Chapter 152: The Price of a Perfect Score

No one objected to General Jing Yuan’s proposal.

Composing themselves, the group followed her closely, descending a flight of worn, ancient stone steps. The path opened into a vast, circular plaza, a space that felt as though it had once hosted grand, solemn ceremonies.

In the very center of the plaza, a massive statue of the Vidyadhara Dragon Lord stood towering over them. Its sculpted face bore a striking resemblance to Dan Heng’s current form, an echo of power and lineage connecting across the gulf of time.

Fu Xuan, who had already arrived and established a defensive perimeter, strode forward to meet them. After a crisp salute to Jing Yuan, her report came in a torrent of clipped, urgent words.

“General, you’ve finally arrived. The Lord Ravager, Phantylia, appears to be making a move to seize control of the Jianmu. If she succeeds… the devastation will be unthinkable.”

Hearing this, Jing Yuan showed no flicker of surprise. She simply gave a soft, “Hmm,” and raised a hand, a calming gesture directed at the tense Master Diviner.

“Master Diviner, relax.” Her voice was as placid as a still lake, discussing the potential end of the world as if it were a minor logistical snag. “I am already aware of the situation you describe.”

Her tone was utterly composed. “Phantylia may have staged a retreat, but she is a Lord Ravager. It would be foolish to think she wouldn’t leave a contingency plan in her wake. This is all within my expectations. It is merely the final gambit we must prevent.”

Seeing Jing Yuan so unruffled, Fu Xuan’s brow furrowed even deeper. She looked as if she wanted to argue, to impress upon the General the sheer gravity of their predicament, but the words died in her throat, replaced by a resigned sigh.

She knew this General of hers. On the surface, she appeared lazy, almost lackadaisical, but beneath that casual facade, she always held the reins of the situation with unerring wisdom. If she said she “already knows,” then she most likely had a countermeasure prepared, or at the very least, a clear path toward one.

Still, the precariousness of the moment made it difficult to feel completely at ease.

“Since the General has a plan, I will, of course, cooperate fully,” Fu Xuan said, her professionalism reasserting itself as she regained her calm demeanor. Her gaze shifted toward the imposing Dragon Lord statue in the plaza’s center.

“According to ancient texts verified by the Divination Commission, the entrance to the Scalegorge Waterscape can only be accessed through this place: the Heart-Sea Passage. It is sealed by the accumulated power of successive Dragon Lords. Due to the anomalies radiating from the Jianmu, the passage is currently blocked and sealed. It is impenetrable through conventional methods.”

Jing Yuan nodded, her own gaze shifting to Dan Heng, who stood silently at her side. She took a step forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the young woman, and together they looked up at the ancient, weathered statue.

“Master Diviner’s words are correct. The key to opening this final gate lies not in some artifact, but in a person.”

Jing Yuan turned to face Dan Heng, her tone growing solemn.

“The child who is the legitimate successor to the Dragon Lord’s power has not yet matured enough to wield such might. Dan Heng, while you are not the reincarnated Dragon Lord of this generation, you are the inheritor of the previous Imbibitor Lunae’s power. Your essence shares the same origin as this seal. Right now, the crucial task of opening the passage and clearing the final path to the Scalegorge Waterscape…”

Jing Yuan’s voice fell, each word clear and steady, landing with immense weight.

“This burden… can only be entrusted to you.”

Every eye in the plaza turned to focus on Dan Heng.

She knew this was not a moment for hesitation, not a responsibility she could refuse. Without a word, she took several steps forward, positioning herself in the center of the plaza before a deep, circular pool of water, directly opposite the ancient statue of her predecessor.

Dan Heng closed her eyes, taking a single, deep breath. The vast, draconic aura she had kept carefully restrained now surged forth, flooding the plaza. A torrent of azure light erupted from her form, her long, dark hair lifting and swirling as if caught in an unseen gale.

Slowly, she spread her arms, a gesture of embrace, as if welcoming the entirety of the Scalegorge Waterscape’s history and its fathomless waters.

