Chương 197: A Child Who Never Gives Up a Break

Only after seeing the so-called perfect mirror puppet carrying the will of the Mirror Lord completely disappear, and only after the nauseating aura could no longer be felt in this distorted space, did Ji Ying, who was holding Xing Xian, secretly let out a long sigh of relief.

Mirror Lord's "Power of the Mirror" was indeed more troublesome and bizarre than he had imagined.

If it weren't for the moment when he was awakened by the other party's boastful words about "authority," thus gaining an epiphany about his own "shadow authority" in the face of despair, perhaps the outcome today would still be uncertain.

After awakening his authority, Jiying not only gained the ability to "see" the shadows of the souls of all things, but also instantly discerned the truth or falsehood of those perfect mirror images.

More importantly, she also instantly "knew" that she had the ability to create and manipulate shadows.

Before destroying the four magical girl mirror images, he had already accurately predicted, based on his understanding of Mirror Lord's arrogant and cunning nature, that after the mirror tactics failed, the opponent would inevitably play his last and most lethal trump card— Threaten yourself with real star strings.

It was precisely because of this that she was able to formulate a follow-up plan in advance: to use a stand-in made of pure shadows to remain in place and continue to engage in verbal maneuvering and psychological manipulation with Mirror Lord, while her real body would sneak behind Mirror Lord, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike a fatal blow.

It can be said that from the moment Jiying awakened his authority, all of Jingjue's subsequent actions, all his self-righteous calculations and threats, were actually within his expectations.

This seemingly thrilling battle, in a sense, was actually a performance by Ji Ying to rescue his companions.

Looking at this space that was collapsing at an unprecedented speed after its owner disappeared, Ji Ying knew that the crisis was not over yet.

She held Xingxian, who was still unconscious, tightly in her arms, and her figure transformed into a streak of black light as she rushed towards the massive platform that was about to collapse without hesitation.

There, the exits that Mirror Lord had previously created still exist.

Although Jingjue ultimately chose to control Xingxian's mirror image to attack Jiying in order to test the other party's stance, it can be judged that at that time he did indeed still retain the idea of letting Jiying leave with that false mirror image.

Therefore, that exit is credible.

Around Ji Ying, countless mirrors suddenly shattered, emitting a deafening sound. The violent spatial turbulence, mixed with those extremely sharp fragments, raged everywhere, like a deadly storm, devouring everything in its path.

Ji Ying used his remaining ethereal energy to create a shield, protecting Xing Xian in his arms and preventing her from suffering any harm.

Holding the other person in his arms, he struggled to break free from the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror on the fifth floor of the unfinished building before the mirrored maze was completely destroyed.

As he crossed that boundary once again and felt the familiar atmosphere of the real world rushing towards him, Ji Ying's tense nerves finally relaxed a little. At the same time, an indescribable feeling of weakness instantly swept over his entire body.

Maintaining the heavy armor knight form already requires a massive amount of ethereal energy, and with the intense battle just now, plus the defensive barrier he built to protect Xingxian from the spatial turbulence—his ethereal energy was completely depleted.

At this moment, Jiying's condition was even worse than the night she first met Xingxian. She felt that she might fall into a coma at any moment due to the complete depletion of her illusory energy.

With a flicker of unstable light and shadow, the tall and imposing silhouette of the heavy armor rapidly shrank, and the Shadowless Shadow reverted to the form of a petite girl dressed in revealing clothing in the next moment.

"Ugh—!"

The sudden change in form caused a huge change in Jiying's body structure and strength. Xingxian, who could be easily held in her arms in her black knight form just a moment ago, now became extremely heavy for her petite form.

Ji Ying stumbled and almost lost her grip on the slightly cold body in her arms, nearly falling to the ground with it.

But she gritted her teeth and used the last bit of strength in her body to carefully move Xingxian to a relatively clean ground, gently laying her down to make sure she wouldn't be hit by anything due to her exhaustion.

After placing Xingxian, Jiying finally couldn't hold on any longer. Her body went limp, and she almost fell over. She could only support herself on the cold ground with her slender arms, panting heavily. Her vision blurred, and it felt as if the whole world was spinning.

However, even though he was still close to his limit, Ji Ying managed to crawl to Xing Xuan's side after catching his breath for a moment and began to carefully check on her condition.

Even in her unconscious state, the girl's brows were tightly furrowed, her pale cheeks showed signs of pain, and a few glistening tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, as if she were experiencing some indescribable torment.

Ji Ying approached Xing Xian's body and immersed his senses into the other's body. He quickly discovered that the source of the other's pain was in Xing Xian's lower abdomen, where a huge and violent void energy was lurking. This foreign energy was in fierce conflict with the magic power in Xing Xian's body.

Jiying knew that only he could use both illusory energy and magic power at the same time. These two powers would annihilate each other when they collided outside his body, and it was this process that was causing Xingxian immense pain.

"That bastard!" She instantly understood Jingjue's malicious intentions and couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath.

If this illusory energy is not cleared away immediately, it will continue to consume Starstring's magic, erode her body, and may even cause irreparable and permanent damage to her "Tears of Stars".

And now, the only one who can handle this situation is probably himself. Only he, a special being who is simultaneously compatible with magic and ethereal energy, has the potential to quickly and safely extract that foreign ethereal energy without harming Xingxian's body.

but---- Ji Ying's gaze fell on Xing Xian's tattered combat suit, and looking at the exposed, fair, and flat abdomen, he hesitated for a moment.

Is it really appropriate to place your hand directly on that area to perform "treatment" when the other person is unconscious and completely unprepared? What's the difference between this and taking advantage of someone?

However, when her gaze fell once more on Xingxian's face, which was growing paler with pain, her hesitation lasted less than a second before being replaced by an inescapable sense of responsibility.

Forget about whether it's appropriate or not, saving lives is the most important thing right now!

She took a deep breath, banishing those inappropriate thoughts, and then extended her slightly trembling right hand, gently placing it on Xingxian's lower abdomen.

The delicate, warm, and surprisingly elastic touch from her palm made Ji Ying's heart skip a beat, but she immediately forced herself to ignore these distracting sensations and suppress her inappropriate fantasies.

Immediately, she concentrated all her energy and, using her special affinity for ethereal energy, carefully extracted the violent ethereal energy that was entrenched in Xingxian's body little by little, and then absorbed it back into her own body.

This process was undoubtedly a huge burden for Jiying, who was in poor condition at the moment.

She not only needs to precisely guide the ethereal energy that doesn't belong to her, but she also needs to be careful that the ethereal energy within her body might resonate with and stimulate the magic power within Xingxian's body, thus causing even more serious consequences.

The intense drain on her energy made Ji Ying feel that her consciousness might be interrupted at any moment, but she still forced herself to cheer up and, with an almost obsessive focus, meticulously and thoroughly brought this difficult process to a complete end.

As the last trace of illusory energy was completely eliminated, Xingxian's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and the pain on her face disappeared, replaced by a peaceful and serene sleeping expression.

Seeing this, Ji Ying's face showed a relieved and comforting smile.

She could no longer hold on; immense exhaustion and intense dizziness completely overwhelmed her consciousness in the next moment.

Before losing consciousness completely, she looked at the proud yet stubborn, strong yet fragile patrol girl beside her, and murmured softly in a voice full of doting and helplessness, "You're also a—troublesome child—".

Immediately, her petite body went limp, and she collapsed weakly onto the ground next to Xingxian, falling into a deep sleep as well.

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