The Flames of Ruin Entwine the Heart, Yet Their End is Nigh; Tender Words Melt Affection, Revealing True Love at Last

[Energy Attribute Analysis: Fallen, Chaotic, contains fragments of the "Wrath" authority.]

[Energy Source Tracing: Highly homologous to a certain unknown high-level existence—"Fallen Angel".]

I knew that Dio Mao definitely had a backup plan! The Judgment Sword was just an appetizer!

[Core Warning: This energy has deeply entangled with the target's core consciousness (a collection of negative emotions), forming a symbiotic state. Forced energy erasure will lead to the collapse of the target's consciousness! Repeat, this is not an enemy that can be cleared by force!]

As Long Jinyu maneuvered his Carefree Dragon Aura to narrowly dodge a pillar of black fire while carrying Little Ma Xiaotao, he shouted internally:

You don't have to tell me that! I didn't want to kill her either! The problem is she won't let us go now! Am I supposed to just stand here and wait for death if I don't fight back? I have to stabilize the situation before I can think of a solution!

[Suggested Execution Plan: Cease all energy-based confrontation. Adopt non-energy contact interaction, and guide the target through pure emotional resonance.]

Speak human!

[System Translation: Stop fighting, go up and hug her. Use love to redeem her.]

Long Jinyu: ???

He nearly stumbled and fell from the sky.

This broken system had been playing dead for so long, and the moment it came back online, it threw such a massive task at him?

Hug her?!

Long Jinyu looked at the "Darkened Tao" in the distance, whose body was burning with Fallen Fire capable of incinerating souls, her eyes filled with madness and malice, and felt a sense of absurdity.

Forget hugging, I can barely get close to her right now! That ghost fire can't even be frozen by my Ultimate Ice! You want me to use my physical body to redeem her?

[System confident: Trust System Treasure, you can't go wrong! Emotional energy is one of the most miraculous forces in the universe!]

Long Jinyu: ...Have you been secretly watching some weird Ultraman cartoons lately?

Love conquers all? This script is way too cliché!

[Tactical Suggestion Pre-step: Verbal stimulation. Host, please begin your performance, "flirt" with her first.]

Long Jinyu was speechless, but seeing his Eternal Dragon Frost being forcibly melted by the Fallen Fire again and his Ten Thousand Ravine Dragon Wall teetering on the brink of collapse, it seemed... other than trusting this suddenly resurrected and unreliable system, there was no better way.

"Tsk!"

He clicked his tongue, a flash of desperate resolve crossing his face.

After dodging another wave of flame, he took a deep breath and used his soul power to project his voice clearly across the space, his tone forcibly shifting into something with a scholarly flair... affection?

"Peach blossoms blooming bright—brilliant and radiant—"

He recited aloud, the same line he had used to praise her before, but now, the meaning was entirely different.

The attacks of "Darkened Tao" faltered, a trace of confusion flashing in her pitch-black eyes.

Long Jinyu struck while the iron was hot, weaving through the gaps in the flames with exquisite footwork while holding Little Ma Xiaotao, continuing his output, his inner literary nerd fully exposed:

"When we first met, I thought this line suited you because it praised your beauty as fiery and radiant. Now I realize, I was shallow."

His gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of darkness, landing deep within the soul wrapped inside:

"You are more than just brilliant and radiant; you are all the romance that walked out of the Book of Songs, the unyielding soul chanted in the Songs of Chu. Your heat can burn away the filth of the world, and it can also warm the most resilient heart I have ever seen."

Little Ma Xiaotao, held in his arms, felt her face flush red. She secretly looked up at Long Jinyu's beautifully defined profile, then at the dark version of "herself" in the distance, a giant question mark appearing in her mind: Big sister... is she actually a lesbian?! Does she like this kind of... thing?

"Darkened Tao" was completely stunned.

The flames around her flickered erratically due to her chaotic state of mind.

What was wrong with this person? They were fighting, and suddenly he stopped and started reciting poetry at her from a distance?

And saying these... these skin-crawling things? Like? Like her, this monster? Are you kidding me!

"Nonsense!"

She shrieked, but her attacks clearly lost their previous rhythm.

"I am a monster! A monster that will burn everything! How could you possibly..."

"Who said you were a monster!"

Long Jinyu interrupted her immediately, his voice firm and resolute.

"If you are a monster, then I am willing to be burned to ashes by your monster fire, rather than live alone in a world without you!"

Even he couldn't stand hearing himself say that; it was too... too embarrassing!

"He's right!"

Little Ma Xiaotao also gathered her courage and shouted loudly.

"You aren't a monster! Big sister said we are kind! We want to protect others!"

"Shut up! What do you know!"

"Darkened Tao" experienced violent emotional fluctuations, the Fallen Fire on her body flickering, the pure darkness seemingly fading slightly, faintly revealing the original silhouette of Ma Xiaotao.

She looked at Long Jinyu, who was holding the "past self" while saying words that were practically a confession to the "present self"—confusion, anger, and a trace of something she couldn't even understand herself... a heartbeat, all intertwined.

Long Jinyu seized the opportunity, dispelling all his defenses, and flew toward her slowly, his gaze sincere and gentle:

"Look, I'm not using any power. If I were lying to you, how would approaching you now be any different from suicide? Ma Xiaotao, I believe in you more than I believe in myself."

Ugh—! No, no... If you keep going like this, I feel like I'm going to throw up the rice noodle rolls I had for breakfast...

Darkened Tao stared blankly as he drew closer and closer. All the various energy "domains" that made her soul ache with repulsion vanished, leaving only this man before her, and those eyes of his—filled with complex emotions, yet devoid of any deception.

The aura of life radiating from him was so warm, the complete opposite of the icy corruption surrounding her.

The Fallen Fire on Darkened Tao's body receded and dissipated rapidly, like a retreating tide.

Finally, as Long Jinyu hovered before her, the darkness surrounding her faded away entirely. She transformed back into that Ma Xiaotao in her blazing red robes. Her gaze was no longer frantic, but carried a sense of confusion and fragility, as if she had just struggled out of a long, painful nightmare, utterly exhausted.

She looked at Long Jinyu, who was within arm's reach. In those phoenix eyes, now clear once more, a storm of emotions surged—

There was the daze of having survived a catastrophe, the unease of having all her vulnerabilities laid bare, and, even more so, a sense of reliance, like a drowning person clutching at a piece of driftwood.

Suddenly, as if she had spent her last ounce of courage and strength, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him!

Long Jinyu's body stiffened abruptly, his mind going blank from the sudden embrace.

But what shocked him even more was yet to come.

Ma Xiaotao, held within his arms, tilted her head back. The next moment, a soft, warm sensation with a hint of coolness was pressed precisely against his lips!

Long Jinyu: "!!!"

Wait! What just happened?! Lips... lips?!

My first kiss! Just like that... in the Spiritual Sea... it's gone?!

The upbringing he received from Blue Star made his first instinct one of shock and a desire to push her away, but his arms felt as heavy as lead, unable to move.

He could clearly feel the slight trembling of her body, and the emotions within that kiss, complex to the extreme—

There was the desperation of a final confirmation, a longing to seek comfort, and it felt more like a clumsy ritual to bid farewell to a nightmare.

Wait! Calm down! This is the Spiritual Sea! This isn't real... at least, not entirely...

What is this supposed to be? A completion reward? Or... a side effect of her being purified?

His rigid body slowly relaxed. After a moment of hesitation, he finally closed his eyes and, with awkward, tentative movements, offered a faint response.