To nobody's surprise, the arrow of elemental Light fired by Saint was deflected by one of Jing Yuan's weapons. A regal jian blade carved through the air, batting away the projectile with ease. The arrow fizzled away into energy, disappearing.
Still, everything went according to plan.
When Sunny had told Fu Xuan that he was staying to help — for no reason other than wanting to torment Heliobi, mind you — she used a Memory, a paper crane that had runes inscribed on it in order to discretely share information. While Guinaifen, Sushang, and Huohuo were serving as a temporary distraction for Tail's infiltration of the Heliobus' ranks, Sunny, Fu Xuan, and Saint were meant to take down Jing Yuan.
For this purpose, the Master Diviner made the crucial decision to part with some very classified information.
Jing Yuan's Aspect, for one.
As the mythical tiger pounced in Fu Xuan's direction, just to end up behind her when she snapped her fingers, a bow entirely made of steel aimed at Sunny. An arrow of supercharged lightning blasted his way, so quick and devastating that there was no feasible way for Sunny to defend against it.
Instead, he relied on the Silent Mist's defense to absorb the attack for him, the misty haze soaking up both damage and his Shadow Essence. He received no rest, however, as both Jing Yuan's guandao and his jian attempted to strike him at odd angles, both weapon becoming increasingly difficult to avoid as pure electrical energy lengthened their blades, threatening to cleave Sunny with superheated force.
Stepping through the shadows, Sunny appeared right below Jing Yuan's grand body, stabbing the Cradle of Madness into his white fur. The frozen spear left a shallow, yet complicated cut due to the smaller blades of glass imbedded in the socket. In response to the sudden blooming of pain, Jing Yuan dropped his body in an attempt to crush him.
Sunny was already gone.
Walking out of the shadows, body tense, his eyes locked on to Jing Yuan's magnificent form while his shadow sense tracked his weapons. At the same time, a portion of his mind was focused on Fu Xuan, prepared to work in tandem with her at any moment.
As a Transcendent, Jing Yuan had four Aspect Abilities — one of them was his transformation Ability, of course, which was clear as day to anyone with a pair of functional eyes.
His Aspect was of the Ascended Rank, which was nothing to scoff at. More than fifty percent of Awakened come out of their First Nightmares with Dormant Aspects. Moreover, Aspect Rank only implied an Aspect's upper limit, the peak of their potential, not direct power.
Sunny, who had a Divine Aspect, couldn't confidently say that his attack potency was even near the same level as Seele's, who had a Sacred Aspect. Perhaps that was an unfair comparison, however, considering that their Aspect's focused on two very different things. Seele's Aspect was hyperspecialized, while Sunny's was all about versatility and creativity.
At the same time, he wouldn't say his Aspect was powerful. It relied heavily on Sunny's own dirty craftiness to become the deadly force it was, which brought him to believe that there was nobody else in the Universe who could use it as well as himself, but he digressed.
In any case, the Rank of Jing Yuan's Aspect wasn't too important at the moment. Even if he only had a Dormant Aspect, a Transcendent champion was still a superior opponent. What was truly important were the Aspect Abilities.
The General's Dormant Ability was not one that granted him a wealth of physical or destructive power. Rather, it was one that enhanced his perception in order to perceive 'instants.' As a mere Sleeper, Jing Yuan's reaction time and ability to notice small details were unmatched.
That Ability was the reason why Jing Yuan, despite his large body, was able to avoid taking any major damage. He was viewing the world at a far slower rate than Sunny and Fu Xuan were.
Meanwhile, his Awakened Ability was what provided him his signature lightning manipulation. Before becoming a Master, the General had only been able to release strong shocks through physical contact, but upon Ascending, gained the power to externally emit and control electric forces.
Jing Yuan's Ascended Ability, on the other hand, was a very insidious. When electrocuted by his Awakened Ability, a slight degradation to the target's senses would occur. Their sight would grow weaker, their hearing would be dulled, and their sense of smell would deteriorate.
Thankfully, getting shocked once wouldn't change too much. The power of this Ability was based on the number of times struck, as well as how strong the current was.
...Jing Yuan's Transcendent form was that of a great white tiger, eyes glowing with the promise of calamitous lightning. The main boon of his transformation was not the prodigious might of his body, however.
It was a transformation in both his mindset, and that of others — what Fu Xuan referred to as the Predator Eye.
In reality, the General's Transcendent Ability had two states. The passive form of his Ability gave him a certain... presence. Or perhaps it was the lack of one, perhaps.
Knowing how and when to kill someone was something developed by any competent Awakened. Jing Yuan, on the other hand, took that skill and pushed it to greater heights, applying it in warfare — both literal and political. He knew to only strike when his enemy was weakest. When making allies, he dangled lure before their very eyes, yet seemed perfectly innocent — to most, at least.
Some more... untrusting individuals wouldn't be fooled.
...What? Sunny wasn't trying to compliment himself...
In any case, his Transcendent Ability simultaneously made him far more analytical and cunning, while degrading that same Ability for those surrounding him. It was indiscriminate, unfortunately, so it did effect allies. At the very least, it wasn't an all powerful Ability, and wouldn't turn a mundane person into an idiot. It was very subtle and overlooked.
That was what Sunny believed, at least. He couldn't think of a time where he wasn't at least a little bit wary of Jing Yuan, even when playing that tennis ritual. Or maybe he was more alarmed by his friendly demeanor.
Who knew, really?
Fu Xuan, however, admitted to being affected by it plenty of times, so maybe Sunny was just unable to notice it.
The active form of Jing Yuan's Transcendent Ability, of course, was his literal transformation — the form of a carnivorous predator at the top of the food chain.
Fu Xuan also informed him of a few more key pieces of information, like how a combination of Jing Yuan's enhanced perception of his Dormant Ability, and his lightning from his Awakened Ability allowed him to use electromagnetism. There was also the fact that he hadn't unlocked his Aspect Legacy, and that his signature guandao was a weapon forged by Blade himself, before he was consumed by Mara.
There was also a brief explanation about his Attributes — his Innate Attribute detailing his natural ambidexterity, as well as one that gave him a slight increase to his senses synergizing greatly with his Dormant Ability.
But, most importantly, Fu Xuan revealed Jing Yuan's Flaw.
When she did so, Sunny was utterly perplexed. He asked her why she divulged that info to him — discretely, of course, not specifying what info he was referring to, unless he wanted Cirrus to notice.
In response, she casually said:
"Your Transcendence is practically inevitable. I just thought it'd benefit me to have your personal trust, Starkiller."
"...You, not the Xianzhou?"
"Did I stutter?"
"N—No..."
He wasn't quite sure why she placed such a large investment on him, when he could easily die at any moment — she should know that fact personally, as a Saint — but he decided to take her words at face value.
Sunny couldn't help but send her strange glances from time to time, despite the chaos around him.
'So much ambition in such a tiny body...'