"Brother, why did Baiheng turn into a half-dragon, half-beast monster?" Robin looked at Workday beside her.
Workday rested his chin on his hand, pondered for a few seconds, then sighed.
"Little sister, I can only share my interpretation. Earlier in the story, there was a very 'abrupt' scene—after the Shuhu Rebellion, two people were shown conversing.
Based on context, I assume they were Dragon Elders. Of course, this is just my speculation.
They discussed something critical: experimental results.
The results of combining Vidyadhara marrow with various species.
To summarize, living beings exposed to Vidyadhara marrow undergo physical changes—'draconification.'
Among them, the Canidae suborder exhibited symptoms of frenzy.
Canidae? I recall Baiheng was a Foxian. Assuming Foxians are a canine subspecies of humans, Baiheng's frenzy makes sense."
"Tsk…" Wise, listening intently, drew a sharp breath.
He marveled at Workday's attention to detail.
Workday's analysis aligned almost perfectly with the AI's breakdown.
It seemed this Workday wasn't just the brother of a superstar—
He was no ordinary person himself!
Now, Wise was even more curious about Workday!
"Exactly, Brother Workday's analysis is spot-on! And there's another hidden danger—Shuhu wasn't truly dead? In the end, Ying Xing performed the sealing. It seems everything spiraled into the worst possible outcome."
"Yes, only now do I understand. The High-Cloud Quintet isn't a heroic epic—it's about humanity, pure and simple. This film is bound to make many uncomfortable."
—
Baiheng, transformed into a draconic abomination, circled in the air, howling as if in agony.
Dan Feng stared blankly at the scene, unsure where things went wrong—or if they had been doomed from the start.
Flames had inexplicably spread around them, and the furnace was nowhere to be seen.
He searched for the other person's whereabouts.
Ying Xing lay in the mud not far away, his clothes in tatters, resembling a corpse—only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved he still lived.
During his time inside the barrier, Dan Feng had no idea what had transpired.
"ROAR!!!"
The draconic abomination above let out another deafening roar—its eyes now completely crimson.
Dan Feng recognized this instantly. "Dragon Rage?"
Before he could react, the abomination unleashed a breath attack at a Vidyadhara egg.
The life within the egg was extinguished.
Dan Feng stood frozen, realizing the monstrosity he and Ying Xing had created.
Even his own people were suffering for it.
—
Outside Scalegorge Waterscape, Jingliu, gasping for breath, led the Cloud Knights to the grand hall.
Fresh from the Shuhu Rebellion, she was physically and mentally exhausted, pushing forward solely through sheer willpower.
Not only that, her consciousness grew hazier—everything felt unreal.
The faces of those who had died in the war flashed through her mind, pale and lifeless.
"Sword Champion!" A Vidyadhara from the Dragon Elder Council approached Jingliu, his tone accusatory. "Why did you take so long? The Dragon Sovereign has forcibly reversed life and death, and now some monstrous beast has appeared inside!
Scalegorge Waterscape is our race's sacred reincarnation site. If anything happens to it, the Ambrosial Arbor's seal will—"
At the mention of the "Ambrosial Arbor," Jingliu's eyes cleared slightly. From the distant cavern, she heard the agonized roar of a dragon, pleading for release.
Like a ghost, she walked to Ying Xing's side.
Ying Xing glanced at her, then at the draconic abomination in the sky, tears streaming down his face.
"I should kill you first… but you have other sins to atone for—for eternity." Jingliu's voice was icy as she pointed her broken sword at the Dragon Sovereign.
Dan Feng knelt on the ground, his former arrogance gone.
"Impossible… The Dragon Elders said… the blood of our ancestors, the soul of our ancestors—it should have created another Dragon Sovereign. I even altered the formula… This… this wasn't supposed to happen."
Jingliu clenched her sword hilt. "If sacrificing you could undo all this, I would… But now… tell me where that dragon's reverse scale is."
"The crown of its head…"
…
The half-dragon, half-beast monstrosity streaked through the sky like lightning, its colossal body shattering another floating island. Its wails clashed like a thousand swords.
Jingliu looked at the abomination, tears falling as if recalling Baiheng's face.
That face that always wore a pure smile whenever they met.
That face that would proudly present her latest brew whenever they met.
That face that would tirelessly recount her travels to planet after planet whenever they met.
It was Baiheng's warmth that had soothed Jingliu's long-restless heart.
"It should never have come to this. Why? Why bring you back like this?
Isn't this the most painful for you? Baiheng! Seeing the destruction you've caused—you must be suffering more than anyone, right?"
Suddenly, Jingliu dropped to one knee. She felt her dantian churning and burning, as if ripe grain were about to burst free, expanding infinitely.
It was as if she could see a branch about to tear through her abdomen.
She saw herself trapped in the nightmares of her childhood—a calamitous star descending, a mayfly powerless to resist.
Jingliu tore a strip of black silk from her skirt and blindfolded herself.
At this moment, her heart was still as water—she had transcended the realm of swordsmanship.
She raised her sword and leaped toward the draconic abomination.
In the dreamlike haze of her hallucinations, she felt her flesh surpassing its limits, beginning to disintegrate.
As if bound by taut strings, her limbs and bones were slowly sliced apart, severing her last shreds of consciousness.
For no reason, those words echoed in her ears:
"Even the stars in the sky—I will cut them down!"
It was a promise—one she had made to herself.
She reached the abomination's head.
In that instant, she grasped the sword she had always dreamed of.
A sword that could sever all shackles.
A sword she had known for years.
It was not forged of ordinary steel, but carved from a shard of ice, glowing faintly like a sliver of moonlight.
The sword—three feet and seven inches long—was light as air.
"AHHH!!!"
With a furious cry, Jingliu drove the blade downward.
The screen cuts to black—no image remains.
But the audience knows what comes next:
Baiheng dies once more.
Only this time, she does not perish as a hero—
But as a half-dragon, half-beast abomination, slain by her dearest friend.
—
The theater fell deathly silent, the audience immersed in the scene, unable to speak.
Even Belle, a seasoned veteran of countless films, felt a visceral discomfort.
"This is truly a tragedy! Dan Feng's people—some dead, some wounded!
Ying Xing probably sealed that branch-covered thing. The man was already half-dead from the furnace explosion, and now he's alive again?
Jingliu, gravely injured, plagued by mara, forced to kill her own beloved with her own hands!
And Baiheng—the unluckiest of all. Alive, yet not truly alive! She was always so kind…
If she knew she'd killed so many unborn Vidyadhara in their eggs… sigh!"
Wise frowned slightly. "I feel a story like this isn't something the general public can easily accept. They were all heroes—this treatment goes against core values."
Workday, having watched it all, remained expressionless.
"I understand it completely. This film isn't about superheroes teaming up to fight a big purple villain—it's about conflict, the differing perspectives on life and death across races."
"Oh? It seems Brother Workday and I have differing views. Care to discuss?"