"P-Papa..."
Not long after Kafka's words fell, Bailu ultimately spoke the word, her tiny voice carrying a hint of hesitation and uncertainty.
In fact, even Bailu herself had no idea why she had suddenly called Lucian 'Papa,' as the word had slipped from her lips almost instinctively, as though some hidden feeling deep within her had prompted her to say it.
Regardless, her voice was soft and sweet enough to melt anyone's heart, to the point that there probably wasn't a man alive who could remain unmoved after hearing such an adorable little girl timidly call him that.
Lucian certainly wasn't one of them.
He had always had a soft spot for cute little girls, and Bailu was adorable beyond compare. Hearing her timidly call him 'Papa' immediately sent a pleasant warmth straight to his heart, making him feel an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
Covering his chest, he couldn't help but smile to himself.
Still, he knew that wasn't truly Bailu's own intention.
Kafka had woven Spirit Whisper into her earlier words, and Bailu had only addressed him that way because she'd been influenced by Kafka's ability.
"Kafka, aren't you worried Bailu might end up stealing Stelle's spot?"
Lucian suddenly asked with an amused smile, his tone carrying a hint of teasing as he looked toward Kafka.
As soon as Stelle heard that her family status was supposedly in danger, her expression changed dramatically.
"What? Godfather doesn't want me anymore?!"
Stelle hurried over in a panic, immediately wrapping herself around Lucian's arm and clinging tightly to him as though afraid he might disappear if she loosened her grip for even a moment.
"Godfather, you can't just abandon me! I can be your adopted daughter and call you Papa too! Papa! Papa!"
Just like that, Stelle shamelessly buried herself against Lucian's arm while acting spoiled, completely unconcerned about appearances or the gazes of the people around her.
It couldn't be helped.
After being thoroughly pampered by him for so long, she couldn't even imagine what her life would be like without him.
Lucian, on the other hand, resisted the urge to flick her forehead.
How could she throw away her dignity so effortlessly?
More importantly, why did she look as though she thought this was the most natural thing in the world?
Stelle really had been born with the perfect temperament for the Path of Elation.
"Would you? I believe you would never abandon Stelle."
Kafka smiled faintly, her voice carrying complete confidence rather than the slightest hint of uncertainty.
After spending time with Lucian over their past few encounters, she had already concluded that he was an exceptionally responsible man. Since he had willingly accepted Stelle as his goddaughter, there was no chance he would abandon her halfway through.
Besides, with so many wives already by his side, he had never cast aside a single one of them.
In her eyes, that alone was enough to prove the kind of character he possessed.
"Good. I like hearing that." Lucian laughed softly. "As for letting the Stellaron Hunters join us... I'll give it some thought."
He had always been the type who responded well to kindness but disliked being pressured. If someone approached him sincerely, he was willing to consider their request, but if they tried to force his hand, the result would naturally be different.
"Papa?"
Bailu called out once more, causing Lucian to turn toward Kafka with a slightly surprised expression.
"Kafka, stop using Spirit Whisper."
Kafka simply blinked at him before smiling innocently.
"I didn't."
Her answer could only mean one thing.
Bailu had called him 'Papa' entirely of her own free will this time.
"Do... Do you really want to be my Papa? I don't have a Papa or a Mama. I only have the vidyadhara elders and the attendants. And... I'm really naughty... I eat a lot too..."
Bailu nervously looked up at Lucian with her large, watery eyes, timidly voicing everything she considered to be a flaw. Her small hands fidgeted slightly as she waited for his answer, clearly worried that he might change his mind after hearing all of this.
Lucian simply smiled and nodded.
"If you're willing to call me Papa, then of course I'm willing to accept you as my daughter."
Earlier, when Kafka had used Spirit Whisper, she had deliberately refrained from clouding Bailu's consciousness. Because of that, Bailu had seen everything clearly, including Lucian's reaction and everyone else's reactions around her.
Deep down, she had always wanted to live freely, to play without restrictions and without constantly being watched.
She had spent so much time being treated as Imbibitor Lunae's successor and being surrounded by people who worried about her safety that even ordinary freedom had become something she longed for.
Now, that chance was standing right in front of her.
The Xianzhou Luofu's Arbiter-General.
The former Vidyadhara High Elder.
The former Sword Champion.
The infamous interstellar criminals.
Even the Astral Express crew.
All of them revolved around Lucian, showing that his influence alone was powerful enough to completely change her destiny.
Although Bailu was still young, she was intelligent enough to understand exactly what accepting this opportunity meant. If she became Lucian's daughter, then perhaps she would no longer have to remain confined by the expectations and restrictions placed upon her.
"Papa!"
Bailu called out with absolute conviction this time, her eyes shining with a happiness that had not been there before.
"Umu."
Lucian answered just as firmly, accepting her call without the slightest hesitation.
At this moment, under the watchful eyes of numerous influential figures, Bailu officially became Lucian's adopted daughter. By extension, she also became the adopted daughter of Jingliu, Baiheng, Fu Xuan, and Himeko.
And from this day forward, she became Stelle's little sister.
"Hehe, Bailu, I'm your Mama from now on."
Baiheng immediately broke into a bright smile and spoke gently, her eyes filled with affection as she looked at Bailu.
Jingliu, however, lightly rubbed her forehead.
