Chương 215: The Exposed Truth and Ye Zixuan's Emotion

Looking into Ye Zixuan's eyes, which were filled with confusion and inquiry, Ji Ying gently shook his head, his face also showing the same puzzled expression as hers.

"To be honest, Zixuan, I'm also completely baffled by this matter. I don't know why I possess this power."

"Although, before you told me that information, based on my several encounters with Mirror Lord, I had vaguely guessed that the power possessed by the Void Realm Apostles was inextricably linked to the supreme being they spoke of, namely those 'Void Realm Monarchs' you mentioned."

"But I never imagined that they would only gain the right to use this power."

"Is that so?" Ye Zixuan nodded gently and did not ask any further questions.

She had almost absolute trust in Jiying, knowing that if Xiaoying really knew the truth, she would never hide anything from her on such a crucial matter.

Since she says she's also completely baffled, it probably won't be easy to figure out the real reason behind it in a short time.

But at the same time, Ye Zixuan was increasingly grateful that she had met him.

Even setting aside her gentleness and tolerance towards him, Xiaoying herself is a unique and mysterious being with strength that can rival or even surpass some of the Void Realm Apostles.

What is happening before her eyes now, whatever its underlying reasons, clearly proves one thing to her— Whatever the reason behind this "impossible" event that has happened to her represents a revolutionary fact— Xiaoying can freely grasp and use "power" without being bound by any contract.

The judgment I made that night when I met her was correct—the appearance of Xiaoying will be an unprecedented and huge turning point in the entire war against the Void Realm!

—If—she could continue to grow, how powerful would she become?

Could it be that—a monarch of the Void Realm who truly stands on the side of our kingdom?

The thought of this possibility made Ye Zixuan's heart race uncontrollably, and an overwhelming sense of excitement and anticipation surged into her heart.

Of course, Ji Ying had no idea what kind of magnificent thoughts were going through Ye Zixuan's mind at this moment. Her attention was completely drawn to another important fact derived from the truth of "power".

After a brief moment of contemplation, she looked up at Ye Zixuan and asked slowly in a slightly heavy tone, "Zixuan, since the 'authority' is bestowed upon those Void Realm Apostles by the Void Realm Monarch—"

"Does that mean they can also choose to reclaim this power from an apostle at any time and then give it back to someone else, right?"

"Or, to put it more directly," Jiying's voice deepened, "if a Void Apostle is completely annihilated in the battle between us magical girls..."

"So, in the near future, it's very likely that another Void Apostle will appear—one who wields the same power as him—right?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zixuan immediately snapped out of her beautiful daydream. The excitement and exhilaration on her face quickly faded, replaced by a serious, almost somber expression.

She nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice, "That's right, Xiaoying, this is the fundamental reason why our Magic Kingdom has never been able to gain the upper hand in the long war with the Void Realm."

"We magical girls have free will, and our growth does not depend on any external force."

As long as you can continuously improve your understanding of the "laws" in battle, you can continuously become stronger.

""

"Moreover, as long as we have enough companions with talent and willpower, theoretically, our kingdom can have countless powerful warriors who have mastered different laws."

"However—our growth process is not only long, but also full of unpredictable risks. Once a magical girl is unfortunately sacrificed in battle, her unique power and understanding of the laws will be completely lost and can never be recovered."

"Correspondingly, the ultimate ownership of power always belongs to those high and mighty virtual monarchs."

"If a Void Apostle dies, or is deemed unqualified by their monarch, the monarch may revoke this authority at any time and grant it to a more suitable candidate."

"Although the power ceiling of those apostles will certainly be limited by the level of authority granted by the monarch," making it difficult for them to achieve a fundamental breakthrough through their own efforts.

"However, after being granted authority, the Void Realm Apostles can quickly gain immense power in a very short time, without having to go through a long growth process like we do."

Ji Ying pondered for a moment, then summarized: "In other words, for the group of Void Realm Apostles, their total number is limited by the total amount of power held by the Void Realm Monarchs—"

"However, because authority can be reclaimed and redistributed, even if an apostle dies, the position can be filled by a new apostle at any time, provided their monarch wishes."

