At this moment, the battlefield had fallen into total chaos—who even knew what kind of enemy they'd be facing in the next second?
It could be Foxians.
It could be Borisin.
And on this chaotic battlefield, the only constant were the Heliobi following at their sides.
These Heliobi advanced and retreated together with them through the turmoil, forcibly carving out a path.
And Xi, as the Heliobi leader, silently acknowledged the cause of this situation.
That, instead, left some people—those who knew what Xi used to be like—feeling completely incredulous.
If it were the Xi from before, she would never have allowed something like this to happen.
She'd once proclaimed herself an Upper God, never listening to any outsider.
And yet in just these few short days, her attitude had undergone a complete upheaval.
What happened? That was still unknown.
But one thing was certain: in this chaotic battle, the Heliobi had instead become the ones these Xianzhou people could trust.
And right now, the Heliobi leader Xi was quietly watching the two sides above—those two who kept colliding again and again.
Bang! Bang!
Two figures clashed in the sky, over and over.
After every collision, water vapor boiled up from the high heat, fogging everything around them.
Their silhouettes flickered in and out within the mist, like two gods locked in combat.
And as the two of them fought, the massive Mount Buzhou trembled without end.
With the Abundance's power cut off, Mount Buzhou's strength couldn't compare to what it was before—at all.
Let alone with the two combatants being this strong.
One was Bolue, with two Abundance blessings resonating and reinforcing each other inside his body.
The other was Sora, who had gathered countless bird-type medals and pushed the power of the Empty Undying Bird to its absolute limit.
Their collisions were more than enough to deal catastrophic damage to this gigantic mountain range that had already lost its power.
"If this keeps up… this mountain isn't going to collapse, is it…"
Watching Mount Buzhou shudder again after another head-on clash, Xi felt a deep sense of alarm.
To Xi, the flames—Sora—did hold the upper hand in their repeated collisions.
But even at a disadvantage, the other side could still rely on the Abundance power within to continuously heal.
Sora's advantage was large, but against Bolue—who carried two Abundance blessings—it was still hard to finish him with a single blow.
This wasn't a fight that could be decided in a short time.
If they kept staying here, there was a real chance they'd get dragged into the aftermath of that battle.
Right now those two were in the sky—but who could guarantee they wouldn't come down to the ground?
And if they did, the power they'd unleash would be enough to bring truly severe consequences.
When that happened, forget the Borisin who'd already lost their sanity under resonance—even the Heliobi, who existed in an energy form, might not escape serious impact.
But it was also hard to settle things down at the foot of the mountain.
"What a pain."
Xi felt it was really a pain. If she wanted to break this scene open—
There was only one way…
"Hey, little girl!"
Xi directly called out to Yu Qi and told her about the threat they might soon have to face.
After hearing it, Yu Qi frowned.
It really could happen.
"So—on this, do you want to cooperate?"
"What?!"
Yu Qi blurted, stunned.
Xi wanted to cooperate with the Xianzhou side she represented—was she hearing wrong, or had the other party finally lost her mind?
Facing Yu Qi's reaction, Xi wasn't surprised at all. She drifted to the front of her.
"Don't misunderstand. This is just the best way to protect our people, that's all."
...
"If we're talking about the Xianzhou Alliance—about which Xianzhou's Cloud Knights match the original definition the most—then our Cangyan can call ourselves second and nobody would dare call themselves first!"
In the Heaven-Mending Creation venue—already starting to feel lively—a group walked through the crowds.
"Oh? There's really such a saying?" A red-haired woman in a white dress, elegant and composed, looked surprised when she heard that.
Her true identity was Himeko, the Astral Express's navigator.
At her side followed the current Nameless in their party:
A middle-aged man watched the surroundings—wearing some kind of armored puppet—lost in thought, wondering why the thing in front of him felt so intensely familiar.
A black-haired boy looked calmly over the festive atmosphere. He remembered having been to this event before.
And the last was a girl with ice-pink hair—her eyes glittering now, clearly interested in the topic.
"The Cloud Knights who match the original definition the most… does that mean every soldier on your Xianzhou can ride clouds and mist, speeding through the sky?"
Just imagining soldiers all being able to fly on clouds made March 7th excited.
"Heh. One look and you can tell you just haven't been alive long enough. How about this—once I tell you why, your emotions are all mine, okay?"
But the Astral Express's "tour guide" wasn't something you could call human.
It was just a ball of blue-green flame burning in the air—yes, its species was Heliobi.
And if it could coax emotion out of these tourists, that was its pay.
A "job" like this basically couldn't exist on other Xianzhou—only Cangyan could have this one-of-a-kind scene in the universe.
