Soul Scale, Equivalent Exchange.

The Honkai Consciousness remained silent. It could not empathize with human emotions, yet it was better than any human at using these things to create corresponding flaws.

It took less than five minutes for Su Qing'an's words to go from being completely ignored to needing to think about them a little.

As an intelligent being, He clearly understands that even events with extremely low probability, or even those that are practically impossible, are still possible.

But in the instant the boy suddenly approached, this person did indeed possess the ability to threaten the Herrscher's life.

Although the [Stigmata]'s ability is merely a one-time product created by exploiting information asymmetry, and it's unlikely to have the same effect again, this potential is something that the Honkai Consciousness needs to pay attention to.

The situation of the Third Herrscher was, for Himself, a groundbreaking new attempt.

The Honkai Consciousness naturally didn't want to be defeated at the very beginning, so even such a tiny speck of dust could attract its attention.

Of course, at this point, there's really no need to worry about it too much.

In this first attack, in which humanity had the best chance of harming the Third Herrscher, he deliberately held back.

The only reason can be attributed to the significant meaning that this Herrscher entity itself holds for him, but this does not change the fact that the act was foolish.

Severing the connection between oneself and the Herrscher body is not something that can be achieved simply through combat power. Moreover, after slightly analyzing the essence of the power and making the technique of releasing Honkai Energy more complex, the Third Herrscher will not be stuck in a stalemate.

The humans in front of us are struggling to survive, let alone sever the connection.

Su Qing'an's sword is essentially made of Honkai Energy particles and nearly a million bones as its foundation. It is shaped into a more resilient material by the power of the Third Herrscher and then arranged in the form of [Calming the Tempest] by the constraint of the Void Sword Qi.

Its most convenient feature is that it can be used temporarily as Honkai Energy container in addition to Udu-dust and [Stigmata].

Its other characteristics are also excellent, because its essence is forged from countless tiny Honkai Energy particles, and it is forcibly condensed into the shape of a sword blade by the constraint of the Void Sword Qi.

Therefore, even if it is broken or completely eliminated on a physical level, it is still possible to use the Third Herrscher Authority stored in the [Stigmata] and the ubiquitous black ash in the atmosphere to forge a similar substance and reshape it into a blade.

The fact that this all-out [Time Cutter] failed to harm the Third Herrscher was something Su Qing'an had anticipated.

[Udu-dust • Critical Point] helped me break free from the shackles that allowed me to unleash my full power.

Its other two functions are also excellent.

First, illusions can serve as an extension of the [Stigmata] ability, compensating for the upper limit and breadth of defense.

Secondly, the brief but complete connection between the Udu-dust Honkai Energy- bearing space of Feather Dust and the Honkai Energy -storing space of the [Stigmata] greatly increased the upper limit of the Honkai Energy absorption phenomenon. This is the core reason why the Third Herrscher has been unable to inflict any harm on Su Qing'an.

All attacks Honkai Energy that do not reach this limit are ineffective; otherwise, the fragile human body will be completely annihilated in the aftershocks of the energy, leading to death.

The [Stigmata] ability, which appears to grant absolute damage immunity, is not invincible.

Facing an enemy like Herrscher who can output Honkai Energy indefinitely, relying on this ability to fight head-on is tantamount to walking a tightrope over a cliff; the slightest mistake will result in annihilation.

In short, even if Su Qing'an used his full strength, his poor adaptability to Honkai Energy still limited his output limit.

Even the seemingly powerful [Time Cutter] only achieved its destructive power by using the Third Herrscher's authority to release it in reverse, which led to the exaggerated scene described earlier.

This is essentially playing Tai Chi; trying to defeat the opponent using only a portion of their strength is wishful thinking.

This result also confirmed a fact for Su Qing'an.

That is, even if he used all his strength, he couldn't kill Satou Yunona.

Under the control of the Honkai Consciousness, the Third Herrscher's defense was virtually unbreakable. The fact that [Time Cutter] failed to sever a single strand of Yuno's hair truly made the boy deeply understand the stubbornness of this impenetrable wall.

This fact is very important to him.

This was enough for Su Qing'an to truly set aside any unnecessary concerns and carry out the subsequent plan.

After all, even if she was prepared to kill the other party, she couldn't let her become a puppet that Honkai and abetted the Honkai.

But in reality, a teenager's emotions cannot be so rational.

If Su Qing'an had been even slightly rational, he shouldn't have fought the Third Herrscher.

The most rational, safest, and even correct course of action is to leave Canghai City immediately, reach the outside world where communications have been restored, inform the Herrscher of the situation, and help the human side kill Satou Yunona.

But he didn't.

Absolute rationality and so-called correctness are nothing but a joke in this battle.

To truly sever the link between the Honkai Consciousness and Satou Yunona, the only thing Su Qing'an could think of was to use the Soul Essence to shake the chain between the two.

