Mental Combination Technique

"Wh... why?" Qian Renxue was utterly bewildered.

The ethereal voice rang out again, like an icy chisel boring into her understanding:

"Could God-Given Power truly come without a price? The Angel God's inheritance requires the bloodline of one's closest kin as sacrifice to ignite the divine flame."

"The Rakshasa's fall was tacitly approved by the God Realm. The sins and punishment of your Angel Clan are nothing more than a superficial performance."

"All of you—Qian Daoliu's protection, Bibi Dong's hatred, your growth, even Tang San's rise—exist only so that that 'Soul from Beyond the Heavens' can step over the corpses and tears you laid down and ascend to the position of God King."

"You are all merely... whetstones and stepping stones arranged by the Asura God to cultivate his successor."

Those words, coupled with future scenes so vivid they broke her heart, seeped like venom into Qian Renxue's shaken heart, which had only just been rocked by the revelation of her origins and her wavering faith in the God Realm and familial bonds.

The scenes of "Grandfather's sacrifice" and "Mother taking the blow" in particular struck with overwhelming force, ruthlessly tearing through the barriers of faith and hatred she had built so firmly.

"No... this isn't real... Angel God... Grandfather..." Qian Renxue struggled in the gap between reality and illusion. Her aura surged violently, and the light of the Angel Holy Sword in her hand flickered unstably.

The power she had gained temporarily had already lacked a stable foundation. Now that her mind had faltered, it showed even greater signs of spiraling out of control.

Qian Renxue stood on the arena platform, her body swaying slightly. Her eyes alternated between confusion, pain, and struggle.

The Angel Holy Sword in her hand flashed erratically, while the sacred aura around her fell into complete disorder.

Her desire to attack the outside world had fallen to its lowest point. Her entire mind was immersed in the cruel "prophetic dream" about the future and fate woven by her opponents.

The spectators below the arena saw only that Qian Renxue, beneath the "gaze" of the other side's three Pokemon, had quickly become dazed and unsteady, as though she had fallen into some sort of mental predicament and could barely resist at all.

This was completely different from the fierce confrontation before. It was stranger, and far more unsettling.

"What are they doing? Why aren't they attacking?"

"It looks like they're influencing Qian Renxue with Mental Power?"

"Judging by her expression, it seems she saw something terrifying..."

In the Angel God Temple of the God Realm, the Angel God's gaze abruptly sharpened. "How dare they shake the faith of a God-Chosen in such a manner!"

The Angel God could sense the violent fluctuations in the thread of Qian Renxue's faith.

Yet within the arena rules, clashes on the spiritual level were also permitted, so the Angel God could not interfere directly.

Gardevoir quietly watched Qian Renxue, her red eyes devoid of sorrow or joy.

What she had done was not entirely fabricated.

It was the most devastating revelation of "truth" and psychological suggestion possible, based on Lu Feng's grasp of the original Douluo Continent storyline, combined with Future Sight's glimpse into the branches of fate and Hypnosis's guidance of the subconscious.

The ethereal voice made its final statement. It was also the "olive branch" Lu Feng cast through Gardevoir:

"The power bestowed by the God Realm has long been marked with its price. It is a shackle that binds the soul."

"If you wish to truly control your own fate and escape the destiny of a chess piece, then you must... break free from this predetermined divine power system."

"The Pokemon World can offer you a different choice, and the possibility of true... freedom."

"Lead Spirit Hall into a new future. Otherwise, you, your grandfather, and everything you cherish or hate will all proceed according to the predetermined script, toward unavoidable sacrifice and destruction."

Gardevoir, Malamar, and Mismagius joined forces, using their absolute Mental Power to perfectly suppress their opponent.

They trapped her within the nightmare illusion they had constructed.

Malamar used Hypnosis, while Mismagius dragged her into the nightmare.

Future Sight forcibly poured the images into her mind, inflicting damage.

The dream was false, but Future Sight's attack was real.

By layering illusion over real damage in this manner, they made the target deeply experience the pain of the nightmare, heightening her immersion.

This Mental Combination Technique used the pressure of Future Sight, the implanting nature of Hypnosis, and the enhanced psychic strength Gardevoir had gained after Mega Evolution.

It brutally and deeply branded certain images into the depths of Qian Renxue's consciousness.

The images of her grandfather and mother "destined" to sacrifice themselves to save her, in particular, touched the softest and most conflicted forbidden place in her heart!

"No... this isn't real! Grandfather... Mother... how could this..." Qian Renxue struggled between dream and reality, her mind shaken to its core. The Angel Divine Power that had originally been stable became disordered due to the violent fluctuations of her emotions!

Her faith in the God Realm, her expectations for the inheritance, her complicated feelings toward Bibi Dong, and her understanding of her own fate all suffered an unprecedented impact and interrogation at this moment!

Malamar continued its Hypnosis, like deep-sea murmurs in a dream, maintaining Qian Renxue in a state between waking and sleep.

Mismagius's Confuse Ray began to mingle with the hypnotic mist, making Qian Renxue's dreams even stranger and more fantastical as her judgment declined further.

Mega Gardevoir, meanwhile, was like a calm hypnotist and prophet, continuously sending intermittent, suggestive fragments of imagery into Qian Renxue's consciousness through the gentle form of Psychic:

A strange world brimming with life, governed by entirely different rules yet filled with limitless possibilities.

A calm voice sounded in Qian Renxue's heart. It was not coercive, but simply stated, "Do you wish to truly escape your predetermined fate, break free from the shackles of being a chess piece, and grasp power and a future that belong to you? What the God Realm gives must eventually be repaid.

"And here... perhaps lies the 'other possibility' you seek."

The golden light on the arena platform began to ripple faintly, as though it had judged the battle to be approaching its end in some unusual form.

Qian Renxue stood rooted to the spot, her face pale and her eyes filled with fierce struggle.

Her grandfather's kind yet resolute smile, the complicated look in her mother's eyes before she shattered, the God Realm's cold designation of her as a "whetstone," and the temptation of "freedom" from the Pokemon World... countless pieces of information and emotions collided madly within her mind.

Who should she believe? The Angel God? Or the "future" revealed by these strange Pokemon? Did her grandfather know the truth? Bibi Dong... would she truly, at such a moment...

What was she supposed to do? Perhaps the other side was right.

Very little of the power on her body was truly her own. How could wielding the power of a god possibly come without a price?

She had received so much Divine Power that, when the time came, even a forced sacrifice might not be enough to stop it.

Perhaps... only the Pokemon World could truly help.

This battle had no fierce collision of spirit abilities, nor any disgusting manipulation of rules. Yet it was a far more dangerous psychological battle and trial of faith that struck directly at the heart.

Heaven Dou Empire.

Qian Daoliu stared fixedly at the Sky Screen. Seeing his granddaughter struggling in agony within the illusion, he too felt deeply uneasy.

He had no idea what their opponents had done. It seemed to be some kind of mental attack.

Spirit Masters of Douluo Continent had no way to deal with such methods. Could Xiao Xue hold on?

The forces of Sea God Island, the Clear Sky Sect, and the others likewise could not understand what method the geniuses of the Pokemon World had used.

But seeing Qian Renxue's reaction, all the Spirit Masters understood that she would most likely lose again this time.