"Right after finishing a mission, I got word from Principal Theresa that she wanted me to come support you." Ye Li shook his head helplessly. "She really didn't give me even a moment to catch my breath."
"Long time no see." Raiden Mei nodded with a smile. "Your swordsmanship has improved again."
"It's all right." Ye Li rubbed his nose. "But you guys—how did Anti-Entropy set their sights on you? And what happened to Himeko?"
"Himeko, she..."
After Kiana and the others finished explaining what had happened, Ye Li looked at the golden longsword in Raiden Mei's arms with a complicated expression.
"Xuanyuan Sword... Jilin..."
After a brief rest, everyone prepared to leave with their captives.
Just then, the seawater suddenly began to boil in an eerie manner.
Bronya was the first to notice something was wrong. "Abnormal Honkai Energy within the ley lines?! This isn't an ordinary earthquake..."
Before she could finish, the entire layer of rock collapsed with a deafening crash.
Within the abyssal seawater, dark-purple scales gleamed with the oppressive aura of an ancient beast.
When its enormous, barbed maw swallowed the daylight, everyone saw those molten-lava-like vertical pupils.
It was the ancient beast recorded in Schicksal's database—the legendary creature of the Nine Netherworlds, Chi You.
"Hold on!" Purple energy burst from Ye Li's scabbard, yet the raging current still tore everyone apart.
In the final moment before darkness consumed her consciousness, Raiden Mei vaguely saw the gem on the Xuanyuan Sword's hilt resonating with the mysterious pattern on the beast's forehead...
Kiana felt as though she were sinking in bottomless seawater, her consciousness drifting in and out amid the darkness.
A hazy voice called out beside her ears, as though separated by thick glass.
"Wake up! Kiana! Wake up!"
The voice grew clearer and clearer, filled with obvious anxiety.
She felt someone gently patting her cheek, the warmth of those fingertips gradually restoring her senses.
"Mm..." Kiana struggled to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Raiden Mei's worried face.
Her dark-violet hair was somewhat disheveled, and her usually gentle eyes were now filled with panic.
"Thank goodness, you're finally awake!" Raiden Mei breathed a sigh of relief, only to grow tense again. "Kiana, Ye Li and Teacher Himeko are missing!"
"What?!" Kiana abruptly sat up, but a wave of dizziness nearly made her collapse again.
Only then did she notice her surroundings.
They appeared to be inside an enormous cave. The walls were covered in some kind of glowing biological tissue, which gave off a dim red light.
"After that giant beast swallowed us, I lost consciousness."
Raiden Mei quickly explained, "When I woke up, I found that only the few of us were here..."
Only then did Kiana notice Bronya examining something not far away.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Jilin's phantom suddenly appeared from within the Xuanyuan Sword and asked them to seal Chi You once again.
"Now, this is all the power I have left. I'll give it to you. Please, you must seal Chi You again..."
With a flash of golden light, Jilin's phantom vanished.
Kiana and the others each received a piece of Soul Steel gifted by Jilin.
Relying on the power granted by the Soul Steel, Kiana and the others successfully reached an area with lower Honkai interference and managed to contact Theresa.
After analyzing the situation, everyone decided to head toward the place within Chi You's body that was suspected to be its heart.
Meanwhile, the scene shifted to Himeko.
After waking up, Himeko looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings in confusion.
Her memory still stopped at the moment she had been sucked into a glowing stone tablet. When she woke up, she was already here.
Little did she know that her memories were already an entire major version behind.
Just then, the whole cave suddenly began to shake violently.
A low growl from some creature came from afar, accompanied by the sound of metal clashing.
Her sharp instincts made Himeko leap to her feet. "Something's coming!"
In the real world—
The viewers were likewise shocked by the fast-paced plot, and they couldn't help worrying for Kiana and the others in the video.
Of course, some attentive viewers noticed something interesting.
Jilin and Chi You—aren't those ancient legends from our Dragon Nation?
Adaptation isn't nonsense, reinterpretation isn't fabrication! You even dare to arbitrarily arrange historical figures—I don't even dare imagine what comes next! Instead of watching this stuff, why not follow my channel? This latter half of the year... culture and sports, both blooming...
The guy above came here just to advertise, didn't he?
No, am I the only one who noticed that something seemed off about the way Ye Li looked at the Xuanyuan Sword?
+1, you're not alone.
+, based on the earlier plot, Ye Li is also from Shenzhou, so maybe he has some connection to the Xuanyuan Sword?
The video continued.
Inside the dark-red cave, the tremors grew increasingly violent.
A piercing metallic scraping sound came from the distance, accompanied by the deep growl of some creature, sending chills down their spines.
Himeko gave a low shout as her greatsword was already drawn.
The blade glinted with a cold, sharp light in the gloom as she listened closely to the sounds coming from the darkness.
Amid the cacophony, a familiar sound of machinery operating could faintly be heard.
The sound drew closer, accompanied by dull thuds of heavy objects striking the ground.
"This..." Himeko's pupils contracted slightly. "Anti-Entropy mechs?!"
Before she could finish speaking, three pitch-black mechs charged out from tunnels in different directions.
But unlike before, the armor of these mechs was covered in bizarre biological tissue, as though they had been parasitized by something.
Seeing this, Himeko decisively activated the Nexus System of her Vermilion Knight: Eclipse armor.
As a flash of blue electricity streaked past, Himeko felt her body fill with power, while also sensing the immense strain the armor placed upon her.
As a system fully specialized for enhancement, the Nexus System had almost no safety-oriented design at all. Thus, the Far East Branch had classified it as a last-resort combat measure.
Even so, when faced with troublesome enemies, Himeko would still activate this dangerous armor without hesitation.
After all, once you were dead, you had nothing left!
Whoosh!
Himeko swung her sword with both hands, unleashing a bolt of lightning in an attempt to force back the mech charging at her.
However, to Himeko's surprise, her attack did little more than halt the mech for a brief moment.
Even the gash she had cut into its body began to heal a few seconds later as the biological tissue squirmed.
"Looks like I've really gotten myself into serious trouble."
Himeko's expression turned grave as she thought, I can't hold back any longer. I have to activate Overload mode!
Just then, a familiar roar came from afar. "You lumps of iron, that's enough!"
A sharp sword light tore through the darkness, cleaving one mech in two.
Ye Li's figure rushed out from the passageway, the sharp sword in his hand blossoming with frigid light.
He's here, he's here! That man has arrived!
You can always trust my husband Ye Li's ability to make a dramatic rescue!
Mech: I got up, got one-shotted by a sword—what was there to say?
Before you continue