turns of characters do not count toward natural turns.
...
Actually designed at the start of the book, but enters the pool only after the plot defeating Phantylia.
Core tags: High-frequency action granting extra high-damage output, high independent multiplier universal support.
Designed to be strong; extremely disruptive to the current support ecosystem.
Haki Phant 2.1 Chaos Memories still holds upper and lower 0T records (non-high-spending pay-to-win), knows a bit about how to make characters strong beyond stacking stats.