Thanks for Msos for returning as a Supporter!
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"Dan Feng."
Another Preceptor spoke unhurriedly; their smiling voice laced with a trace of mockery. "You've returned this time—could it be that you've had a change of heart and intend to return the power passed down through generations to the clan? If you truly do so, then wanting the clan to accept you again… hehe, that's not entirely beyond negotiation." [TN:Vidyadhara Elders were actually Preceptors this while time ://]
Seeing the way they put on an act, Stelle only felt that their face was utterly repulsive, and she turned to Dan Heng and asked, "Who's this old guy?"
Dan Heng folded his arms and stared coldly at that familiar figure suspended in midair. "Preceptor Shaoying. Back then, he strongly opposed my exile. On the surface, he claimed that unless I suffered more in The Shackling Prison, public anger wouldn't be appeased. In truth, he was coveting the power of the High Elder."
Bailu refused to let her presence be ignored. Following his words, she pointed at another person and said, "That one is Preceptor Gouchen. He's the one who sent me to the Alchemy Commission and let Dan Shu of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus secretly study me!"
"Heh, child!"
Seeing this, Gouchen's expression immediately changed. Like an innocent man wrongfully accused, he spoke with heartfelt sorrow. "I only hoped you would learn and achieve something, so that one day you could heal the world and save lives—wouldn't that also be a broad and righteous path toward Permanence? Why slander me so? As for that Dan Shu…"
He smacked his lips, a flash of resentment crossing his eyes, before leisurely continuing, "What's wrong with entrusting you to a renowned Chief Alchemist? As they say, ignorance is no crime. Who knew back then that she belonged to the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus? Truly, our goodwill was wasted."
Bailu was still young—how could she match these old foxes in verbal sparring? She was momentarily choked by his words, her small face flushing red, and all she managed to squeeze out was, "You jerk!"
As the two sides exchanged barbs, Stelle's casual, drawling voice reached everyone's ears.
"Uh, so that means…"
After pondering for a moment, she said, "Everyone who showed up here is an enemy, right?"
Then she pulled out her baseball bat and cast an ill-intentioned look toward the three Preceptors.
Sorting through a thousand tangled threads to deliver a fair judgment on old grievances—honestly, that wasn't something she was good at.
But if everyone on the other side was an enemy, then breaking the deadlock was simple.
And she was especially good at breaking deadlocks with force.
Dan Heng raised a hand to stop her. "Don't act rashly."
Although he was just as displeased with these people, he had to admit that they really didn't have concrete evidence of the Preceptors' crimes.
Starting a conflict rashly would only cause trouble for Himeko, Welt Yang, and Jing Yuan for no reason.
Unless the Preceptors did something especially outrageous again, he had no desire to get entangled with them anymore.
But while he wanted to let things end quietly, the Preceptors did not.
Taoran, Gouchen, and Shaoying exchanged glances, each seeing that trembling, delighted gleam in the others' eyes.
They had coveted the High Elder's inherited power for centuries. If not for Jing Yuan's interference back then, it would have been accomplished long ago.
And now—wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
Seize the moment, snatch chestnuts from the fire!
Advance and capture him to seize the High Elder's power; retreat and rely on the alliance agreement as backing. Either way, they would not lose!
"Mm!"
The three made up their minds and nodded in unison.
Taoran shouted, "You still think you can leave at a time like this? Too late!"
He spread his arms and sneered. "Dan Feng! The drastic upheaval in the Scalegorge Waterscape is proof of your plot to manipulate the Vidyadhara and commit rebellion! Surrender now, and you might be dealt with leniently. Otherwise, once we report this to the Marshal, even if you hold the Luofu's alliance Jade Abacus, you won't escape the blades of The Hunt!"
Dan Heng sighed, irritated beyond patience. "Just like before—righteous words on the surface, rot and collusion beneath."
"And you too, Bailu!"
The decrepit Gouchen scolded. "You brought outsiders to invade and harbored ill intent toward us. With such malicious scheming, even with the noble status of a High Elder and your young age, you won't escape punishment! This Molting Scale Punishment will not spare you!"
Then he let out a sinister smile. "But if you agree to abandon High Elder rule and switch to governance by the Preceptors' council, we might show some mercy."
Although true authority over the Vidyadhara had always been in their hands, it had never been codified into law. They had merely relied on Bailu's insufficient strength and her lack of authority due to age to forcibly seize power.
Today was the perfect chance to kill two birds with one stone and settle the matter once and for all.
Upon hearing this, Bailu exploded in fury. "What kind of delusional dream are you people having?! Believe it or not, I'll beat your teeth all over the ground!"
I came today to take back what I lost—and beat you all up while I'm at it, so Lingsha won't scold me again.
And now you're trying to turn it around on me?
"Good! Very good. Bailu, so you admit to colluding with outsiders and plotting wrongdoing?"
Taoran clapped and laughed from the bottom of his heart. "Let's see how Jing Yuan can still protect you now."
Bailu was inexperienced in the ways of the world. A couple of careless lines were enough to trap her into misspeaking.
This great merit was practically in hand!
"Mm…"
Dan Heng fell silent in thought.
At this point, he truly found himself in a dilemma.
If he wanted to leave, these three Preceptors couldn't stop him at all. But Taoran's words clearly carried the intent of using Bailu to threaten him.
Could he really just grab Bailu and flee aboard the Astral Express, abandoning their home and becoming fugitives across the stars?
This is difficult…
At that critical moment, two figures—one red, one green—arrived in quick succession.
