A Past Shared by the Swordmancers

Wuling Tanjian Hall... It looks quite different from the one in Hongshan. Is this your school?

Not just me. An entire generation of Wulingers grew up here.

The first cohort of the Yinglung Special Task Force of Wuling was mostly locals.

Ironically?

Mansion, Wrought, Hillock ... and others. They all became students of Tanjian Hall under this tree.

Hngh...

Endmin, Tanjian Hall is the final safe zone verified by YSTF.

Beyond this point is a dangerous area that devoured the lives of numerous Yinglungs. We'd best be prepared.

Chen, radio Tianshi Zhuang and have her stop the main group.

Ah... Okay. I got a connection.

Our priority is to eliminate all obstacles near Tanjian Hall, and ensure it becomes our next Sentry Base.

We meet again.

The years have twisted this land, yet this withered tree remains as though nothing's changed.

Children of the scientific surveillance team... They once studied and learned to fight in these ruins.

Ironically, this also became a key objective of the surveillance mission.

I'm back ... everyone.

Some of them became Tianshi. Others joined the Yinglungs. They ran surveys and scouting missions just to get back to this tree.

Hardly any of them completed the survey missions unscathed. Most of the children who grew up here also died here.

We're on top of that.

I'm sorry, Summit.

I was out of it...

Why? Over a small thing like this? This isn't like you, Task Leader.

What is it?

Are you sure you can be a vanguard in this state?

It's my fault. I could've hurt Summit. There's no excuse for that.

No one's asking for an excuse. That doesn't matter. I just need you to remember what your duties are.

Go ahead, tell me. What are my duties?

Try. Slowing. Down.

You...

She's right, Task Leader. You're overstretched.

If this is everyone's consensus ... I'll concede.

We need a well-prepared and reliable Task Leader. We need you to be that.

Maintaining proper readiness is also part of the fight.

Endmin, thank you ... for just then. If I'd caused you any trouble, that would've completely defeated my purpose.

My thanks too, Endmin. That hit could've landed me in the hospital for at least two weeks.

What?!

Pale? Have we seen those kind of Blightshades before?

Æther activity spikes in the Exclusion Zone. Anything could happen.

This warrants a closer look. Endmin, we should move.

Just like us, the Yinglungs who came before us had to fight their own too.

No. We know very well that the Blightshades are just information fragments.

Neutralizing them might be uncomfortable, but not unbearable.

I did not expect you to say those words, Endmin. I just...

Instructor Zhu...?!

Was that Instructor Zhu's Blightshade? Who was the other one?

Some of them ... failed to defeat their predecessors.

Imagine having to fight former teammates over and over again. This is cruelty.

Those familiar faces that ... showed up repeatedly serve as a constant reminder... They had fallen, and with great suffering.

The things that hurt ... are actually the memories.

Endmin, I did not mean to —

Thank you.

Arcane! Behind you!

He didn't attack us.

Something might be over there... We should follow.

You again.

Instructor Zhu ... are you asking me to free these poor souls?

I didn't last many semesters, but I'm still a fellow disciple of Instructor Zhu.

I thought you came up with your own swordmancy.

Well, the Instructors called that a real talent!

You still good?

Look after yourself.

The <entry=narrativeNote_10>Bell of Three Presences? So Tanjian Hall had one of those too.

This room used to be called the Morning Bell Lodge. It was the only facility capable of forecasting Blight disasters during the early days of the Wuling Science Station.

Instructor Zhu...

What are you trying to show us?

I don't know if they built Tanjian Hall around the bell, or if they moved the bell into the school after it was built.

I only remember listening to the instructors' lectures beneath the bell.

WAIT!

Task Leader! What's that sound?

Blitzcrash... She's here too.

A <entry=narrativeNote_11>howlerbeast I picked up from the wilderness. She later became part of Tanjian Hall.

Now, will you join me and send her off?

There shouldn't be any Blightshades left nearby... The threat has been neutralized for now.

Inform Tianshi Zhuang that we will wait for their arrival at this location.

You brought us to Blitzcrash and these Blightshades. Are you trying to guide us and clean up the local threat?

......

...Halt!

Careful!

Are you ... still upholding your duty as Yinglung and trying to assist us?

Instructor Zhu, answer me...

