Jiyun Connected to His Brain, Dragon Transformation Did the Thinking

I had no time to wipe away the scalding liquid, letting it fall onto the Trailblazer's face. It glistened as it dissolved the bloodstains on her cheeks, making the glaring crimson even more vivid.

Stelle, on this Trailblazing journey, there were only the two of us.

We depended on each other for survival.

Just as you had only me to rely on.

I, too, had only you.

You wouldn't leave me alone in this unfamiliar land, Stelle.

You couldn't be that cruel. You would stay with me forever.

I stubbornly, repeatedly, and futilely tried to save the Trailblazer.

Even though her body had gone cold beyond cold.

Even though she gave me no response at all.

I refused to believe she would simply die like this.

But no matter how hard I tried, the Trailblazer merely lay quietly on the ground.

Her brows were faintly furrowed with unease, as though she had sensed the danger about to strike even before losing consciousness.

I reached out and smoothed away the crease between her brows.

It had to be because she was an ordinary person, and thus unable to withstand what had just happened.

Was it because I was of the Vidya Clan, because my physique was different from that of ordinary people, that I had survived by chance?

Wait.

The Vidya Clan?

Having suddenly caught hold of a crucial word, my hand did not stop moving, but a wildly improbable idea immediately occupied my mind.

The Vidya Clan...?

Ever since I could remember, I had endured countless punishments in that endless prison.

Back then, I had hated my previous life more than anything.

Why was I of the Vidya Clan?

Why was I the reincarnation of that man?

Dan Feng?

I was not him!

Why should I bear the consequences of the mistakes he had made?

From beginning to end, I had only ever been myself. Nothing more!

Back then, I still could not understand him, nor could I understand the bond between the High-Cloud Quintet.

If one's closest friend had reached the end of their fate, why forcibly defy heaven and change that fate?

The Vidya Clan could not reproduce. Their numbers could only dwindle, never grow. That, too, was heaven's will.

It was absolutely not karma that a Vidya Dragon Sovereign should interfere with.

That was what I had thought back then.

Countless times, I had drawn a line between myself and Dan Feng in my heart, unable to understand what he had done.

At some point, I had sworn that I would never follow Dan Feng's old path.

In this life, I was only Dan Heng!

But now, I suddenly regretted it.

The Trailblazer was dead.

I no longer had the heart to distinguish right from wrong.

Even if Dan Feng's mistakes were unforgivable in the eyes of the world... so what?

Until people experienced something for themselves, they would never understand another person.

Now, as I watched Stelle lie lifeless before me, no matter how I called to her, she gave no response at all.

I suddenly understood Dan Feng.

I understood how he and Blade had felt when they used the Dragon-Transforming Art in an attempt to revive their friend.

On one hand, I regretted that part of Dan Feng's Dragon Sovereign power—the Abundance Immortal Technique—had been inherited by Bailu, the Luofu's current Dragon Maiden.

On the other hand, I was fortunate that memories of Dan Feng performing the dragon-transformation technique still remained in my mind.

Dan Feng had failed.

Perhaps his Dragon-Transforming Art had been incomplete, which was why it had failed.

But none of that mattered.

Because I was not him!

I could definitely avoid the mistakes that had caused his failure.

I would definitely do better than he had.

After following the Star Rail through countless sunrises and sunsets among the stars, I believed that I had surpassed that man!

I could definitely accomplish what that man had failed to do!

Dan Feng, after all the twists and turns, it seemed we would still walk the same road and choose the same ending.

I resolved to perform Version 2.0 of the Dragon-Transforming Art.

Trailblazer, you would not die.

I would create a world with you in it!

Having made up my mind, I lowered my head and gazed deeply at the Trailblazer.

The girl still lay exactly as I had placed her on the ground, showing no reaction from beginning to end.

Even after my relentless attempts at first aid, she still showed no sign of life.

"Stelle..."

My gaze fell, and no emotion could be seen on my face.

The crackling of the burning train car still rang in my ears.

My right hand slowly rose.

In my palm, the power belonging to the Vidya Clan was about to gather.

Although using the Dragon-Transforming Art would worsen the burden on my already injured body.

None of that mattered anymore.

The most urgent matter was to make the Trailblazer...

Wake up!

I spat out a mouthful of blood, my vision going dark, but I still desperately gathered the power within me, about to begin the first step of the Dragon-Transforming Art.

At the same time, a massive boulder fell from the high cliff in the distance.

Yet at that moment, I was wholly focused, with all my heart devoted to Version 2.0 of the Dragon-Transforming Art.

I did not notice the danger closing in behind me.

I was knocked unconscious by the rock.

Misfortunes never came alone.

Before losing consciousness, I sprawled miserably on the ground and looked toward the Trailblazer.

Using the last of my strength, I reached for her.

My fingertips touched her icy fingertips, as though doing so could forge a link between us.

...Would I die too?

That was wonderful.

Stelle, thank goodness you had not left me behind alone.

With me by your side, you would not be lonely either, right?

Before blacking out, I had even arranged everything that would come after my death with perfect clarity in my mind.

Scenes from my past flashed before my eyes.

Before I fainted, I gripped Stelle's fingertips tightly.

Sorry, Stelle.

As a guard of the Star Rail.

I had failed to... protect you.

My consciousness finally sank into boundless darkness.

I thought of many things.

In Xianzhou terms, this was probably the "life flashing before one's eyes."

I thought of Dan Feng.

I thought of the years when, as one of the High-Cloud Quintet, he and Jingliu, Yingxing, Jing Yuan, and Baiheng had achieved countless legendary feats together.

I thought of myself.

Of the time I had spent imprisoned in the Shackling Prison, my body bound by chains in endless darkness.

The agony of being forcibly made to shed my scales remained as vivid as ever. Even now, I could still feel that overwhelming pain.

I thought of when I had first boarded the train.

Welt, Himeko, and the conductor Pom-Pom had gently accepted me.

They did not care about my past. They only welcomed my future, welcomed me to write a new chapter aboard the Star Rail.

I thought of first meeting the Trailblazer at the space station.

Of how I had been about to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, only for March 7th to shove me away with a slap.

Back then, the Trailblazer had even come up to me and asked what I thought about her joining the train.

I had merely coldly thrown out three words: "I don't care."

Back then, I could never have imagined that I would form such a deep bond with the Star Rail.

I remembered exploring Belobog with the Trailblazer and March 7th.

Of standing on the Outlying Snow Plains, watching snow fill the skies, and forming our three-person team for the first time.

It turned out that I had already gained so many beautiful memories during our Trailblazing journey.

How wonderful.

Without realizing it, my connection with the Star Rail had become so deep, and I had already accumulated so many beautiful memories.

Now, even if I died, I would have no regrets...

I closed my eyes.

I did not know how much time had passed.

Suddenly, a touch of warmth covered my lips.

With effort, I raised my eyelids.

A desolate landscape entered my sight.

I was... still alive?

My gaze focused ahead.

The Trailblazer's face was right before me.

She looked at me with a grin, then said something so shocking that it made me cough up blood:

"Dan Heng, you're hurt so badly. I almost thought you were dead. I even picked a name for your third reincarnation—how about Dan Shu?"

That was wonderful, Stelle. So you were all right.

As long as you were all right.

My gaze softened.

I did not think about how the Trailblazer had come back from the dead.

Perhaps everything just now had merely been a dream.

Looking at the lively Trailblazer before me, I did not dare mention it, nor could I mention it.

I would just pretend that nothing had happened.

After all, Stelle.

In this unfamiliar land.

I only had you.