The Cloud Brawler 6 - (Pre-Honkai Star Rail, MartialArtist!SI)

A lil warning about some nicknaming I picked up while browsing on this period's stories:
For Dan Feng - A-Feng (Baiheng), Yinyue (Yingxing), Yinyue-jun (Jing Yuan);
For Jingliu - Liuliu (Baiheng);
For Baiheng - Jiejie (Yingxing), A-Heng (Dan Feng), Baibai (Jingliu), Foxy (Li Chen);
For Yingxing - Xingxing (Baiheng), My Blade (Dan Feng, in private);
For Li Chen - Chenny (Baiheng), Big Bro (Jing Yuan);
For Jing Yuan - YuYu (Baiheng), Little Bro (Li Chen);

Dan Feng was a simple entity- if it comes down to food and Yingxing, he was willing to take some time off from chores.

That and also making new 'interesting' friends as Baiheng had proved him that she had a knack in finding peculiar people left and right. The name she mentioned a lot as of late was 'Li Chen'. Someone not from an unusual bloodline or background, but that had shown some interesting 'backbone' as the Arbiter-General of the Luofu had put it on words.

Due to his role as the High Elder of the Luofu Vidyadhara, Dan Feng never saw a point of looking into people himself, so he trusted the Foxian with her unusually intriguing attitude in picking up odd people that could have some appeal to them and... she didn't disappoint this time around either.

Li Chen was a towering entity. By far the tallest of the group of friends and also the one that bore something Dan Feng was quick to point out upon their meeting with the rest of the group.

"Your lifeforce is better-balanced than most."

This comment was met with a polite smile and a 'thank you' and-

"What's that supposed to mean?" Baiheng inquired. "Like, are you hitting on him right in front of Yinyue-jun?"

"T-That's not true, Baiheng, I would never-"

"Jiejie is joking, Yinyue," The sword-maker interrupted sheepishly, but still turned to the tall brawler. "Is she?"

"I am into women to begin with," Li Chen confirmed, which caused the Foxian to snort. "Oh, don't get started with 'me too', Foxy."

Baiheng grinned like a moron at that, ignoring the facepalm that Jingliu produced over this banter.

"Oh please, Chenny. You know that's true and that I can be your ultimate wingwoman when it comes to dating."

He rolled his eyes, which drew some curiosity out of Dan Feng on the matter. Still, it was Yingxing that spoke up.

"Chen, is it true that you faced all those threats in Ketu Mirage without a weapon?"

This was indeed an intriguing aspect of Li Chen's current reputation: he was a 'pure' brawler as he lacked an interest to wield any weapon. While Dan Feng himself favored using a lance the least due to his abilities, that didn't mean he didn't keep up with the sort of weapon fitting for a High Elder Vidyadhara of his caliber.

"That is correct, but I assume this isn't about my preference."

Yingxing nodded. "I wondered if it ever crossed your mind to seek one even just as a precaution."

"I thought of it for a while, yes, but I admit that... I can't handle weapons. They break under extended use during my training as I did try to test some out."

That was a bit odd. Even at his fullest, Dan Feng would never get close enough to break his lance. Damaged, sure, but to see such a tool broken entirely after just a session was perplexing.

"Well, that's what you get for getting so strong, you dummy."

Chen snorted. "I am not whining about it. Still, you told me something about... proving something to Dan Feng."

Did she? Why? Dan Feng had no clue on what was to happen, but then the Foxian smiled and nodded.

"Yup, I told you that A-Feng is good at flying too, yes?"

Ah, that made sense to him now. Dan Feng remembered that talk- Baiheng had sounded quite irked when he had told her that flying wasn't as surprising as one would think. But he had to admit that for a human to achieve this was nonetheless impressive.

It was the latter bit of that conversation that stuck around due to its relevance.

"She said you can teleport yourself around. Is that true, Li Chen?"

It was a very unexpected ability to have, and Li Chen nodded.

"It is similar to flying. But rather than allow my body to be lighter, float and then propel myself around, I can phase my body to a location where a energy source can be perceived."

That sounded like an intriguing concept, but Dai Feng refrained from outright believing it.

"Can you show this?"

Jingliu sighed as Baiheng's smile told him that the Foxian had predicted this very question.

"Right now Jing Yuan is hiding. Chen knows not where he is," The woman then turned her red eyes to the aforementioned brawler. "If you find him within ten seconds, you can hug him for as long as needed."

In a very brief moment, Dan Heng heard half-a-squeak from Chen. The tall man was now looking giddy as he put his middle and index finger by his forehead and then vanished without any further vocal element.

He then came back not even a second later, holding Jing Yuan in his embrace.

"Little bro!"

Jing Yuan looked a bit miserable, but also 'defeated' over the pleasant nature of the hugging. It wasn't too tight, but it definitely was embarrassing for the young apprentice of Jingliu to be put through that public display.

Didn't mean that Dan Feng was going to help him, after all... the sight was quite amusing as proved by Yingxing's tiny smile at the sight.

The entire meeting was by far the most entertaining in a while, but the High Elder was somewhat displeased when he was told that Li Chen was quite busy with his chores, training, and meditation. He couldn't blame the man for his schedule, but it felt almost ironic how he was the one seeing a bit of an issue with that sort of self-isolation.

Nonetheless, Dan Feng was soon curious over the future of this individual. He was no Master Diviner, but he could still give a tiny look into the future of Li Chen. Out of curiosity, out of 'interest' to see where his peculiar meteoric rise was about to take him but...

He was perplexed by what he found. He wasn't horrified, or even pleased. Dan Feng was just confused as he only saw one thing.

Red.

It was a warm red, like a tame fire, and so unlike blood red. It was still intense, and a mere glance had him pull away from the meditation. It was so... odd. Dan Feng had never had a vision of this kind, but he felt it was meant to dignify a relatively higher path for Li Chen.

He just didn't know how high that peak was going to be for that human.

AN

I have a confession to make. I have been looking into High Cloud Quintet stories on AO3 and some just stole my chuckles- In the specific, I loved High Cloud Quintet Oneshots from InsertNameHerePlz. Three chapters, but it was downright hilarious.