A low, resonant hum vibrated up from the very bedrock, a sound that felt older than the Luofu itself. The stone beneath their feet began to tremble violently. The water in the deep pool stirred, concentric ripples spreading outward, growing more and more turbulent with each passing second.

Dan Heng’s body floated into the air, her robes fluttering around her as she rose several feet above the ground.

She opened her eyes. With a sharp, focused intensity, she raised her right hand, palm facing down toward the churning pool, and thrust it downward!

“Open!”

Her clear, cold shout was not loud, yet it carried the obvious authority of an ancient decree.

RUMBLE—!!!

Outside the plaza, the boundless ocean of the Scalegorge Waterscape let out a deafening, world-shaking roar! The placid surface of the sea was ripped asunder by an invisible, titanic force!

Gigantic waves, hundreds of meters high, surged toward the sky, only to be violently pushed apart to either side, held back by the sheer will of a higher power. A vast, gaping channel tore through the water, revealing a path that plunged into the abyssal depths.

The scene was magnificent, majestic, suffused with the raw power of myth and legend. Everyone was too stunned by the devastating spectacle to utter a sound.

Jing Yuan stood with her hands clasped behind her back, watching the newly formed channel that led into the abyss. A smile, equal parts relieved and knowing, touched her lips.

“As expected… only you could do it.”

However, just as the epic atmosphere reached its absolute peak, just as everyone’s hearts were stirred by the grandeur of the moment…

“Tearing open the Heart-Sea~~~”

“Deng~ dengdeng~ deng~ dengdengdeng~~~”

A piece of BGM with a driving, heroic rhythm—one that was intensely familiar to Chen—blared out at the most inappropriate time imaginable.

The sound wasn’t deafening, but it was perfectly clear, and against the backdrop of the roaring waves, it sounded particularly jarring… and utterly comical.

The source was, of course, Chen. He was completely engrossed in the spectacle, having entered what could only be described as a ‘game cutscene’ state of mind. He’d somehow fiddled with a hidden function of his Geo-Map to produce sound and was now bobbing his head to the beat, providing his own background music for Dan Heng’s sea-parting miracle.

It was a tune brimming with the grandeur and sense of destiny befitting a hero opening the final dungeon. In a strange, subtle way, the artistic intent was a perfect match. But its sudden, unprompted appearance shattered the solemn, mythical atmosphere like a brick through a stained-glass window.

Suspended in mid-air, holding the pose required to maintain the channel, Dan Heng couldn’t stop a muscle in her brow from twitching as the music reached her ears. She had to channel every ounce of her draconic willpower to resist the urge to turn around and blast the idiot out of existence, if only to preserve the dignity of the Imbibitor Lunae.

March 7th was the first to snap out of his awe-struck stupor. He whipped his head around to look at Chen, a look of pure, unadulterated exasperation on his face.

“Chen! What are you doing?! You ruined the entire atmosphere!”

With an expression of pure innocence, Chen paused the playback.

“I was just setting the mood! A scene this cool deserves a proper soundtrack! Look at the visuals, the special effects, the camera angles… and Teacher Dan Heng’s pose! It’s practically begging for an epic score!”

He even managed to sound completely justified.

The smile on Jing Yuan’s face widened. She seemed to find the entire situation far more amusing than she’d expected. Fu Xuan, on the other hand, wore a speechless expression that screamed, ‘Is this man even remotely reliable?’

“Enough.”

Dan Heng’s clear, cold voice cut through the burgeoning farce. She slowly descended to the ground, the azure light around her receding as the newly formed channel stabilized.

“The passage is open. We need to hurry.”

Without so much as a glance at Chen, she turned and became the first to walk toward the magnificent, watery canyon. But as she passed him, she whispered three words, so softly that only he could hear their chilling promise.

“…We’ll settle this later.”

Chen instinctively flinched, his neck shrinking into his collar. But then, as he watched Dan Heng’s retreating figure disappear into the passage, his gaze drifted to the newly unlocked, brilliantly glowing Imbibitor Lunae icon in his mind.

Yeah, he decided. Totally worth it.

He quickly fell in line with the main group, still muttering under his breath.

“I still think my BGM was pretty spot-on…”

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story? Every single bit helps immensely: