["Hehehe…"]
[Suddenly, Phantylia's chilling laughter echoed once more through Scalegorge Waterscape. "No matter. The final struggles of ants on the brink of death are especially pitiful…"]
[Phantylia's massive hand swept aside the smoke, summoning two mystic lotuses—one at Jing Yuan's feet, the other above his head. Almost simultaneously, countless roots of the Ambrosial Arbor shot out, binding Jing Yuan's limbs tightly.]
[From the start, Phantylia's target had been singular.]
[—Jing Yuan!]
[After being cleaved by the Divine Lord's blade, half of Phantylia's body was nearly shattered. Though her broken face still bore a confident smile, the rage in her eyes was impossible to conceal.]
[Drawing on the Ambrosial Arbor's power of Abundance, she hadn't expected the battle to be so grueling. But with Abundance continuously healing her body, the outcome of this fight had been decided from the start—]
["In the next act, I'll forge you all into Voidrangers. Let the power of Destruction erode your flesh and blood, turning you into pawns of Lord Nanook!"]
[Before her words had fully landed, the two mystic lotuses collided, unleashing a tremendous shockwave that instantly engulfed Jing Yuan, trapped within.]
"—Jing Yuan!!"
Seeing Jing Yuan take such a heavy blow, Keqing instinctively bit her lip. "Damn it, why didn't he use the Divine Lord to cut through those vines right away? If the Divine Lord could shatter Phantylia's body, cutting those Ambrosial Arbor roots should've been easy, right?"
"And… where's his Divine Lord? If Jing Yuan dies, the Divine Lord will vanish too, won't it?"
"…Most likely." At the Jade Capital Platform, Ganyu, watching from the sidelines, furrowed her brow. "To not use the Divine Lord at a time like this, could it be…"
A loud "bang" from the screen interrupted their thoughts. Looking over, they saw Jing Yuan, like a broken kite, plummet from the air and crash heavily into the ground.
His gilded armor was mostly destroyed, his body battered with scarcely an intact spot. Kneeling on one knee, he could only use his formation blade to prop himself up.
He's going to lose.
A terrifying thought flashed through Keqing's mind.
She had anticipated Phantylia might gain the upper hand, but with the Dragon Sovereign and the Astral Express crew's support, this battle might be tough… yet the general would ultimately prevail.
But now—
"We need to get the general out of there to regroup. If he dies… even if Phantylia doesn't act herself, the Xianzhou Luofu will descend into chaos," Keqing judged instinctively. "…As for Phantylia, we'd probably need to unite the generals of the other Xianzhou ships to take her down."
"Don't rush, Keqing." At the stone table, Granny Ping, also watching, gave a gentle smile and patted the stone bench beside her. "Sit, have some tea, and wipe the sweat from your brow. At times like this, you must trust in Jing Yuan."
"But he's already…" Keqing couldn't bear to watch what was about to unfold.
"A crisis often hides the seeds of victory," Granny Ping said, taking a sip of tea. "…If this Lord of Extinction takes the bait."
——
["It's decided. We'll start with this arrogant Xianzhou general…!"]
[Phantylia raised her massive hand, a tremendous suction force lifting Jing Yuan into the air, suspending him like a puppet beneath her fingers.]
[In an instant, countless streams of golden energy surged around Phantylia, flowing one by one into Jing Yuan's body.]
[This was the first step of transformation, the beginning of a person losing their sanity to become a Hollow—Phantylia leaned closer, observing the scarred, struggling Xianzhou general with keen interest.]
["I wonder, if I turn the Xianzhou general into a Hollow, will the Luofu face another civil war?" Phantylia found this amusing, chuckling softly. "Such destruction would be quite entertaining…"]
[Suddenly, the gravely wounded general in her palm slowly raised his head.]
["Haha…"]
[Even on the brink of death, the calm smile on Jing Yuan's lips never truly faded.]
[In the previous moment, Phantylia had been reveling in her triumph, but now her smile vanished. She finally realized that the Divine Lord, which had been absent all along…]
[—was behind her!]
[The waters that should have been empty behind her suddenly split open. A golden light burst forth like an ancient dragon breaking through the abyss, thunder exploding, a blinding streak erupting amid the stifling sound of wind and cascading water, as if thousands of thunderclaps roared in unison, bellowing their fury!]
[Phantylia whipped her head around, catching a glimpse of that dazzling brilliance out of the corner of her eye, but it was too late… far too late!]
Bleach World——
"—The ambush worked!"
With Toshiro Hitsugaya's shout, the meeting room of Squad One erupted in cheers both inside and out. Seeing Phantylia's eyes roll back from the Divine Lord's blade, many female Shinigami wept with joy, sighing in relief at Jing Yuan's survival.
Outside, members of different squads wiped sweat from their brows, some exclaiming, "Phew… I wasn't even this nervous fighting the Wandenreich. That was terrifying. Thank goodness Jing Yuan was one step ahead…"
But the discussions soon quieted as someone noticed a blind spot.
"Wait, hasn't Phantylia lost consciousness? Why is Jing Yuan still suspended in the air?" Renji Abarai frowned, realizing the battle wasn't over.
["Urgh…!"]
[In midair, Jing Yuan's expression was pained, his teeth clenched as he struggled to break free from Phantylia's control.]
[This was a critical moment, a sliver of victory he had baited with his own body!]
["Dan Heng! Now—!"]
[With his last ounce of strength, Jing Yuan clenched his right fist. He didn't look back, for he had already entrusted his back to him… just as he had centuries ago.]
[At that moment—]
[A streak of azure light pierced through the air!]
[Like a dragon emerging from a scroll, a meteor crossing the wilds! The Cloud-Piercing Spear, wrapped in the vast water-phase power of Scalegorge Waterscape, not only shattered the bindings on Jing Yuan but also severed Phantylia's connection to the Ambrosial Arbor!]
["Clang—!!!"]
[A shattering sound rang through the air. Almost simultaneously, the Divine Lord behind Phantylia moved again, its radiant golden lightning tearing through her back like dragon fangs, piercing her chest!]
[Like a mountain collapsing, Phantylia, deprived of the Ambrosial Arbor's regenerative power, fell heavily, the purple aura around her body dissipating, her form shattering like glass.]
[Amid the aftershock, Jing Yuan, plummeting rapidly, heard only a sharp buzzing in his ears.]
[It was as if someone had driven a red-hot steel needle into his eardrum. In that instant, Scalegorge Waterscape was stripped of sound, leaving only blurred, distorted afterimages.]
[…Like Master, like Yingxing.]