And this Heliobus, right now, was gently luring them along, trying to draw out more emotion.
Because that was all salary to it.
Unfortunately, its little scheme clearly wasn't going to work today.
Because among the Astral Express group, there was someone who actually knew their history.
"What the Cloud Knights originally referred to were warriors who merged with Heliobi—warriors able to wield Heliobi flame."
"The first warriors marched in companionship with Heliobi—like cloud-shadow blanketing the sky, guarding the Xianzhou, never touching the ground. That is the origin of the name 'Cloud Knights.'"
Dan Heng stopped after saying that.
Because he knew what happened after.
Because the general those first warriors followed—his name was "LAN."
That was the one Xianzhou people revered: the Reignbow Arbiter.
Long ago, when all the Xianzhou were besieged by countless Denizens of the Abundance and faced the great crisis of total collapse—
In that moment, the Reignbow Arbiter thawed and returned, forming a possession contract with the Sui Emperor, promising to erase the sins of the past and return freedom to THEIR people.
The Sui Emperor agreed, and so fought alongside the Reignbow Arbiter—until, at the end, the Reignbow Arbiter loosed a single arrow and vanished into the galaxy.
And the Sui Emperor—still with remnants of a body—was betrayed, sealed once more, and sentenced by the Alliance to provide power for the Xianzhou Zhuming for the rest of THEIR endless remaining life.
The Heliobi were divided among multiple Xianzhou, reduced to fuel for forging, smelting, and engines.
It could be said: the Cloud Knights of today no longer matched the original definition at all.
Only on the Cangyan Xianzhou… might it truly be possible to realize that again.
"That the Heliobi would trust the Xianzhou people again… that's really unbelievable."
Dan Heng truly found it unbelievable.
But the Heliobus serving as a guide refuted him.
"Eh, eh, eh—little bro, you sure know the Xianzhou, but you clearly know Cangyan a whole lot less."
Dan Heng froze for a moment, then quickly fell silent.
"What we trust isn't 'the Xianzhou people.' What our race trusts is only the people of the Cangyan Xianzhou. That's the key point."
"Huh? Isn't that… basically the same?" March 7th didn't really get it. It didn't sound that different.
"Simply put, the Cangyan Xianzhou is kind of like an economic special zone on some planets," Welt explained plainly. "They govern themselves. Outsiders rarely interfere."
That simple explanation made March 7th understand the gist of it.
The guide Heliobus didn't say anything more—just let out a hehehe laugh.
Only Dan Heng understood the unspoken truth behind it.
Rarely interfere? It's not that they rarely interfere.
It's that they can barely interfere.
Cangyan, this Xianzhou, was far too special.
So special that even the Xianzhou Alliance rarely had anything they could truly question them about.
In the past, plenty of people in the Alliance had condemned Cangyan for letting Heliobi run around freely.
Cangyan didn't care at all—instead, they kept using this special system, for hundreds of years, without a single mistake.
Especially when it came to security—Cangyan could be called the best among the Xianzhou.
Why?
Before you even entered port, the Heliobi "emotion screening" was no joke.
Only on special days would they loosen the conditions a little.
And Heaven-Mending Creation was exactly one of those few days when they would briefly relax the rules.
As for whether Cangyan would see any serious incidents during these days…
Dan Heng's gaze swept toward the silhouettes in the sky.
The moment someone did evil, those figures would suppress them like a blade splitting bamboo.
Weapons in hand, they stood in the heavens, Heliobi flame drifting around them and setting them off like gods.
What, exactly, had made this Xianzhou so special?
After hearing this choice, people from both races were, naturally, extremely unwilling.
After all, just before this, the two sides could be said to be like water and fire—sworn enemies who couldn't stand under the same sky.
If they met and didn't start fighting, that already counted as a miracle.
And now they were being told to cooperate with each other—no matter how you looked at it, it was hard to swallow.
...
"Then what, you'd rather die here? Let your families cry—that counts as 'good'?"
After her master left, Yu Qi's heart had finally matured a lot.
"Wake up, all of you. On this battlefield, our ultimate goal is the same—suppress them!"
"Only by suppressing them can we take Buzhou into our hands."
"Only by taking Buzhou into our hands can we see the starry sky outside!"
Xi never expected this Xianzhou little brat—who still looked so young—to be able to say something like that.
To be honest, she'd always looked down on the kid before. Too young, and full of some inexplicable pride.
Even though the Xianzhou had already overturned for hundreds of years, these Xianzhou people still couldn't see a simple fact clearly.
And yet only a few days had passed, and this kid had already changed the way she used to think.
Her awakening was way too fast—so fast it actually startled Xi.
