Azure seas surged, waves rising and falling endlessly.
Countless tides ebbed and flowed, eternal, while ancient structures stood unmoving, untouched by time.
This was the sacred land of the Luofu's Vidyadhara, the place used to suppress the blessing of Abundance—the Scalegorge Waterscape.
At this moment, beneath a statue at Scalegorge Waterscape stood the Vidyadhara Preceptor, dressed in luxurious robes.
He gazed into the distance, his expression calm and unreadable.
"Vidyadhara Preceptor, the Fangyuan High Elder has arrived. She specifically requested an audience."
A Vidyadhara stepped forward with a report, breaking the quiet.
"Bring her here."
"Yes."
Shortly after the Vidyadhara withdrew, footsteps approached from behind. He needed no confirmation—it was Fangyuan High Elder Jin Xing.
"Looking at it now, your Luofu's Scalegorge Waterscape is quite impressive."
Facing the sea breeze, Jin Xing couldn't help but admire the scenery.
"Indeed. Beneath such tranquil waves… who knows what treasures may be hidden?"
A smile formed on the Vidyadhara Preceptor's face as he regarded Jin Xing warmly. "May I ask what brings the Fangyuan High Elder here today?"
"I've cooperated fully with your film promotion. And I didn't provoke that Miss Titania—"
"Oh? Then who was it who got stepped into the ground the other day? Why does that scene look so familiar?"
Before Taoran could finish, Jin Xing interrupted him, bringing up the incident from several days earlier.
His face shifted from green to purple as his pent-up frustration from those days surged again.
Who begins a conversation by opening someone's wounds?!
But Taoran was, after all, the true power among the Luofu's Vidyadhara.
No matter how turbulent his emotions, he maintained his composure outwardly.
"If the High Elder only came here to display eloquence, then Taoran admits defeat."
"Hey, no, no. There's something else I genuinely can't beat you at—your nerve. Even if you combined everyone else's, yours still surpasses them all."
The moment Jin Xing shifted the topic to what truly mattered, silence descended over the scene.
Only the sound of waves striking the shore remained.
After a long pause, Taoran finally broke the silence.
"What does the High Elder mean by this?"
"Dabbling in Abundance-tainted marks—ordinary people don't have your courage. On that front, I genuinely admire you."
This time, Jin Xing was not mocking him. She genuinely meant her words.
After all, she wanted to use it too, but she never even had the opportunity.
Mount Buzhou, which once suppressed the Cangyan, had long collapsed into ruin—she couldn't even catch a glimpse of it now.
Taoran had already expected such pressure from her.
"High Elder, have you forgotten? Dan Feng, who caused the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, already underwent forced scale-shedding rebirth. That matter is closed. What does it have to do with me?"
"What does it have to do with you?" Jin Xing's voice remained steady. "I should ask you—when did anyone ever say it had nothing to do with you?"
"It was only shelved temporarily due to minor issues. Now the Vidyadhara intend for me to reopen the investigation. Come with me, Taoran. Make this trip together. Tell me what you and Dan Feng conspired about behind closed doors. Tell me how you drove the entire Vidyadhara clan to the edge."
Hearing this, the Vidyadhara Preceptor clenched his fists. What did she mean, he drove the whole clan to the edge?!
"Everything I did was for the Vidyadhara's survival! Everything I've done was in pursuit of that goal!"
He flung his sleeve in a burst of emotion. "My contributions are greater than those High Elders sitting on their mountain of treasure! I'm more qualified than any of you for the High Elder seat!"
Jin Xing stood unmoving, but Vidyadhara guards had already leveled blades and spears at her back.
"It's because of me that the Vidyadhara found a new path forward! It's because of me the clan regained hope! I should have been remembered in history!"
The Vidyadhara Preceptor's agitation mounted as he stared at Jin Xing with reddened eyes.
He fully understood why she had come.
What he couldn't grasp was how just a few pregnancy reports could erase all his so-called "contributions."
"And now you want to destroy everything I've done. You want to force me into scale-shedding rebirth. You want to brand my life permanently as a criminal!"
The consequences for using Abundance-tainted calamities were clearly defined by the Alliance—exile at best, execution at worst, and eternal disgrace.
Imbibitor Lunae already carried that infamous burden. Now, it was about to fall upon him.
How could he accept this? How could he possibly understand?
Don't people live for fame and power?
Yet the Alliance's judgment was about to strip away everything he desired.
How could he accept it?!
Thus, within a scene already charged with killing intent, Taoran's outburst instantly tightened the atmosphere to breaking point.
With a single command from him, countless blades and spearpoints would pierce Jin Xing.
Yet Jin Xing stood calmly, without the slightest panic.
"If you return with me now to Fanghu, this remains an internal Vidyadhara matter. But if you insist on continuing down this obsessive path—"
"Hahahaha—how ridiculous!"
Before Jin Xing could finish, Taoran interrupted her.
How could he believe such words?
Besides, he'd already made a choice—a choice that would keep him secure and safe.
"Rather than that, you should—ngh!"
Before Taoran could finish, a brutal strike landed on his face.
A pale, jade-like palm slapped him sharply across the cheek, the force so great he felt bone crack.
An instant later, Taoran spun through the air several times, then crashed face-first onto the ground.
"Tch. Didn't anyone teach you basic manners?"
Jin Xing had always possessed a fiery temper. She'd said everything she needed to say, yet he interrupted her—of course she'd lose patience.
Thus, as she'd always promised, she delivered the most satisfying slap in the world.
However, Jin Xing clearly hadn't anticipated just how much psychological damage this slap would inflict on the Vidyadhara Preceptor.
"Cough—cough… ph—"
The ringing in his skull made it impossible to focus. Spitting out blood, he touched his swelling cheek, momentarily unsure what had even happened.
Jin Xing had moved far too quickly. Neither he nor the nearby guards had reacted in time—by the time they understood, it was already done.
But that wasn't the most critical part.
The critical part was the sight of two foreign objects in the blood he'd spat out—two teeth.
He froze.
"…Those are my teeth?"
He dazedly touched the gap in his mouth. Unquestionably, those were indeed his teeth.
Confusion filled his mind.
He was the true administrator of Luofu's Vidyadhara; even the general consulted him on certain matters.
He controlled the Alchemy Commission and held full authority over everything concerning Bailu.
Except for lacking the title and raw power of a High Elder, his status was practically equal.
Yet now, this "acting High Elder" had just had his teeth slapped out…
How could something like this happen?!
"You bastard—how dare you strike me?!"
Taoran lunged at Jin Xing in a fury.
The once-calm sea surged violently as if responding, water twisting upward to bind Jin Xing.
"Seize her! All of you—capture her!"
At the same time, Taoran shouted for the surrounding Vidyadhara guards to rush forward and subdue Jin Xing.
He wanted her to understand what it meant when even a powerful dragon couldn't suppress a local serpent.
"This is the Luofu—you don't get to do as you please here!"
In an instant, countless streams of water, accompanied by blades and spears from the guards, rushed at Jin Xing from all sides.
Faced with this onslaught, Jin Xing remained entirely unruffled.
Not only did she not panic—after quickly assessing her surroundings, she actually frowned.
That gesture made Taoran's heart sink, but at this stage, there was no turning back. He had to press forward!
"Still putting on airs at a time like this? Then let pain carve the lesson into your bones!"
Roars, battle cries, and the thunderous clash of surf combined into a fierce war anthem.
Today, Taoran would make Jin Xing realize—his strength was nothing to mock.
After all, the very reason for the Vidyadhara Preceptor's position was to handle High Elders fallen into dragon frenzy.
Anyone who could maintain this seat naturally had their own special methods.
Today, Jin Xing would feel the true might of Luofu's Vidyadhara Preceptor!
Unfortunately…
To Jin Xing, Taoran and these guards had crossed a bottom line.
"Who gave you permission to turn your blades against your own people?!"
With her suppressed but furious declaration, a terrifying power erupted, striking fear into their very souls!
BOOM!!!
If Taoran's summoned water was like ordinary streams, Jin Xing's unleashed aura was like a high-pressure jet slicing through crystal.
The water enveloping her exploded instantly into mist, scattering back into the sea.
The Vidyadhara guards were hurled away uncontrollably.
Under that crushing pressure, each guard felt as though a mountain had pressed onto their chest, making breathing difficult.
And the reason behind all this was simple—
They had angered Jin Xing.
Turning weapons against one's kin was Jin Xing's reverse scale.
And now, Taoran and these guards had stepped on it.
Immediately, the Scalegorge Waterscape roared to life. Countless waves rose as though answering a summons, gathering around Jin Xing.
