I just wanted you to make a movie: You made a Honkai Star Rail movie

Activating a Plaguemark, did he really think he could avoid facing the consequences and limits of such a thing?

------------------------------------

Taoran really does have this kind of charisma. The kind that, the moment he appears many people hate him from the bottom of their hearts.

But Lingsha still kept her composure and said calmly: ”Do you think I don’t know the difficulties that the Vidyadhara are facing? Survival itself is not a crime.”

”But what the preceptor has done goes beyond the bounds of survival, it is like a beast that only knows breeding, with no conscience or compassion left.”

Dan Heng also crossed his arms and said calmly: ”Pointing fingers in the name of righteousness will never yield a result.”

The back-to-back rebuttals made Taoran’s face turn dark.

He already considered himself merciful enough to these two ”traitors.”

”Oh?”

”Even if we call ourselves the ’noble’ Vidyadhara, from beginning to end we are nothing more than upright-walking animals. The survival of the race is fundamental. If I don’t act like a beast, the Vidyadhara won’t even be able to remain human!”

Completely ignoring Lingsha’s and Dan Heng’s criticisms, Taoran spoke in a deep voice: ”As the ancients said: ’The Sage is merciless!’ When the High Elder abandoned the duty of ensuring the survival of our race, it fell upon me alone to shoulder the greatest evil of the world!”

He bound his actions tightly to the survival of the Vidyadhara, putting on a posture of lofty righteousness.

The audience watching could no longer hold back.

...

: Assessment complete, Taoran is an idiot.

: Has this guy never thought about why the Vidyadhara chose to join the Alliance in the first place?

: Back then there was no ban on the Plaguemarks, so why did the Vidyadhara agree to eradicate all things related to it? What, they didn’t want to use that power themselves?

: Because damn it, the Plaguemark of Abundance is poisonous! Has Taoran never studied history?!

: And if he justifies using the Plaguemark as a ”necessary sacrifice for racial survival,” did he never think others could use it too?

: If the seal on the Arbor is truly lifted, it will only drag them back into civil war over scarce resources. How can he possibly think he could lead Vidyadhara to survive that?

: Today you speak of righteous sacrifice for the Vidyadhara’s selfish survival, tomorrow the Foxians could do the same, and the day after the Xianzhou people too.

: By then the Alliance would be meaningless, we’d just descend into civil war. Vidyadhara cannot reproduce, how the hell would you win a war like that?

: Pure double standards, this Taoran.

: If all Preceptors were like him, no wonder the Vidyadhara are in decline.

: He’s not even worth a single hair from Dan Feng’s leg, that’s all I can say.

...

Taoran’s political sensitivity is shockingly low. The audience could hardly believe that this guy was currently considered the Vidyadhara’s ”pillar.”

He’s already helped the Borisin, helped Phantylia, committed complete acts of betrayal.

Yet he has never considered: If he doesn’t follow the rules today, what happens when others don’t follow them tomorrow?

All of Taoran’s ”self-sacrifices” are built upon others still respecting the rules he himself violates.

”Lingsha, Dan Heng.”

”The past is gone, but the future of the Vidyadhara is still in your hands. Now that the situation on the Luofu is in upheaval, we Vidyadhara must unite as one.”

”Do not repeat the mistake of drinking from the moon in our past lives.”

Shamelessly, Taoran still tried to ”inspire” them.

Lingsha laughed in anger: ”I once doubted whether the Luofu Vidyadhara truly betrayed the Alliance, but after hearing you confess your crimes, I see that speaking of trust is meaningless.”

”To violate the Alliance’s laws will only bring calamity upon the Vidyadhara. Even if we regain the ability to reproduce, what then?”

As her words fell, Taoran actually smiled with confidence: ”Quite the opposite. Once my work succeeds, the Alliance will regard the Vidyadhara as their savior! For the Alliance’s interests and the Vidyadhara’s survival are one and the same!”

Dan Heng held his forehead.

Lingsha took a deep breath and even turned to look at him.

In her mind there was only one thought:

’Why wasn’t this person weeded out before Dan Feng reincarnated?!’

Taoran talks survival one moment, then talks profit the next.

Please. Where does this man’s confidence come from? What makes him think the Alliance won’t strike him down? What makes him think the Alliance will honor a treaty after he himself has broken it first?

Just as the two of them were speechless, Taoran mistook their silence for awe.