"...Honestly, this still feels a little strange..."
Before her reincarnation, Bailu had once been a draconic abomination who had originally been created through Baiheng's blood combined with the vidyadhara's secret techniques. Looking at the current situation, it almost felt as though Baiheng had accepted another version of herself as her own daughter.
Of course, Bailu and Baiheng were now completely separate individuals in every sense, so there wasn't the slightest ethical issue.
Seeing the scene unfold before them, both Dan Feng and Blade quietly sighed in relief.
They had always carried tremendous guilt toward Bailu, so seeing Lucian willingly place her under his protection lifted a heavy burden from their hearts. At the very least, they no longer had to worry that Bailu would continue living alone and helplessly under the constraints of the vidyadhara.
"Lucian... Thank you..."
"Teacher... Thank you..."
Without planning it, the two of them spoke almost simultaneously.
Blade immediately shot Dan Feng an irritated glare.
Meanwhile, Dan Feng lowered his head with the guilty expression of someone who had just been caught making a mistake.
One glance was enough to tell who was on top between the two.
"Well, Bailu is still young. I think someone should continue protecting her from the shadows."
Jing Yuan calmly offered a practical suggestion.
Lucian, however, simply shook his head.
"No need. My adopted daughter doesn't have to spend her whole life walking on eggshells. She can go wherever she wants. As long as she isn't breaking the law, she can eat, drink, play, and enjoy herself however she likes."
Jing Yuan frowned slightly.
"But she can't protect herself."
"Protect herself? Well, that's easy, then..." Lucian said with a calm smile. "She just needs to become a High Elder."
When those words fell, he reached out and grabbed Bailu.
Pure white bandages immediately shot forward, wrapping around her layer after layer until she looked like an adorable little mummy.
Lucian casually raised one hand, erecting a golden barrier that completely blocked everyone's view.
Only after the restoration was complete and he had confirmed that Bailu's clothes hadn't exploded apart did he calmly dismiss the barrier.
As soon as it disappeared, an overwhelming aura burst forth from Bailu's body.
Brilliant cyan light flashed across her eyes as the phantom silhouette of a dragon slowly coiled around her. At the same time, the delicate dragon horns on her forehead became even more crystal-like, radiating an increasingly majestic and powerful aura.
Bailu stared blankly at her own little hands as she could clearly feel that the High Elder's power within her, which had once been incomplete and fractured, had now become perfectly whole, incomparably solid, and unimaginably powerful.
Half of it embodied healing, while the other half embodied destruction.
It felt so natural that it was as though this had always been the power she was meant to possess.
"I... I feel... so much stronger!"
Bailu looked up at Lucian with sparkling eyes, unable to hide her excitement.
"Good." Lucian nodded in satisfaction. "Now your High Elder power is complete. Your strength is no different from Dan Feng's. If anyone bullies you from now on, don't waste time crying. Just smack them with your tail. And if you still can't beat them, just tell them my name."
Hearing that, Dan Feng froze.
"???"
What did he mean by no different?
Was Lucian saying Bailu's High Elder power was now equal to his?
Among everyone present, Dan Feng and Dan Heng sensed the change most clearly.
They could unmistakably feel that the High Elder's power radiating from Bailu was now perfectly pure and complete, identical to the inheritance possessed by Dan Feng himself, the rightful High Elder Imbibitor Lunae.
"Wow! So Bailu really is a genuine High Elder now?!" Baiheng excitedly clapped her hands. "Doesn't that mean the Luofu's got two Imbibitor Lunae?"
By now, Jing Yuan had experienced so many unbelievable events that he had become completely numb.
Lucian resurrecting Dan Feng.
Lucian creating a second High Elder.
Neither of those things surprised him anymore.
If anything, he was beginning to look forward to the chaos that would inevitably follow.
'I wonder if those elders' jaws will hit the floor when they see two Imbibitor Lunae.'
Jing Yuan knew that throughout the history of the bidyadhara, the inheritance of the High Elder had always been passed down from one generation to the next, and there had only ever been one High Elder aboard each Xianzhou ship at any given time.
However, now there were two.
Lucian suddenly raised a finger and pointed toward Dan Heng.
"Not two, but three."
Everyone knew Dan Heng still possessed the other half of Imbibitor Lunae's destructive power. If Bailu's healing half could be restored to completeness, then naturally, Dan Heng's destructive half could be restored as well.
In other words, the Xianzhou Luofu would soon possess three Imbibitor Lunae simultaneously.
Before Dan Heng even had time to react, the miraculous bandages flew out once more, wrapping tightly around him before he could resist.
A moment later—
*WHOOSH!*
Another majestic aura of High Elder exploded skyward, intertwining perfectly with the auras of Bailu and Dan Feng.
Three High Elders.
Three Imbibitor Lunae.
Three overwhelming vidyadhara auras gathered together within Fyxestroll Garden.
By this point, everyone had long since become too shocked to react.
"Three High Elders... Hahaha... the Vidyadhara are probably going to lose their minds over this."
Holding his forehead, Jing Yuan could only laugh helplessly, both amazement and resignation filling his voice.
"How exactly am I supposed to write this year's report?"
"'A Feasibility Report on the Xianzhou Luofu Simultaneously Possessing Three Legitimate Vidyadhara High Elders'?"
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[A bonus chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]
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