The Heliobi already listened to Xi. The only ones who had been resisting before were the Xianzhou side.
And now, after Yu Qi's words, those people hesitated for a moment—then understood what they had to do.
They'd already paid far, far too much for this battle.
Even the Sword Champion of the Cangcheng had given their life for it.
If they kept getting hung up on petty things now, wouldn't that be an insult to those centuries of struggle?
"We understand. Then let's do it!"
Realizing this, the Xianzhou forces stopped resisting and chose to accept them.
"Hehehe—then we're coming in!"
"Guh… c-come… come in…"
As clusters of Heliobi flame merged into their bodies, they could clearly feel the emotions coiling in their hearts being burned away.
And as those emotions burned, boundless power surged out of them again and again.
With that terrifying power boosting them, the army that truly bore the name Cloud Knights finally appeared on this battlefield.
Weapons in hand, they stood in the sky—like cloud-shadow blanketing the heavens, never touching the ground.
Down below, the giant wolves and foxes crazed by Abundance's resonance couldn't help lifting their heads, staring at those figures streaking through the air.
"Everyone, obey my command!"
Yu Qi, for the moment, had also merged into one with Xi.
Right now, what she said was essentially Xi issuing the order!
Hearing her words, the Cloud Knights readied their weapons, blades flashing in response.
"Pacify this battlefield. Anyone who obstructs—suppress them all!"
With that, streak after streak of flame-meteors—weapon in hand—dove straight down, completely suppressing the rioters below.
Even though Abundance's resonance had made the foxes and werewolves terrifyingly strong, they still couldn't last even a moment in front of this group of true Cloud Knights.
The chaos that had dominated the battlefield quickly became clear.
This was the true might of the Cloud Knights—those who once carried the Xianzhou back from the edge of ruin.
That was the power that had led the Xianzhou from destruction to rebirth.
And now, it appeared once more on this battlefield.
So long as the emotions bursting in their hearts were strong enough—so long as the Heliobi absorbed and burned enough emotion—the stronger their power could become.
In a way, it was a kind of willpower-made-real.
But even this kind of willpower ultimately had an endpoint—its limit depended on the Heliobus fused with the Cloud Knight.
Sora's willpower, though?
It could be said to have no end.
As long as his heart still beat, as long as he had not the slightest doubt, Sora's power would keep climbing!
And because of that—even after fighting Bolue for so long, his position of advantage hadn't been shaken in the slightest.
If anything, Bolue was the one feeling an endless, crushing pressure!
"Now the Borisin have all been captured. You've already lost!"
What was happening below naturally didn't escape the two fighters.
Or rather—Sora had intercepted Bolue countless times already.
Bolue tried again and again to plunge down into the chaotic battlefield below, to stir the mess even further—and Sora had forcibly beaten him back into the sky more times than could be counted.
Now that the situation below had stabilized, from top to bottom, the Borisin had only one left still struggling—
Bolue.
"I can't possibly lose. Don't talk nonsense!"
Bolue opened his jaws—countless streams of water shot toward Sora.
Faced with that attack, Sora didn't even bother dodging anymore.
Because there was no need to dodge at all!
He clenched his fist; flames moved like they were part of him. With a casual sweep of his hand, a surging blaze cut out like a great sword.
Tsshh!
Water vapor shrieked as it evaporated.
The next instant, that slash of flame slammed Bolue straight into Mount Buzhou.
Rumble—!!!
The mountain that pierced the clouds trembled, again and again, only finally settling after several shakes.
"Even if you defeat me, those stinking foxes won't ever return to normal!"
With defeat already showing, Bolue wasn't going to beg for some vanishingly slim victory.
But even if he failed, he wouldn't let this bastard have it easy.
"Abundance resonance isn't something ordinary people can endure. In the end, they'll exist like this forever."
"They'll lose their minds, become beasts, and follow Abundance's freaks forever and ever."
And these freaks—these things that could be called abominations—would only obey one kind of person.
The one who, after receiving the blessing, possessed a special kind of power.
Just like Bolue himself, after receiving Abundance resonance—his intelligence hadn't been affected in the slightest.
He was clearly one of those special existences who could keep their self-awareness even after taking in power.
But among the Foxians fighting below, he hadn't seen anyone like that.
Which meant—from this point on, those Foxians who had become abominations could only be put down by Sora.
Suffer. Despair. Feel helpless.
Because it was you who made this irreversible thing happen.
And just as he wished—Sora was enraged by those words.
"You bastard—playing with lives like this, do you really not feel even a shred of guilt?!"
"Stop asking questions with obvious answers!"
Sora's teeth ground audibly.