He no longer concealed anything and spoke his deepest thoughts with fervor: ”The Alliance and the Abundance have warred for a thousand years without victory. Have you ever wondered why?”

”Because if the Alliance wins, it will become the next Abundance.”

”If it loses, it will be driven to extinction.”

”Thus for so long, the Alliance has maintained this fragile balance with hypocrisy. But I alone have found a way beyond!”

”The salvation of the Alliance lies in the Transmutation Arcanum!”

Taoran’s voice echoed through the entire place, laced with temptation: ”Imagine if there were a way to transform other beings into Vidyadhara. The Alliance would have endless soldiers.”

”No longer troubled by casualties and losses.”

”And once the war ends, these soldiers would no longer reproduce, no danger of them overrunning the world.”

”This is the true solution for the Alliance! The supreme way to free the universe from the Plaguemarks of Abundance! And only we Vidyadhara can accomplish it!”

Taoran claimed to have discovered the Alliance’s greatest weakness.

It needs an enemy to hunt. If there is no war to balance its population, then sooner or later, another calamity will erupt.

That’s what he thought, utterly convinced that the Alliance would never dare move against him.

...

: Absolute idiot!

: I can’t take this anymore!

: This lunatic needs treatment right now!

: Dan Feng’s actions was for the Vidyadhara to reproduce, for the sake of the future. Baiheng was only the last straw, he never once thought of turning others into Vidyadhara.

: Does this fool really think he’s a genius?

: Judging by that smug look, apparently yes.

: At the end of the day, it’s Jing Yuan’s fault for governing the Luofu too well. Seven hundred years without a real beating, this Preceptor should’ve been dragged onto the battlefield himself.

...

The audience completely lost it. And Lingsha too had reached her limit.

There were too many holes in Taoran’s reasoning, yet his words still carried a dangerous allure.

For a fleeting moment, Lingsha thought of her own teacher.

Perhaps back then, her teacher too was deceived by rhetoric like this, acting out of good intentions ”for the Vidyadhara, for the Xianzhou, for everyone”, but ultimately playing into someone else’s hand.

”Enough!”

”Lingsha, I am utterly disappointed in you, your thoughts are no longer thinking about the Vidyadhara!”

”Cloud Knights!”

At Lingsha’s command, the many Cloud Knights soldiers stepped forward, surrounding Taoran in the middle.

Taoran, however, remained calm, the corners of his mouth curling as he swept his gaze around.

Then, he clapped his hands. He didn’t bother trying to persuade these two fools to join his plan, for that had never been part of his calculations.

So he had a backup prepared.

”Bring it up!”

As Taoran’s voice fell, from behind the statue, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus revealed themselves, surrounding Bailu and holding her captive.

”This...!” Lingsha’s eyes widened instantly, her whole body trembling with rage.

She had never expected Taoran to act in such a way.

He actually dared to threaten the High Elder!

Dan Heng also narrowed his eyes, unpleasant memories surfacing in his mind.

”Dan Heng, and Sister Lingsha!” Bailu, having lost her usual liveliness, said pitifully: ”E–everyone’s being forced here...”

Taoran stepped back, came before Bailu, spread his hands, and said: ”According to the Alliance’s oath, no one may cause the Vidyadhara to bleed or suffer injury within the Vidyadhara territory. Would you break that vow under the Preceptor’s witness?”

Since persuasion had failed, he would use Bailu’s life as leverage.

To prevent them from killing him first and explaining later, destroying his carefully built plans.

The audience were furious by now.

A villain truly is a villain. How could he use adorable Bailu as a hostage to threaten others!

”Everyone, retreat!”

”To avoid unnecessary casualties!”

Taoran threatened: ”Then withdraw from the Scalegorge Waterscape, report to the Alliance’s higher council, let the Six Charioteers hold a public trial to condemn me, and sentence me to the punishment of Hatching Rebirth!”

...

: We can’t let him do such a thing!

: If he tampered with Dan Feng’s ceremony back then, how could he not tamper with his own punishment!

: Taoran must have planned this long ago!

: Using this loophole to evade punishment, then after reincarnation, he’ll keep hiding in the shadows and control the Vidyadhara again!

: Damn it! Looks like he really found a way around the rules!

...