"Oh ho, what a big scene! Everyone here has quite the status—no nobodies at all."
As soon as the words fell, Huohuo hurriedly tried to stop things. "Lord Tail, please come out already. If this keeps up, I really won't be able to keep my dignity on the Luofu."
"Tch~ so fussy!"
After scoffing, Tail reluctantly separated himself.
While their mood relaxed, Lingsha was anything but calm.
She rushed to Bailu's side, half-kneeling as she held her shoulders and asked anxiously, "Bailu, how are you? Are you hurt?"
Bailu, who had been about to use Word Magic to teach the Preceptors a harsh lesson, immediately felt guilty when she saw Lingsha. Her words lost their sharpness. "I—I'm fine."
She pointed at the Preceptors with grievance. "They're the ones bullying me!"
"Ha ha, Lingsha… ma'am."
Taoran spoke with thinly veiled mockery. "With one of the Six Charioteers as a witness, things become much easier. Bailu colluded with outsiders and intended rebellion. As the Alchemy Commission Head, surely Lingsha wouldn't abuse her authority for personal reasons and cut off information, would she?"
Perfect timing! With a Six Charioteer present, it only made the matter more convincing.
"You're the ones smearing me with filth! Shameless old geezers—lying by day, wetting the bed by night! Bleh!"
Bailu immediately shot back, even making a face at the Preceptors when she finished.
Lingsha looked toward Dan Heng. "Dan Heng, you're not planning to rely on brute force, are you? Is Jing Yuan ready on his end?"
In her view, with the Scalegorge Waterscape in such turmoil, there was no explanation other than Dan Heng attempting to seize power.
And now that Bailu was involved as well, she had no choice but to step in.
Most of Master Yunhua's 'orthodox faction' had passed into her hands—people who supported the High Elder, and many who sympathized with Dan Feng. Though they lacked the Preceptors' authority, they were not to be underestimated.
If Dan Heng truly intended rebellion, then for Bailu's sake alone, she would have to act.
But more importantly—did he have the Xianzhou's official backing? If the Alliance leadership disagreed, one order from the Marshal would still force Dan Heng into a humiliating retreat.
So, whether Jing Yuan was involved was crucial. He was Dan Heng's friend, after all—surely, he hadn't failed to coordinate even that much?
In a flash of thoughts, Lingsha had already organized an entire countercoup in her mind.
She had even prepared herself to risk the crime of betraying her people and confront the Preceptors head-on.
Yet Dan Heng, whom everyone present saw as the absolute central figure, wore a completely baffled expression.
"Huh?"
Dan Heng let out a confused sound.
What Jing Yuan? What preparations? I'm just here training with my companions—why does everyone think I'm about to pull off something huge?
"Hahahaha! Trying to play dumb at a time like this?"
Taoran laughed wildly and shouted, "Too late! Other than surrendering, you have no path left! And you too, Bailu."
He looked at the tiny young dragon with a teasing smile. "If you sign and legislate the transfer of power right now, we can spare your life—let you abdicate and live out your days safely as a commoner."
"Oh, right. And that ruler-bound seal on your tail—we can bestow you some mercy and remove it, allowing you to cultivate a bit of self-defense, or something like that."
"You people—this is making me furious!"
Bailu stamped her little feet in anger, finally reaching the limit of her patience.
At a time like this, they still wanted to use such things to threaten her? If she wanted to cultivate, did she really need their 'mercy'?
She glared furiously at the Preceptors in the sky. The bloodline of the Elemental Emperor made every drop of her blood violently restless.
Her lake-green eyes abruptly turned into a ferocious red-gold.
"I am the Empress of All Elements that exist in this world!"
Her figure was still as small as ever, yet her aura had completely changed.
The [Word Magic: Emperor] spread with Bailu's voice, blanketing the entire Scalegorge Waterscape cavern.
Taoran, however, still failed to sense anything amiss and laughed. "Kid, reading too much manga—"
Bailu didn't give him the chance to finish. She raised her hand and pointed at him. "You—get down here!"
"Ha?"
Taoran was just about to laugh when his entire body suddenly trembled. He plummeted from midair and smashed heavily onto the stone path in front of Bailu.
Wiping the blood from his head and body, he screamed in terror, "What's going on? You shouldn't—"
"Shut up. Kneel!"
Bailu stood casually before everyone, no different from before, yet in their eyes there was an indescribable pressure bearing down on them.
Her lips parted slightly, like an unbreakable decree. Before Taoran's mind could react, his body had already obeyed.
Boom!
His knees slammed into the stone path like a heavy hammer. The price of this 'loyalty' was shattered leg bones and searing pain.
At this moment, Taoran had long since lost his former arrogance. Fear filled his trembling eyes.
He wanted to point at Bailu and demand to know what kind of sorcery she had used.
But the instant his hand moved away from his side, an abyssal terror swallowed him whole.
His subconscious was screaming at him—not to make that move, or he wouldn't even have the chance to regret it!
Taoran's body collapsed limply to the ground, wailing and weeping as he sprawled before Bailu.
"Ew~ that's so gross."
Bailu looked at the utterly miserable Taoran with disdain. She had thought that the Preceptors would at least have some backbone and give her a chance to use one or two combat Words of Truth.
Who would have thought that two sentences would make him kneel completely?
So, the Preceptors were this useless.
The fun hadn't even started yet, and they were already broken—leaving her without even a shred of satisfaction from revenge.
She lifted her head to look at Gouchen and Shaoying, revealing an innocent smile—one that even a roadside granny would give candy for.
"You two should be a bit tougher, right?"
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