"Dan Heng, you can never escape Imbibitor Lunae, because he is your beginning. The sins he committed will always accompany your path forward, like a shadow, until you are extinguished."

"Blade…" Jingliu slowly averted her gaze, her voice colder than falling snow. "That's a good name. In the endless life that remains, you can only wander between killing and being killed, searching for your burial place. If not for this, you cannot resolve Yingxing's regret."

"Lastly, it's me." Jingliu slowly walked past Jing Yuan. "I will face the Astral Alliance's judgment and bear eternal punishment. And after this… an even more severe price awaits me."

Jingliu quietly gazed at the distant clouds and mist. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on her profile, yet it brought no warmth.

"High-Cloud Quintet… it's time to bid each other farewell."

Jingliu asked Jing Yuan to escort her to Xuling, but unexpectedly, the destination was temporarily changed to the "Yuque" Immortal Boat. After Jing Yuan reported this to the Marshal, the Yuque's General of Military Strategy became quite interested and even intercepted them midway, setting up the "Ten Directions Light Reflection Dharma Realm" to first meet with Jingliu and Luocha.

Regarding this, Jingliu was indeed quite dismissive, scoffing, "…Jing Yuan, you're still the same, always trying to struggle and break free from others' arrangements. But whether it's you or the Cloud Knights… you are all just pieces in the gods' game."

She didn't mind walking a bit further with Jing Yuan, but just as they were about to leave, Blade suddenly rushed out from the side and blocked the two.

"Wait! Jingliu, before you leave, you still owe me a reward."

Jingliu turned around and looked at him, shaking her head calmly. "I tried. Besides leaving you with more wounds, I can't help you any further. Your immortality is not something that can be easily dealt with. A human sword cannot kill the flesh and blood of a god's envoy. A slave of destiny should have told you this, right?"

"Furthermore, I already told you when I taught you swordsmanship. I don't act against people who have no interest in life and willingly offer their necks to be killed—"

"Only an opponent can make you draw your sword."

Blade's fingers unconsciously brushed the hilt of the Shard Sword. The cold touch slightly calmed his restless blood. He had waited for this moment for a long time.

"Jingliu, I have come to return your lesson of a single sword."

—

Record of Ragnarok.

"Oh? It's finally about to begin."

In the human side's lounge, Brunhilde let out a long sigh of relief. For the two sword masters on the human side to witness this battle between Jingliu and Blade was an unexpected bonus before the official battles began.

She knew very little about swordsmanship and couldn't discern many intricacies, but Sasaki Kojiro and Okita Souji would surely gain something from it.

However, when she came to Sasaki Kojiro's side, she found that this silent sword master was already sweating profusely, trembling all over. He stared intently at Jingliu, even his breathing becoming rapid and uneasy.

She slightly tilted her head and spoke with interest, "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly become so nervous?"

"Because I have already died 76 times."

Sasaki Kojiro slowly exhaled, supporting himself on his sword hilt as he slowly sat down on the ground. "Just now, in my mind, I fought her at least 76 times, all ending in being cut down and killed."

"Huh?" Hearing this, Brunhilde was a bit bewildered, completely unable to understand the situation, and frowned in confusion. "She hasn't drawn her sword yet…"

…

Meanwhile, in the gods' VIP lounge.

"Hey, hey, is that really okay? Not even drawing her sword? That Blade is pointing the Shard Sword right at her nose, you know?"

Shiva, sitting in the luxurious seats, was watching the light screen with the other gods, bored. As the god of Destruction and creation, he opened his five eyes wide, but still couldn't observe any changes in Jingliu.

"I remember swordsmen are supposed to take a'stance' when facing an enemy, aren't they?" Shiva asked in confusion while picking his ear. "Could it be that she's quite confident in her speed?"

"For ordinary swordsmen, that is certainly necessary."

Susano-o's voice came from behind him. He stood with his arms crossed, his gaze excitedly fixed on Jingliu in the light screen. "But stances can be abandoned. By abandoning the tangible stance, one can embrace 'formlessness,' thus responding to all incoming enemy techniques."

"Formlessness… making it so mysterious? You didn't just make that up, did you, little Susano-o?" Shijia put a cola-flavored lollipop in his mouth.

Two veins popped on Susano-o's forehead, and he simply couldn't be bothered to pay attention to those two guys anymore. "Hmph, you'll see if you keep watching."

—

"Seven hundred years ago, we were also like this here…"

"Talking, sparring… full of vigor, looking forward to the future."

The red-black Shard Sword was smeared with a streak of crimson blood by Blade, but in the next instant, a line of cold light had crossed his neck—Clang!!

The two didn't dodge or evade. Two sounds, one blue and one red, collided, creating rolling dust and smoke. Only a "clang" was heard, as the two blades met, bursting with countless sparks in the smoke and dust.

After this exchange, the figures of the two intersected dozens of times in an instant. Thousands of sharp sounds rang out in succession, like popping beans. Their weapons, in the blink of an eye, had clashed countless times. The humming vibration between the sword blades was like a steel wire, buzzing and drilling into the ears of the few people watching.

Her sword cut through the dust and smoke, thrusting straight at Blade's throat.

—Seven hundred years ago, the same sword technique stopped half an inch from his neck.

"The way you all were back then still lingers before my eyes, as if it were a dream from last night."

"I originally thought that such happy days could be as long as the lifespan of the Xianzhou People, day after day, endlessly cycling."

"But… dreams…"

The Shard Sword in reality slashed upwards, tearing off the black veil covering Jingliu's eyes. In the soaring and surging sword energy, Jingliu finally saw clearly—the sword energy slashing towards her also reflected the lingering shadows of the past.

"…will eventually wake up, like scattered clouds."

The final sword passed by. In the instant her sword pierced through Blade's chest and blood dripped, time seemed to freeze.

—As if the sea breeze from seven hundred years ago was blowing across her face.

She saw Baiheng standing beneath the statue of the Dragon Lord, laughing with everyone. Her Foxian ears twitched slightly with laughter. As if sensing something, she looked back at herself, her eyes curved like crescent moons.

—

Zenless Zone Zero.

"This Foxian sister is too beautiful… Oh no, there are no Foxians on the Immortal Boat."

In the office of the Anti-Entropy Section Six, Asaba Yuma was looking at the Foxian woman who flashed across the light screen with a look of amazement.

This smile is too gentle. It's completely different from Ya Section Chief.

Yuma mumbled softly, "Ah, if I could be part of the High-Cloud Quintet with her for a lifetime, I'd be willing to take leave every day…"

"Yuma, what are you saying!?" In the distance, Tsukishiro Yanagi, sitting in front of a mountain of documents, suddenly looked up and adjusted her glasses.

"N-nothing! I mean… uh, if the High-Cloud Quintet turned into Ethereal, I'd take leave every day to deal with them…" Asaba Yuma scratched his face awkwardly. "Sister Liu, why are your ears so sharp? You can hear me even from here?"