Chapter 217: The Candleflame Arbiter of the Xianzhou Zhuming, Huaiyan Arrives!

According to Phantylia’s plan...

The first step was to use the Stellaron crisis to throw the Xianzhou into chaos.

Then...

She would exploit the ensuing turmoil among the Vidyadhara, triggering conflict throughout the Xianzhou Alliance itself.

Only after planting the seeds of suspicion...

Could she hope to reap a plentiful harvest.

In that regard...

Her first plan had both succeeded...

And failed.

Because of Evan’s intervention...

Jing Yuan never fell prey to Destruction’s corruption.

He carried on as though nothing had happened.

As a result...

Phantylia’s opening move was completely thwarted.

Which naturally led to her second plan.

The Borisin.

Phantylia was an Emanator of Destruction.

Hoolay, imprisoned within the Xianzhou for seven hundred years...

Was not.

He was merely the Borisin Warhead.

That was precisely why she intended to use him as a tool to fulfill Destruction’s will.

Hoolay wasn’t merely the Borisin leader.

He was their spiritual symbol.

Phantylia’s scheme was obvious—

By manipulating Hoolay...

She could ignite the Borisin’s bloodlust and fighting spirit...

Turning them into weapons under her command.

She didn’t care in the slightest whether Hoolay lived or died.

If he lived...

He would remain the Borisin’s banner...

Their symbol of faith.

If he died...

His death would inflame every Borisin’s rage...

Driving them into an even greater frenzy.

That was only the first purpose.

The second...

Was to use Hoolay’s escape to provoke the Alliance’s leadership into doubting Jing Yuan once more.

To reignite political conflict.

Then, by directing the Borisin...

She could plunge the Luofu into further chaos...

Reviving the very plan that had failed before.

The goal...

Was still the same.

Destroy the Xianzhou from within.

And finally...

There was her pursuit of Destruction’s aesthetics.

Unlike Zephyro or the other hot-headed destroyers...

Phantylia sought despair.

Pain.

Collapse.

Whether the Borisin were wiped out...

Or the Xianzhou suffered catastrophic losses at their hands...

Either outcome suited her perfectly.

Even the immortal body she’d created from the Ambrosial Arbor’s fruit hinted at another possibility.

If Hoolay died...

His Warhead Heart...

Would simply become another trophy in her collection.

Seen that way...

Everything fit neatly together.

Just as Evan’s group was preparing to head toward the Seat of Divine Foresight...

Dan Heng suddenly stopped.

At almost the same moment...

Evan sharply sensed an incredibly fast gust of wind rushing toward them from behind.

A faint sense of danger flashed through his mind.

Dan Heng immediately drew Cloud-Piercer.

March and Stelle hadn’t even realized what was happening...

Before both he and Evan had already moved to shield them.

"No need to be nervous."

"It should be the Arbiter-General from the Xianzhou Yaoqing."

"Huh?"

"The famous General Feixiao that Lady Yukong mentioned?"

Evan nodded slightly.

Truth be told...

He had always been rather interested in this famed General.

Her background was unique.

Not only was she the Arbiter-General of the Yaoqing...

She had once been a slave of the Borisin.

She possessed the Moon Rage bloodline.

Making her the ideal successor to Hoolay’s Warhead Heart.

The title of the Invincible General...

Was enough to pique Evan’s curiosity.

Before his words had even finished...

He gently pushed March behind him.

The next instant...

A cyan meteor plummeted from the heavens.

Like a divine spear...

It shot directly toward Evan and Dan Heng.

Yet before Evan could react...

The raging cyclone suddenly dispersed.

As the wind faded...

A foxian woman quietly appeared before them.

Calling her a white-haired foxian wasn’t entirely accurate.

Her long silver hair gradually shifted into shades of emerald green...

Matching her vivid jade eyes.

As one of the Xianzhou’s Arbiter-Generals...

Evan was thoroughly familiar with her background.

The invincible General Feixiao.

An exceptional warrior in every sense.

But...

Also an incurable lightweight.

The kind of person who could get drunk from a single jar of wine.

As the saying went—

"Drunk, she studies her sword beneath the lamplight; dreaming, she hears war horns echo across the camp."

Unfortunately...

When this lunatic drank...

She also had a habit of demolishing other people’s pavilions with her sword.

That was Feixiao in a nutshell.

"So."

"You’re Evan."

"The one who shattered Phantylia’s immortal body during the Luofu’s Stellaron crisis..."

"And saved that fellow Jing Yuan."

"Not bad."

"You didn’t retreat a single step under my pressure."

"I’m Feixiao."

"From the Xianzhou Yaoqing."

"How about it?"

"Care for a spar?"

She stepped out from the dissipating whirlwind.

Her entire figure finally came into view.

An unmistakably heroic foxian general.

Feixiao was noticeably younger than Yukong.

Yet she had already been fighting on the front lines during the Abundance Wars.

She had even known about the death of Yukong’s closest friend.

Had Yukong not lost heart and returned to the Luofu...

Her position today likely wouldn’t have been any lower than Feixiao’s.

Of course...

As the Sky-Faring Commission’s Helm Master...

Yukong was already one of the Six Charioteers of the Luofu.

Her status was hardly insignificant.

"The Invincible General Feixiao?"

"And you’re challenging an ordinary person like me?"

"Doesn’t that seem a little unfair?"

Evan narrowed his eyes with a faint smile.

"Pfft."

"Ordinary?"

"You Nameless don’t have ordinary people."

Feixiao looked him up and down.

Her gaze then shifted toward March...

Dan Heng...

And Stelle.

"The former High Elder."

"Miss March, whose origins remain unknown."

"Miss Stelle from Herta Space Station."

"And you..."

"A Genius Society member."

"An Emanator of both Elation and Erudition."

"Possibly even someone who commands the Authority of Remembrance."

"You call yourselves ordinary?"

Finally...

Her eyes returned to Evan.

Leaving him momentarily speechless.

...As expected of Feixiao.

She had investigated every one of them thoroughly.

No wonder the Yaoqing kept winning battle after battle.

This woman never entered a fight unprepared.

Evan let out a helpless sigh.

"So..."

"It sounds like we’re destined to cross blades."

"General Feixiao..."

"But Jing Yuan and General Huaiyan are still waiting for us at the Seat of Divine Foresight."

"We have no reason to fight right now."

"How about—"

"I know!"

"We’ll settle it after Jing Yuan’s business is over."

"On the tournament stage."

She grinned broadly.

"The Xianzhou Martial Ceremony."

"Who cares if an Emanator steps into the arena?"

"We simply won’t use our Emanator powers..."

"Nor the blessings bestowed by the Reignbow Arbiter."

"Just pure close-quarters combat."

"What do you say?"

"Or..."

"Are you scared?"

"Pfft."

"You’re on."

"But don’t start crying when you lose."

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