"As for magical girls, although theoretically there is no limit to the number of Sky-level beings, the process of growing to that level is extremely slow and difficult."

"In reality, the total number of high-level magical girls is not that many. The sacrifice of any high-end combatant would be an unacceptable and enormous loss for the kingdom."

"Furthermore," she glanced at Su Yuqing and Luo Bingli, who were silent beside her, "they will also be constantly on the move because of those elusive and theoretically impossible-to-eradicate Void Realm Apostles, and face enormous risks at all times."

"So, that's why the Magic Kingdom has appointed inspectors like you," to handle unusual situations that exceed normal levels in various cities, is that right?"

Ye Zixuan nodded slightly, acknowledging Ji Ying's summary, and then added softly, "Furthermore, in the kingdom's historical records, there have been many instances where, just days after an extremely troublesome Void Realm Apostle was eliminated by several powerful companions, another new Apostle with the exact same authority immediately appeared."

"I'm afraid that to those high and mighty rulers of the Void Realm, those enemies that we have to fight with all our might are nothing more than consumables that can be replaced and replenished at any time."

The cruel truth contained in these words made the atmosphere in the room a little heavy. Even Su Yuqing, who was usually lively and active, just pursed her lips tightly and remained silent.

"Um—Zixuan," she hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking curiously, "do you know how many Void Realm Monarchs there are in total?"

"How many are there in total?" Ye Zixuan repeated the question in a low voice, then slowly shook her head, a bitter smile with a hint of helplessness on her face.

"As I just said, even in the core database of the Magic Kingdom, information about those Void Realm Monarchs is pitifully scarce. I'm afraid—no one in the world knows exactly how many monarchs exist."

"We can only roughly judge their numbers by the fact that there are multiple different factions among the Void Realm Apostles."

"A single monarch wields so much power, and there are so many monarchs in total—"

"They casually create these illusory apostles, yet countless magical girls risk their lives to fight against them—that's just too unfair!"

After listening, Su Yuqing finally couldn't help but complain, her tone full of resentment.

"If it weren't for this, the Magic Kingdom wouldn't have been so passive in the long war," Ye Zixuan said softly.

"However—" she changed the subject, her previously dim eyes blazing with intense light the moment she looked at Ji Ying, "I'm certain that this hopeless situation will be completely changed in the near future."

"As long as Xiaoying is here, we have a great chance to sound the horn of counterattack, or even—achieve the final victory in this long war."

"Hmm? Why do you say that?" Su Yuqing asked curiously.

Although Luo Bingli didn't speak, she also cast a probing glance at Ye Zixuan, clearly wanting to ask the same question.

"Didn't Xiaoying mention it to you?" Ye Zixuan asked, somewhat surprised, looking at their blank expressions.

"She initially gained the trust of that cunning Mirror Lord by 'swearing oaths to each other.'"

"This kind of oath based on the source of power has absolute binding force. In other words, Xiaoying only needs to casually swear an oath to some Void Realm Monarch, and any Void Realm Apostle she meets for the first time can easily believe that she is one of them."

"And this can create countless opportunities for us!" Ye Zixuan became more and more excited as she spoke, her fair cheeks flushing slightly with excitement.

"Whether it's setting a trap to ambush the Void Realm Apostle who's been targeted, or using him to learn more about the inner workings of the Void Realm—it would be infinitely easier than our previous one-sided confrontation, wouldn't it?"

"Oh right!" After hearing Ye Zixuan's analysis, Su Yuqing suddenly realized, "Xiaoying told us about this before, but—we didn't think it could be used like this."

At this moment, Ji Ying, who had been silent since earlier, awkwardly raised her hand and weakly interrupted their overly rosy fantasies: "Um—about this—Jing Jue already knows that I'm on your side."

"Therefore, such methods are, at least—completely ineffective against him."

"ha?!"

Upon hearing these words, Ye Zixuan's excitement and agitation froze instantly, and she fell into a brief daze.

