Guinaifen's Livestream
At that moment, Guinaifen was replaying the official combat footage over and over.
[Chat]
"Wow!"
"In the weekly boss fight, Phantylia goes through three phases, but Jing Yuan and Dan Heng just one-shot her with a combo move?"
"Is Phantylia just weak, or are Jing Yuan and Dan Heng's bonds that strong?"
"Once Dan Heng's banner drops, I'm putting them in the same team—absolute must-pull!"
...
As Guinaifen was lost in her thoughts, a notification popped up on her phone.
It was a post from a top-tier player she followed—[Account Banned].
The title read: ["The Cloud Quintet Had Some Secrets"].
"Cloud Quintet?!"
That was a crucial keyword!
In the Luofu's storyline, this was the one missing puzzle piece!
If they could uncover what really happened back then, so many plot threads would finally connect.
"Wait… is [Account Banned] about to drop lore on the Cloud Quintet?"
"Why does this scene look so familiar?"
"OH MY—!"
"This is the fight against Phantylia!" Guinaifen gasped.
The footage released by the Luofu officials had been heavily edited, showing only Jing Yuan and Dan Heng's final strike.
But now…
[Account Banned] had leaked the full battle—starting from the very beginning!
In the video, Phantylia loomed imposingly, her eyes glowing like lanterns as she stared down at…
Four people?!
Not just Jing Yuan and Dan Heng—there were four fighters in this battle!
...
The livestream chat erupted instantly:
"HOLY CRAP! This is the unedited Phantylia fight!"
"Even the officials only released clips! Where'd [Account Banned] get this?!"
"Insane! I hereby declare [Account Banned] the #1 leaker—[Zhao Camera] is over!"
"The quality's so crisp it looks like it was filmed live!"
"Who are the other two?! Besides Jing Yuan and Dan Heng, who else fought?!"
Guinaifen kept watching.
The two additional figures were… familiar.
Just as she tried zooming in, Phantylia suddenly attacked—unleashing a vortex of wind and lightning!
Then—
A white-clad figure leapt dozens of stories high, straight into the camera's view.
Guinaifen's jaw dropped.
"JINGLIU?!"
"CHAT, ARE YOU SEEING THIS?!"
"JINGLIU WAS IN THIS FIGHT TOO?!"
With three sword strikes—
The first shattered the vortex.
The second split the lotus.
The third directly wounded Phantylia's divine form!
This wasn't turn-based gameplay.
This was real combat—raw, unfiltered power.
Before Guinaifen could process Jingliu's strength—
Another figure moved.
"BLADE?!"
"NO WAY! AM I SEEING THIS RIGHT?!"
"Why is Blade fighting alongside Jingliu?!"
"Jingliu hunts Blade, Blade hunts Dan Heng—how are they teaming up?!"
...
The chat spiraled into chaos:
"How is this trio NOT killing each other?!"
"Jingliu's carrying hard—she just solo'd Phantylia to 1 HP!"
"Blade's attacks are so relentless Phantylia can't even counter!"
"THIS is why the official footage felt off!"
"But… why are these four working together?!"
"Guinaifen's brain can't process this!"
"Maybe [Account Banned] deep faked it? These four hate each other!"
"Did Jing Yuan use his god-tier diplomacy to recruit two wanted criminals?!"
"Jingliu's moves aren't even swordplay anymore—it's borderline divine punishment!"
"I never dreamed Blade and Dan Heng would fight together! …Wait, didn't they team up against Yanqing in-game?"
"[Account Banned] titled this 'Cloud Quintet Had Secrets'—are these four the original Quintet?!"
"Jing Yuan and Dan Heng, sure—but Jingliu and Blade? That's wild!"
"Pre-corruption Jingliu was Jing Yuan's mentor—her being in the Quintet makes sense. But Blade? No clue."
"Luofu's records erased this era entirely. Something big went down."
"What happened to turn five legends into… this?"
...
Guinaifen rewatched the clip, stunned.
She searched for "Cloud Quintet" lore, but—as expected—historical records were scrubbed clean. Even Jing Yuan's archives had gaps.
"What really happened back then…?"
She wished she could time-travel and witness it firsthand.
"Wait—Yu Ling must know!"
"If only he'd release a video about it…"
As if answering her plea—
A notification flashed: [Yu Ling's New Short Film: "Primordial" Now Released.]
Guinaifen pinched herself.
Not dreaming.
She clicked.
The film's title: "Primordial"—cover art featuring Dan Heng…
In his Imbibitor Lunae form.
This had to be about his past life—the tale of the previous Dan Feng!
Below the video, text previews teased:
[He dreams of inheriting a title, dancing in ritual, bathed in reverence.]
[He dreams of standing on a battlefield, meteors falling like divine judgment.]
[He dreams of being bound by jade pillars, needles piercing his flesh, sealed in darkness.]
[He dreams of wandering lost in the void, hunted by relentless shadows.]
[In all these dreams, he is the dragon, the hero, the sinner—never just a man with loves and regrets.]
Goosebumps prickled Guinaifen's arms.
This was it—
The story of Imbibitor Lunae.
The truth behind the Cloud Quintet's fall.
To be continued…
Advance 100 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
pat reon.com/AlphaSenatus