Dragon horns sprouted from her forehead, a dragon tail unfurled behind her. Beside her coiled a massive white-gold dragon.
Its sleek form stretched majestically, the white-gold scales emphasizing its nobility.
Small wings protruded from its back, but somewhat incongruously, it possessed five clawed limbs along its underside.
Though this asymmetry gave the dragon an imperfect appearance, it heightened its awe-inspiring presence.
The aura of a High Elder at her peak surged outward without restraint. The waves of Scalegorge Waterscape churned in response.
"What…is this…?"
Taoran stared up at Jin Xing hovering above, eyes trembling. He'd never expected events to reach this point.
Her overwhelming strength terrified him to his core.
He compared her strength to Imbibitor Lunae's in his mind, quickly realizing that perhaps even Imbibitor Lunae couldn't oppose the figure before him.
"This is the Fangyuan High Elder's power?!"
"How could anyone possibly face this?!"
"No wonder among the Vidyadhara she's the only one who dares throw her weight around in front of the general."
The Vidyadhara guards stared at Jin Xing, feeling bone-deep fear.
It came not only from bloodline suppression but also from whispers within the Vidyadhara.
No matter which Xianzhou ship's High Elder it was, all restrained themselves before General Xuanquan of Fanghu.
Xuanquan was more than just a general—she was the Vidyadhara clan leader.
Anyone who met her had to show respect.
Yet among the Vidyadhara, there was a single exception:
One of the Cangyan's three great experts—Fangyuan High Elder Jin Xing.
All at the top of the Xianzhou knew her temper was fierce.
But what they didn't know was that even in the clan leader's presence, Jin Xing acted exactly as she pleased.
She never restrained herself or considered the circumstances. Whatever she wished to say, she said.
People speculated this privilege was granted by the general due to Jin Xing's role in preserving the clan after the Cangyan returned.
But seeing this now, the Luofu's Vidyadhara guards finally understood the truth.
What allowed her to act freely in front of the general—what let her speak without fear of consequence—was nothing other than raw strength.
"In the Vidyadhara clan rules, one line states clearly: Vidyadhara blades must point outward, never inward."
Cradled by the white-gold, five-clawed dragon, Jin Xing coldly recited the rule. "Violators shall be struck by lightning for three days."
As she spoke, golden lightning flashed across the dragon's coils.
The lightning condensed in her hand, forming a long spear.
"Today, you will all receive your punishment!"
With that, Jin Xing swept the spear-light forward.
The guards couldn't evade it. Each was pierced by streaks of spear-light wrapped in thunder.
They convulsed immediately, feeling lightning surge violently through their bodies.
It wasn't that they didn't want to flee.
They simply couldn't.
Jin Xing commanded wind and thunder, drove lightning, controlled the azure tides, and stirred rivers and seas.
The surrounding waters had already blocked every route of escape. All they could do was endure the lightning's punishment.
Jin Xing slowly descended back to the ground, the white-gold dragon coiling along her spear.
Before her lay the Vidyadhara Preceptor, still convulsing.
Enduring the lightning coursing through him, he forced open his eyes, glaring hatefully at Jin Xing.
"And you—the main culprit—you're coming back to Fanghu with me for proper judgment!"
Humiliation—unbearable humiliation.
Throughout all his lifetimes, Taoran had never once tasted such disgrace.
But now, he finally had.
In that instant, there was nothing else in Taoran's heart. Like an earthworm, he writhed on the ground, awaiting Jin Xing to drag him away, sentence him, and force him into scale-shedding rebirth.
After that, he'd bear the criminal's brand forever. No matter how many times he reincarnated, he'd never escape the shame.
Was that really his future?
Was he destined to be seen as a worm clinging desperately to life—a criminal dragging himself through the mud?
"Don't make me laugh!"
After tasting the pure winds at heaven's edge, how could he endure the filth beneath rotten soil?
This wasn't merely a fall into filth—it was sinking deeper and deeper.
The label of "criminal" would drag him down into the depths of hell.
Taoran would never accept that fate!
And so, under Jin Xing's watchful gaze, he forced himself upright.
"Don't move. My spear has no eyes!"
But Taoran couldn't listen. Trembling, he struggled to his feet.
"I… will decide my own future…"
He refused to fall from the heavens—forget hell, he wouldn't allow even a speck of mud to stain him.
Jin Xing cared nothing for his words. If he treated her warning like empty air, she'd make him understand the consequences.
She reversed her grip on the spear and thrust forward.
With a burst of wind, thunder, and lightning, the spear pierced through Taoran's body.
Splurt.
The spear drove cleanly through, blood splattering to the ground.
At the same time, Jin Xing pinned the spear between his arm and torso, immobilizing him.
"If you still want this arm, behave and come quietly!"
She issued her final warning.
But the Vidyadhara Preceptor, face concealed behind disheveled hair, merely smiled.
"An arm? If giving it up lets me remain in the heavens forever, then I…"
Sensing something wrong, Jin Xing instantly activated lightning to subdue him.
But the horn on Taoran's forehead was already glowing fiercely.
If sacrificing an arm secured eternal life in the heavens, he would gladly do so.
And he'd do it better than anyone!
Under Jin Xing's astonished gaze, Taoran suddenly lunged backward—straight toward the raging sea.
Rip—!
A sickening tearing sound echoed. The Vidyadhara Preceptor forcibly tore off his own arm!
Bright blood sprayed everywhere. The severed limb splashed heavily onto the ground, while Taoran plunged headlong into the Scalegorge Waterscape.
"What the hell is he doing?"
Jin Xing's instincts screamed in alarm. She swept her spear through the air, commanding the waves to carry away the convulsing guards to safety.
Taoran wasn't attempting suicide. That much she knew.
Then what was his intention?
Her eyes flicked to the fallen limb, and something there made her pupils contract.
Tender green shoots were already sprouting from the severed wound.
"…Don't tell me…"
BOOM!!!
The curtain of water exploded upward, revealing a colossal form breaking free from beneath.
It towered tens of meters high.
Flesh grew rampantly over its form, defying all natural order.
No scales—just countless writhing, branch-like tendrils that stretched and contracted, probing their surroundings.
The tendrils melded grotesquely with its flesh, each twitch brimming with unsettling vitality.
On its head, a single horn slowly sank into its flesh, enhancing its unnatural aura.
At the site of its severed arm, new limbs rapidly regenerated, muscle and bone knitting together visibly, restoring it fully.
"Are you… Taoran?"
Jin Xing stared icily at the massive entity.
"Even in this form, High Elder Jin Xing recognizes me—I'm honored!"
A low, oppressive voice rumbled from its throat. Sharp fangs glinted with murderous intent.
"This shape of yours…"
"It's the dragon-transforming secret art. Used on the dead, it creates Vidyadhara; used on Vidyadhara themselves, it returns us to our true form!"
As Taoran spoke, he slammed the water's surface, causing immense waves to surge into the sky.
And as though under his command, the waves coiled protectively around him.
"Witness the true power I now possess."
A massive torrent surged toward Jin Xing.
She swung her thunder spear, and a piercing bolt of lightning cleaved straight through the torrent, dispersing it instantly!
"With strength like this, I'm more than worthy of the High Elder's title."
Taoran's colossal form churned, boiling the entire sea into chaos.
Waves towered higher and higher, reaching toward the heavens.
On the shore, terrified crowds fled the towering wall of water.
Others raised their devices, filming the giant dragon and uploading the images online.
All eyes across the Luofu turned toward the spectacle.
"What is that?! Why does it look so horrifying?!"
"Look how its flesh twists and knits together—don't tell me an Abomination of Abundance has invaded?!"
"Impossible! The general hasn't declared a wartime state. How could an Abomination appear?"
Instantly, the network exploded with chatter, speculation running rampant.
At the scene, Jin Xing remained unaware of that chaos. Her thunder spear trembled slightly in her grasp.
Not out of fear.
Out of fury.
"And you think something like you is worthy of the High Elder's title?!"
She charged head-on at Taoran.
Did this bastard really think "High Elder" was merely a title—a status symbol?
Did he even understand what a High Elder must bear? What a High Elder must endure?
"You abomination—stop dreaming!"
Jin Xing swung her white-gold dragon spear, commanding countless waves to surge forward as she charged at Taoran.
Thunder infused the waves, lending the water lightning's lethal force.
Spear-shadows roared like the wind, spear-lights slicing through the air toward their target.
The lightning-charged waves coiled tightly around Taoran, restraining him completely.
Jin Xing wouldn't allow him to escape—and she intended to make him pay dearly for insulting the name of the High Elder.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lights collided violently against the abomination's body, erupting into golden sparks.
The lightning-imbued water constricted further, binding Taoran firmly.
Seizing her chance, Jin Xing aimed directly for his throat.
For most creatures, the head was their greatest vulnerability.
Even if it didn't kill him outright, it would certainly cripple him!
Her figure surged forward like lightning itself—an impact no ordinary being could survive.
But Taoran, the abomination, was no ordinary being.
"Now that I've reached my complete form, you're no longer a match for me!"
Using the dragon-transforming secret art, he had stirred the Ambrosial Arbor's power, transforming himself into this monstrous form of Abundance.
He was no longer the weak Vidyadhara Preceptor Taoran.
Now, he was an Abomination of Abundance!
"ROAR—!"
A dragon's roar exploded like thunder, deafening everyone nearby. Taoran writhed, violently shattering the waves that bound him.
He charged directly toward Jin Xing's attack!
Their clash was momentarily even—Jin Xing's spear pierced forward, then abruptly stopped.
Not only was the abomination's flesh unnaturally dense, but its regenerative power was astonishingly fast.
The spear became trapped—frozen in rapidly regenerating flesh, impossible to remove.
Realizing the danger, Jin Xing immediately pulled back.
But Taoran's counterattack was quicker.
He opened his jaws, unleashing a frigid breath.
The white frost rushed forward like arrows, striking Jin Xing head-on.
Ice spread across her skin, piercing deep into her bones—so cold it nearly froze her consciousness in place.
But lightning burst from her body, jolting her back to clarity.
She swept her right hand, gathering water to form a barrier—but the wall froze solid instantly.
"Fangyuan High Elder… is this the extent of your power?"
Taoran's tail slammed the water, raising colossal waves. With another breath, he turned the waves into countless ice arrows.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The arrows chased Jin Xing relentlessly, shrieking as they approached.
Facing this ranged assault, Jin Xing felt the bone-chilling cold—but she could still hold her own.
The fight stalled, neither able to finish the other.
Jin Xing gritted her teeth. "Damn it…"
Some Vidyadhara had inherited gifts from the Undying Dragon Ancestor. Luofu's Vidyadhara excelled at water control and rain summoning.
But who could've predicted Taoran's transformation into an abomination would grant him ice mastery in addition to water?
If not for being caught off guard, how could she have been pushed back like this?
"So much big talk—but when faced with true strength, this is your limit!"
The abomination's massive body drifted closer, its jaws parted in mockery.
Say it once, say it ten thousand times—under my power, aren't you reduced to this?
"With strength like yours, do you truly believe you can fulfill your grand ideals? You can't."
Taoran basked in satisfaction. He'd sacrificed an arm—and now had the strength to temporarily suppress the Fangyuan High Elder.
Her frustrated silence made him want to laugh aloud.
"People will still be slaughtered right before your eyes. They'll still die right in front of you. With your limited strength, what can you possibly do?"
But he wasn't just taunting her.
He was also planning a sneak attack.
"Go drown in your self-righteousness!"
A poisoned ice needle shot forth from a concealed angle.
Within that needle was a deadly poison—potent enough to kill a Vidyadhara.
Taoran truly controlled the Alchemy Commission; brewing poison was effortless.
One needle, and the victim's body would slowly rot away.
If she wanted to survive, she'd have no choice but to beg for Abundance power.
I'll watch you kneel before me, begging for your life!
Triumph filled Taoran's heart. He could already see the future unfolding.
"Sure, she might not manage much on her own—but that's when I step in."
A flaming hawk swept in suddenly, melting the poisoned needle completely.
"What?!"
Taoran snapped his gaze to the side in shock.
"You… who the hell are you?"
Meanwhile, Hoshigaki Sora stared bitterly at the Dice Saber in his hand.
But whatever—his time was almost up. He wouldn't need to wield this thing much longer!
"Just a salty gacha player—remember that!"
'[HYPER, GO!]'|
'[HY-HY-HY-HYPER!]'
'[ROAAAAAAAAAAAR!]'
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T/N: ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!! lion vs dragon!!!!! also cliffhanger ough why is kamen rider so longgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg wil;l update the rest of the 3 chapters throughout the week
(OH UHHH I FORGOT TO CHANGE THE COPY PASTE FOR RANDOM RIDER :SOB:)
bonus chaps
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400 stones -> 2 chapters
and so on
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