The disk was pulled open. Eiji, equally grave, had several purple medals fly out from his body.
After the scan, an axe appeared directly in Sora's hand—an axe that sent a wave of PTSD through Bolue.
"Y-You… what are you trying to do?"
Bolue felt something bad coming. That massive wolf body took several steps back.
"I'm telling you—there's a bomb buried at the very bottom of Mount Buzhou! If you kill me, all your plans really will fall apart!"
This was Bolue's final card—his last move.
If Sora killed him, the bomb would detonate all the Abundance power inside Mount Buzhou.
Then forget seeing the outside world—Cangyan itself wouldn't be able to exist.
Bolue's plan was perfect. He'd even left himself a flawless way out.
As long as he did this, he couldn't die. At worst, he'd be sealed in a pitch-dark prison forever, that was all.
But even after he'd thrown every card on the table, Sora still didn't stop advancing.
The cold gleam on the axe blade flashed as it drew nearer, slowly.
Bolue's body was already feeling that old pain from before.
It wasn't that he didn't try to fight back—but to Sora now, it was nothing but a cup of water on a wildfire.
With a simple wave, Sora erased the counterattack completely.
In the end, Bolue crashed into Mount Buzhou, smashing out a cave.
His whole body hurt like it was falling apart—and the next instant, a boot slammed down hard on his arm.
He looked up.
Cold light on the axe blade.
But faced with that scene, Bolue didn't surrender—he laughed instead!
"Hahahaha! Even if I die, I'll become an evil spirit that clings to you forever!"
"I'll watch the day you're all completely digested by Rahu, Devourer of Worlds!"
And with that, a flash of cold light illuminated the cave.
...
All the foxes and Borisin below Mount Buzhou had been suppressed, not daring to make a rash move.
Everyone was waiting for the final outcome.
And for what should be done with these Foxians.
From the mouth of Jin Xing, the Dragon Lord, they already understood the Foxians' current condition.
The time they'd fought side by side wasn't long, but no matter what, they were still comrades who had charged forward together.
Naturally, no one wanted to execute all these foxes—but they truly had lost their rationality now, with no way to communicate.
"Maybe we can wait for Sora. That guy's so mysterious—who knows, maybe he can restore them."
And besides, hadn't he already turned the Foxian Elder and General Futian back to how they were before?
Maybe he could return these Foxians to their old selves too.
At that, everyone nodded in agreement.
But right at this moment, everyone present felt a tremor coming from within the great mountain before them.
The trembling came out of nowhere, and no one knew what it meant.
Kakakaka.
And after a few cracking sounds reached their ears, they followed the noise—and immediately saw a scene shocking enough to make their breath catch.
The Sword Champion's sword-light—used to cut off Abundance's power at the cost of their life—was slowly turning into countless particles, dissipating.
And then Mount Buzhou, which had already stopped expanding, began to swell again!
The peak climbed higher and higher into the sky.
If this kept going, the mountain might pierce straight through the firmament!
"What's happening?"
"Why all of a sudden—what happened?!"
The sudden change left everyone unable to stay calm. What on earth was going on?
And right then—the heaven-piercing mountain, still swelling without end, finally reached the limit of this place.
Mount Buzhou—at this instant—became the pillar holding up the sky!
Above it was a black hole washed in pitch-dark color: the collapse-of-the-sky omen that Sora had sealed away.
But now the mountain peak had touched the seal, and the Abundance power contained within the giant mountain shattered in that instant.
Boom!
With a thunderous blast, in everyone's stunned gaze, that sky-supporting pillar collapsed with a roar!
Countless shattered rocks turned to dust as they fell from the heavens. Abundance's power surged outward, completely blanketing Cangyan.
And along with that spreading Abundance power came the darkness Sora had sealed away.
Pitch-black began to creep again, as if it meant to swallow this place whole.
Everyone fell silent.
"The sky… collapsed…"
And with it, their last hope of getting out was gone.
To leave, they needed the Flame Lord of the HUNT, Abundance's Buzhou, the Dragon Lord's permanence, and Sora.
But now that Mount Buzhou had fallen—missing the most crucial, most vital Abundance power—their plan to escape was impossible.
And maintaining Cangyan's existence also became extremely difficult.
General Futian, representing the HUNT, was already in his final moments—so Xi had sought a substitute before.
After Permanence fell, the Dragon Lord could no longer use Abundance's power to replace Xi.
Now that the sky overturned again, they had lost every means they had.
"This time… we might really just be waiting to die."
---
T/N: next 5 chapters will prob be tomorrow since that chapter 238 was LONG also COMMENT BITCH! (ignore this was for patreon)