After Taoran finished speaking, Dan Heng said coldly: ”Mr. Taoran, your little abacus certainly rings loud, but I know full well how the Hatching rebirth of the Vidyadhara can be. By then, even if you are no longer you, you are still you!”

”I will not use ignorance as an excuse to forgive myself, nor will I evade the accountability before me!”

Dan Heng was truly enraged. Not only because of Bailu, but because of the Preceptors’ vile deeds.

Taoran also replied coldly: ”Dan Heng, I’ve always hated your lack of tact. Reborn or not, you haven’t changed at all.”

Dan Heng ignored him. Instead, he looked at Bailu seriously: ”Miss Bailu, as the High Elder of the Vidyadhara, please tell me, what do you think right now?”

Encouraged by Dan Heng’s gaze, Bailu lowered her head and stammered: ”I... I don’t want to stay here. I don’t want to be ordered around anymore. I’m not a puppet to be controlled. Please... help me!”

Dan Heng nodded, then turned to face Taoran.

”According to the Alliance’s oath, their people cannot harm the Vidyadhara here. But I am no longer a citizen of the Alliance. I am a Nameless, free to come and go as I wish!”

”The oath of the Xianzhou binds not the spear in my hands!”

”Wait! What are you doing, ” Taoran panicked immediately.

He had never considered this possibility. He always thought Dan Heng would remain bound by the shackles and rules set for him since birth.

Dan Heng’s eyes suddenly widened, the Cloud-Piercer appeared in his hands. He assumed the spear-throwing stance, and with lightning speed, thrust it forward!

Taoran didn’t even have time to react. He was pierced and hurled straight into the wall behind him, pinned there!

And at the very moment Dan Heng struck, behind Lingsha appeared a leaping pink rabbit, releasing clouds of pink smoke that instantly subdued the people holding Bailu captive.

Those rebels hardly resisted before collapsing to the ground. The Cloud Knights immediately followed up and executed the insurgents.

She couldn’t lay hands on Taoran, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t kill the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.

The seemingly complicated situation was resolved the instant Dan Heng took initiative.

”Was having Dan Heng follow me also part of your calculations, General?” Lingsha came to her senses, watching Taoran fall from the wall, and realized something.

Perhaps the Divine Foresight General had foreseen this outcome. That’s why he made sure she brought Dan Heng along.

...

: That was a 0-frame opener!

: Dan Heng did great!

: He belongs to Akivili now, kid!

: See how a Nameless gets things done!

: Give Taoran a taste of Nameless shock!

: Taoran, did you see? The moment someone refuses to follow the rules, your entire scheme collapses! Why did you think the world would run exactly as you planned?

: And I just realized, back when they exiled the Preceptor, it was exactly because of the Preceptors’ fears.

: They were afraid Dan Heng staying in the Vidyadhara would make him the Xianzhou’s weapon. Yet after all this time, this gun has still landed in their faces!

: And now without the Preceptor’s restraints, he’s fully become Akivili’s follower.

: That’s what you call hoisting a rock only to smash your own foot!

...

Only after the outcome was sealed, did Jing Yuan finally appear.

This general had likely been hiding in the shadows, listening to every word Taoran said.

”You...”

”You actually came in person.” Pinned to the ground by the Cloud Knights, Taoran struggled and looked up at Jing Yuan.

”The public trial by the Six Charioteers is unavoidable. In addition, I will send a letter to General of the Xianzhou Fanghu. With her hatred for evil, I believe she will mete out an even more just punishment.”

Jing Yuan walked before Taoran, imposing an inescapable sentence.

”If it is that person, she will surely deliver judgment the entire Vidyadhara will accept.” Lingsha also accepted this punishment wholeheartedly.

But Taoran remained unconvinced. Struggling, he laughed wildly: ”I’ll take all the blame myself. The secrets I hold will surely keep me alive. Isn’t exploiting loopholes exactly what you people like most?”

”And don’t forget, in this very moment, Hoolay is already storming the Skysplitter. By now, it must be flowing with rivers of blood.”

”Heh, Jing Yuan, did you truly think you foresaw everything? Under your control, the Vidyadhara is riddled with weaknesses!”

Arrogant Taoran could not accept losing so utterly. He tried to use his final moments to showcase the results of his schemes.

However, Jing Yuan only smiled, and with a single sentence froze Taoran’s grin.

”On the Skysplitter, there are only Cloud Knights, no audience.”