The method with an almost 100% success rate is to burn out the soul and sever the link completely, but this is the least desirable approach.

He had already foreseen the price of burning his soul away; the dual death of body and soul was the inevitable outcome.

Let's set aside the question of whether the gods would restart the timeline for someone like Su Qing'an, giving him another chance to start over.

Even assuming a restart, this action seems utterly pointless.

If it cannot be restarted, then that is even less desirable.

Su Qing'an also has to be responsible for Fu Hua and the others who are still in Canghai City; death is no longer simply the result of punishment.

However, simply using such a superficial method as [momentum] mixed into the slash is clearly insufficient to shake the Honkai Consciousness.

The example is simple: Su Qing'an had previously used [momentum] to force out Ji Xuanyuan's remnant soul under the Nine Nether.

But her appearance only wavered slightly; there was no real harm done.

Even though the [Power] ability itself has been quietly updated and replaced several times over the years, and the Soul Essence has been reborn after the last death, the enemy it faces now has jumped directly to the Honkai Consciousness.

Su Qing'an's progress was far outpaced by the enemy's evolving levels. Without finding a fundamental solution, attempting to deal with a level of Honkai Consciousness was simply playing with his life.

Therefore, in the process of pursuing the Third Herrscher, the boy has already developed a preliminary strategy.

This plan was originally intended to be tailored to the specific circumstances, but after witnessing Satou Yunona's mournful soul, many elements were already fulfilled on their own.

Su Qing'an's gaze was indifferent; from the beginning of the battle until now, his expression remained unchanged, as calm as still water.

Neither his own safety nor whether Yuno, as the Herrscher's avatar, would be injured seemed to be outside his consideration.

Looking back at the boy's previous behavior, such a thorough and all-out response was actually unreasonable.

The Third Herrscher's defensive capabilities, based on fragmented memories, are far less powerful than they are in reality. This would normally cause Su Qing'an to worry about whether Satou Yunona would be alright.

This thought can cause hesitation when exerting effort.

But in reality, he did the exact opposite, directly using [Eight Desolations] to fling Satou Yunona three kilometers away, and then using [Time Cutter], which was so clear that even inspirational Meme were incorporated into it, to make her slide several thousand meters on the ground.

In Su Qing'an's mind, this swift and decisive fighting style could easily lead to serious injury to Satou Yunona.

Because the Herrscher's true form is a frail girl, even a slight application of force is enough to cause her organs to fail and her heart to shatter.

The normal approach he would take is to gradually test the opponent's true defensive limits before increasing his output.

The Honkai Consciousness couldn't see anything wrong; it would only think that Su Qing'an's initial restraint was foolish.

However, from the perspective of someone familiar with his personality, the boy's actions were quite unbelievable.

This is naturally for a reason, and it is closely related to the plan to rescue Satou Yunona.

Having experienced the previous incident of pulling Seele out of the Sea of Quantum, the boy had already tested the consequences of an extremely small amount of Soul Burn.

The answer is that it will not cause any sense of loss, but will only lead to a temporary emotional void. At the same time, this practice can also be exchanged for a portion of the power to control and amplify the Soul Essence.

After realizing this, Su Qing'an understood how foolish her previous actions of directly burning the root of emotions by applying the Soul Essence had been.

The Soul Burn skill is essentially a transaction of Equivalent Exchange; you get back exactly what you put in.

In response, Su Qing'an initially categorized the chips into several types.

One type is the fundamental bargaining chip.

Using the experience of a teenager's death as a case study, he can clearly and thoroughly ignite the source of this fear and despair. The price he pays is that his personality is corrected back to a state where he had never experienced this death, and he is completely unable to feel any emotion or empathy for this experience.

Another type is the marginal bargaining chip.

These chips are like the cards automatically dealt to each player at a gambling table; they can be obtained continuously without much cost.

That was pure emotion.

This kind of bargaining chip doesn't even require burning one's soul.

Because the connection between emotions and the soul is sometimes like the daily shedding of skin flakes and hair, burning emotions alone do not affect the soul, so there is naturally no need to worry about whether the soul's self-healing ability is sufficient to support the squandering of resources.

Of course, this approach also has certain hidden dangers; the essence of Equivalent Exchange lies in equality.

The name given to the skill "Soul Burn" is somewhat inaccurate; calling it "Soul Scale" or "Soul Spell" would be more appropriate.

Therefore, the instant Su Qing'an grasped the Udu-dust and entered the critical state, he had already placed the initial chips on the scales of his soul.

Hatred and anger towards the Honkai Consciousness.

I feel sorrow and pity for what happened to Satou Yunona.

Disdain and regret for one's own inadequacy.

In order to acquire sufficient power, the boy chose a bargaining chip that lay somewhere between the fundamental and the marginal.