Chapter 1255: Opherus 3.3 (296)

"Although I think what you said makes sense, I don't think so." Zan Yin said lightly from the side.

"Huh? Do you think that without Xing, Bai E and the others could crack Nicadoli's 'immortality' secret?"

"Hehe… How to put it? I'm just considering that the Golden Heirs of the previous reincarnation also challenged the Titans one by one, completed the Recreation of the World, so I believe that even without Xing's help, the Golden Heirs of this life will eventually reach the end of the Fire Pursuit Journey, though this process may become extremely long."

"But—"

"I know what you want to say." Zan Yin waved his hand, cutting off Xiu Ta Er Ke's words bluntly, "But you might calm down and think carefully: do you know how many times the reincarnation of Opherus has actually occurred? Could it be only this life and the previous one? Before that, could it have already reincarnated ten times, twenty times, or even more? Could the luck of Xing and Dan Heng be that good, just happening to descend upon the highest difficulty Fire Pursuit Journey?"

Xiu Ta Er Ke was stunned at once. He really hadn't considered this question; he simply thought that Xing and Dan Heng's help would cause this Fire Pursuit Journey to stall for a long time at Nicadoli, and it was quite possible that Bai E and Aglaea and the others hadn't yet reached the endpoint before Heichi completely swallowed Aohema.

Zan Yin said in a deep voice: "I don't deny Dan Heng and Xing's help for this Fire Pursuit Journey; their assistance is irreplaceable. But on the contrary, we also cannot underestimate Bai E and the others' ability to aid the Golden Heirs; even without Dan Heng and Xing, I believe they will, as the prophecy says, eventually reach the end of the Fire Pursuit Journey, though this process… might be countless times more brutal than now."

——

"... Ah, the protagonist has arrived."

"Not far away, Feng Jin was walking slowly toward the high platform amidst the crowd's escort. Upon arriving beside Bai E, she loudly announced to everyone: 'People of Aohema—I have already received the blessing of the Sky Clan's ancestors. They are willing to entrust me with the mission spanning a thousand years, to retrieve the fire seed of Aigle.'"

""Now it is the 1062nd year since the hero Saine O Si inaugurated the Fire Pursuit Journey in Light Calendar 4932. I, Ya Xinti Si of the Sky Clan, am ready to lead humanity back to the sky.""

Bai E solemnly said: "History never breathes evenly. It sometimes holds its breath for a millennium, as if time stood still; at other times it gasps urgently, as if it would overturn the world and civilization in an instant. Its urgent breath stirred up a storm, dragging us both into it. Feng Jin, as a bystander you have witnessed the return of the four fire seeds… now it is your turn to fulfill your mission. This time, please lead us into the eye of the wind as an eyewitness."

The three climbed up to the highest point of Dawn Cloud Cliff, where Dan Heng had already been waiting for everyone for a while.

""Long time no see, Dan Heng. The team for the subjugation of Aigle—now we are finally all here.""

Dan Heng nodded and said to Xing: "Time and again, we rewrite a world's history with our own hands. I think this 'pioneering' experience… should be enough to make Archimedes envious."

Xing stood with hands on hips: "After we finish this battle, we're going home!"

""You're full of energy, comrade. Looks like I picked a good day." Bai E lowered his head to look at the girl beside him, "Feng Jin, from now on it's up to you.""

——

Silver Soul

"Xing…!! No, you can't say something like that!!"

"This is practically a lethal death flag! Things like 'After we finish this job we'll wash our hands of ill-gotten gains,' 'After this war ends we'll go back to our hometown to get married,' 'I'll go and come back, you go ahead'—these words must never be spoken carelessly in the final showdown with the boss, as if you're begging for your own death, right?!"

Gin wished he could slide a shovel into the sky, grabbing Xing's shoulders with both hands and shaking her wildly, forcing her to take back the words "After we finish the battle, we'll go home."

As a reader who has seen countless hot-blooded manga themes from Shonen Jump, nobody knows the lethality of this line better than him—people who say it usually don't survive past three rounds, and their deaths are…

Gin swallowed a mouthful of saliva, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his forehead.

"It seems Xing completely doesn't understand the harm that flags cause… this is troublesome." Touji Shisi Lang sighed regretfully, as if he had already seen the future through this line.

"Perhaps during the subjugation of Aigle, Xing and Dan Heng let Bai E take the fire seed and go first, ultimately sacrificing themselves to cover Bai E, and finally, before dying, they pulled out a photo of March 7, blood trickling from the corner of their mouth, saying something like 'Sorry I couldn't continue with you guys'…"

"Touji, you've summarized this way too detailed! How could you even recreate such a classic scene!" Xin Ba Ji couldn't help but complain.

Gin gritted his teeth, wearing an expression as if facing a formidable foe: "If nothing unexpected happens… the subjugation of Aigle should actually encounter an accident. Could it be that Xing and Dan Heng are really going to fall here?"

——

""Legend has it that the children of the sky once split into many tribes. The 'Radiant People' who worshipped the blazing sun, the 'Rain People' who revered thunderstorms, the 'Winter People' who took snow as an omen……Their ancestors lived under the light's benevolence of Aigle, yet their eyes could only accept one color.""

Feng Jin raised her head to gaze at the sky illuminated by KefaLe.

""But they forgot—that faint light that nurtures the world… is actually composed of many colors in harmony. Therefore, the rainbow is my favorite weather phenomenon—it not only refracts many colors, but also carries the meaning of a bridge. I wish to connect people's hearts with a rainbow bridge… to convey hope to all souls in the world.""

""Ancestors——please guide me with the rainbow, and bring me back to the homeland of the sky's children, separated for a thousand years.""

""Rainbow bridge……please lead us, and let us return to the sky.""

Feng Jin took a deep breath, lifting the rainbow box high with both hands. As the box lid sprang open, a pink dazzling light gathered and swirled around her, followed by the sudden appearance of a river-of-light-like rainbow, and the seven-colored rays, like birds breaking free from their bonds, surged from the box toward the horizon.

As the light gradually faded, a resplendent rainbow bridge already connected heaven and earth, red, orange, yellow, green…… each ray trailed a long tail of light, like silk hanging from the clouds or a sheer fabric gently shaken by a breeze, softly spread behind the girl.

""Everyone, please fly with me.""