It seems ... you're just a Blightshade.

Endmin, you're here.

I'm thinking ... about things...

When they told me that I wouldn't become an Yinglung, I felt really, really bad about it.

But ... I gradually found out that ... becoming an Yinglung wasn't really that important.

You know... Being myself and doing things my own way ... that's probably the best thing for me.

I'm just kinda worried about Arcane.

There are times when I couldn't see any life in her eyes... She's letting her Yinglung duties crush her and everything else...

When I look at her, it feels as though I'm looking at those Blightshades. Maybe she thinks it'd be alright to fall in this operation.

I ... I just prefer the Li Zhiyan I once knew, and not this Arcane.

Endmin, if things happen and she starts getting some really stupid ideas, please...

Yeah!

I don't think I know her at all. As we go deeper into the Zone, it feels as though she's turning into someone else.

I am resting, since it's what everyone wants. Do you need me for something?

Someone must navigate this Miasma-choked place. I am the best there is, so I must bear with it.

I'm a Task Leader of the YSTF. I'm far more used to such levels of operational intensity than you can imagine.

Endmin...

You and Chen are quite alike in some aspects.

When it comes to fulfilling your ideals and visions.

But when things become unforgiving, not only do we need to make the "right choice". We need someone to make the "cruel choice".

You might not approve of this notion right now, yet it is exactly where I stand my ground.

Starting from the day I crawled out of the ruins, it became the only thing on my list.

We have already witnessed the sacrifices of so many predecessors. Here comes the cruel jest. The battle has only just begun.

Li, did you hear that?!

Yes...

If the Blightshades were just info fragments, those words...

Instructor Zhu was among the first Yinglungs to arrive at Wuling. He personally founded this Tanjian Hall.

He didn't just instruct the Yinglungs. Many watchguards and Tianshi took his lessons as well.

And if a great disciple like you came to see him off, I bet he could finally rest in peace.

The truth is ... Instructor Zhu's favored disciple was always you.

Wha?

That day when you reported to the Yinglungs. Remember what you said to Instructor Zhu?

Erm ... not really? I just remember you asked something...

I asked you why you joined the Yinglungs. You're not a Wulinger and knew nothing about our mission in the Exclusion Zone.

You said: "I wanna travel to every dangerous place on Talos-II, and fight injustice wherever I see it!"

Ah! I remember! And you told me I was being childish!

Well congratulations. I still do.

Why you — Ugh, why are you suddenly talking about this?

Because it suddenly came to mind.

To help the other victims of the Blight, Instructor Zhu.

Since when did I stop caring about that...? Did it start here?

Hey ... you spacing out again?

You actually lived up to your words.

Huh? What is she up to now...? Hey. Slow down. Tianshi Zhuang and the main force are arriving soon!

The Very Large Rift is just ahead. The moment to end it has finally come.

Endmin, ready to go?

Roger. One more push to see it through.

The local threats to Tanjian Hall have largely been neutralized. This will serve as our new Sentry Base to support our forces.

True heroes of Wuling. Without them to pave the way, reaching this point would have been all but impossible for us.

Once this is all over, we'll bring them home.

But as the situation stands, our only way is forward.

We've reviewed the files recovered by the Yinglungs and prepared our data solution for Xiranite Nexus expansion.

If prudence is our choice, performance boosting the Xiranite Nexus will be the most effective solution. We should be fully prepared before our next move.

The Very Large Rift... The epicenter of this terrible disaster is within reach.

Of course. We cannot afford any mistakes as we prepare to enter the concentrated Miasma. Go ahead if there are other things you want to do, Endmin.

Tianshi Zhuang and I will organize the crew and get things out of the way. We'll set off once you're all set.

He was my instructor. He taught me to read, to fight, and to carry myself properly. After I was saved ... he was the only person I still knew.

After I joined the Yinglung, he became me and Chen's instructor.

I'm alive because of him and the other senior Yinglungs...

This is the very first school HAS built in Wuling. It was meant to teach martial arts and recruit elites.

But at the time, they taught everything here, and most of us were just kids about the same age.

Instructor Zhu said that once we grew up, Tanjian Hall would finally serve its true purpose... But that day never came for us.

I never thought I'd see him again here ... like this.