Chapter 183

"Wow, that really sounds like something a hero would say." Kamijou Touma smiled, but his eyes were serious, "But hey, Misaka-san, you chose to help others because you wanted to, not because someone forced you, right?"

Misaka Mikoto's face flushed slightly: "Of, of course! But this and..."

"So the crux of the problem isn't whether they should bear responsibility." Kamijou Touma interrupted her, "but whether they can freely make a choice."

"If Bai Lu and Danheng were both forced to lose their right to free choice because of the 'Dragon Sovereign,' causing turmoil among the Xianzhou people, then the blame wouldn't lie with them... but with the tradition of the 'Dragon Sovereign Inheritance' itself."

——

"The Dragon Sovereign is the existence closest to immortality among the Xianzhou people." Danheng recalled, "According to the records, achieving the Dragon Sovereign Inheritance requires performing the secret ritual of the Dragon Transformation Marvelous Method, as well as the heavy artifact regarded as the Dragon Heart. Once the inheritance is complete, the previous Dragon Sovereign sheds its egg and is reborn, and the new Dragon Sovereign will reveal its draconic form."

Danheng gazed at the distant Jianmu: "However, Danfeng's ritual failed, his power remained within me... yet for some unknown reason, it also shaped you."

Bai Lu also sighed: "Looks like this guy is like a quack doctor who arbitrarily changes prescriptions—now he's brought suffering upon himself and others."

Seeing that Bai Lu couldn't recall anything either, Danheng decided to first complete the seal on Jianmu.

"To prevent the Ruomu from reviving, to ward off the plague of longevity, with the waters of the ancient sea, obeying the Dragon Sovereign's command—here, suppress the mysterious root!"

Danheng commanded the Deep Abyss Pearl, yet the sensation was completely different from when he undid the seal; Jianmu showed no reaction at all.

Meanwhile, Bai Lu beside him watched his troubled expression and mimicked his actions, performing the seal on Jianmu as well.

Accompanied by Bai Lu's chant, the innocent child's voice intertwined with Danheng's solemnity, and in an instant the seal on Jianmu was completed. At the same time, a strange sensation welled up in Bai Lu's body… she incredulously stared at her own hands.

"You… did it! No external validation needed—just this alone is enough to prove you are a genuine Dragon Sovereign." Danheng looked at Bai Lu with relief.

"When you rebuilt the seal, did anything come to mind?"

"Hmm…" Bai Lu rubbed her head, "It felt like a tide surging through my mind—I seemed to become extraordinarily huge, the entire Scales Abyss Realm resonating with my voice, in harmony with me."

Just as Bai Lu was about to ask Danheng to teach her another method, the surrounding air suddenly trembled, and a group of assassins slowly emerged from the air, having already silently surrounded everyone.

Under One Person—

"Hey, these assassins couldn't have come from the Tang Sect, could they? This technique looks just like our own sect's… Phantom Body Barrier?" Tang Wenlong stared curiously at the assassins; if Danheng hadn't warned him, he wouldn't have noticed the anomaly in the air.

"Although I don't know how they managed it, purely in terms of stealth effect… it seems even more elaborate than the Phantom Body Barrier." Zhang Wan said calmly beside them, "If it weren't for Danheng, the Dragon Sovereign here, probably no one could have detected them."

"So, Chief Wan, you're saying that in terms of hiding their tracks, these fellows who look nothing like humans actually outclass us?" Ma Long, sitting beside Chief Wan, found it hard to accept at first.

"Hmph, nothing hard to accept." Zhang Wan closed his eyes and gave a cold snort, "As for concealment and evasion techniques, there are surely masters outside the Tang Sect who surpass us. If others do it well, you just need to humbly learn… provided you can learn it."

"Besides, no matter how extravagant the methods that appear on this Astral Express, I'm hardly surprised anymore… Compared to Huanluang casually detonating stars or Jingyuan summoning a divine lord to slash people, I actually find these odd‑looking assassins rather friendly."

"These assassins, just like the previous wave, look fierce, but they completely underestimated the Dragon Sovereign's strength."

"With just a slight lift of Danheng's finger, countless surging water dragons tore them apart limb from limb; the group of assassins didn't even utter a groan before dying on the spot."

"After dealing with all of this, Danheng still didn't lower his guard, but vigilantly scanned the surroundings: 'Using Yunyin to manipulate water mist to create this visual deception. Just like when we arrived, there are likely assassins lying in ambush here… It seems someone can no longer tolerate our presence.'"

"To be safe, Danheng suggested we retreat first."

"However, on the way back, Danheng's party encountered a lingering mirage; sensing the surging power within Danheng, the mirage's aged voice trembled slightly: 'Danfeng… is that you? Have you come back?'"

"'You probably mistook me for someone else.' Danheng said coldly."

"'There's no mistake… I recognize your voice. Humph, are you here to repent at the holy land?'"

"'The pride of the Xianzhou, the great hero of the Cloud‑Top Five Valiants, heh heh… you fought us your whole life, only to end up in such a pitiable state.'"

"'You misused the Dragon Transformation Marvelous Method, creating that heavenly demon dragon that nearly destroyed the Scales Abyss Realm!' The mirage's voice seemed tinged with smugness, 'If it weren't for your friends joining forces to slay it, the seal on Jianmu would likely have been destroyed as well. Watching it fall, don't you feel heartbroken?'"

"'As a Dragon Sovereign, you should have led us out of the cycle of reincarnation onto a new path. Yet you're shackled by empty fame… you've willingly degraded yourself, throwing your lot in with the Astral Express folk and even short‑lived species…'"

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End—

"The Cloud‑Top Five Valiants… just hearing that name sounds incredibly strong—must be Jingyuan, Qingliu, Danfeng, and Blade, right? And who's the fifth?"

"If I recall correctly, I seem to have heard someone mention… it's a pilot who operates the Star Chariot, probably a fox‑person like Yun Kong, right?" Frieren recalled, "... I get the feeling fox‑people have a special talent for piloting the Star Chariot."

"So why did Danfeng use the Dragon Transformation Marvelous Method to create dragon‑kind?" Filien felt confused.

"Filien, have you forgotten the plight of the Xianzhou? If a Xianzhou person truly dies, their kind will forever be one less, because the cycle of rebirth is self‑sustaining—the Xianzhou cannot give birth to new life."

"……Perhaps it also has to do with the Abundance Folk War?" Fu Lilian guessed, "When the population of the Sustaining Light Tribe suffers a major loss, the Dragon Sovereign Dan Feng must think of a way to continue the Sustaining Light Tribe."