After realizing the meaning behind Ji Ying's words, she immediately rushed forward and placed her hands on Ji Ying's slender shoulders, the force so strong that Ji Ying felt a slight pain.

"What happened?!" she asked urgently, her voice trembling with excitement.

"How did he know?! What exactly happened in the Mirror Maze?!"

Ji Ying was startled by her sudden outburst of excitement and was momentarily stunned, wondering why she had suddenly become so agitated.

But she immediately spoke up to comfort her, "Zi, Zixuan, calm down—I was just about to tell you about what happened before."

Upon hearing this, Ye Zixuan realized that she had been acting too impulsively.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, but her hand on Ji Ying's shoulder didn't loosen, and her voice still held an undisguised urgency as she asked, "Why did Jing Jue discover your stance? Logically, he shouldn't have suspected you at all!"

"Before—wasn't it because my ethereal energy was nearly depleted during the battle with Mirror Lord that I fell into a coma?" Ji Ying reminded him somewhat awkwardly.

"You know that too? I thought you had already noticed."

Ye Zixuan shook her head slightly and said softly, "It is not uncommon for Void Realm Apostles to clash and even kill each other for their own interests."

"At first, I thought—you were playing the role of a Void Apostle who wanted to seize my position as 'Inspector' to achieve your own goals. Under those circumstances, it was quite normal for you to clash with Mirror Lord."

"But I never expected that he already knew your stance, Xiaoying. What exactly happened back then?"

Ji Ying explained somewhat helplessly, "At first, I did indeed do as you thought. I negotiated with Jing Jue and promised some conditions as a price, trying to get you back from him. At the time, I even thought I had succeeded—"

"But that guy Mirror Lord, the you he gave me" — is just a mirror image copied from him.

"I didn't realize it at the time, but Mirror Lord probably already had some suspicions about my identity because of something, so—he tested me by manipulating your mirror image to attack me."

"And then—" Ji Ying paused here, a troubled expression on his face, unsure how to continue.

After hearing Ji Ying's brief explanation, Ye Zixuan's body stiffened abruptly. The confusion and urgency that had filled her eyes were instantly replaced by indescribable emotion, guilt, and uncontrollable heartache.

—Mirror Lord——manipulating my mirror image—made an attack on Xiao Ying?

After that, Ye Zixuan didn't need Ji Ying to say anything more.

Based solely on her brief time with Jiying and the almost boundless gentleness and tolerance he displayed towards her and Yuqing, she could clearly guess what had happened afterward.

That gentle and considerate Xiaoying, that Xiaoying who just moments ago lied to her closest person to save face— There's no need to guess what she'll do when faced with attacks from a fake she considers a partner.

She must have subconsciously acted to protect the fake item at that moment, right?

It was this concern and care for the fake that made Jingjue immediately realize that Xiaoying regarded him, as an inspector, as a partner.

It's only natural that her stance will be exposed, and that's all my fault!

If I hadn't insisted on going to that damned mirror maze alone, if I hadn't been so easily captured by the Mirror Lord and become his hostage— Therefore, Xiaoying had no need to negotiate with that insidious Mirror Lord, and Mirror Lord would not have the opportunity to create a mirror image of himself to deceive and test Xiaoying.

That concern and care belonged to herself, but it led Xiaoying to expose such an important secret to Jingjue, who was considered treacherous and cunning even among the apostles of the Void Realm.

Just thinking about what kind of arrangements Jingjue might make against Xiaoying made Ye Zixuan feel an overwhelming sense of self-blame and guilt.

At the same time, she was deeply moved by the protective act that Ji Ying had performed.

—Did she—in order to protect my fake, put herself in such a dangerous situation?

We've only known each other for a short time—and I even attacked her the first time we met— Why is she so good to me?

Seriously, how many times a day do I have to be moved to tears?

The intense emotional shock made Ye Zixuan unable to maintain her usual composure. Her eyes instantly filled with a thin layer of mist, and her vision became somewhat blurred as a result.

All the worries she had just been having were instantly forgotten; all she knew was that she was currently—extremely…

I really want to hug Xiaoying!

"Xiaoying—!"

The next moment, accompanied by a cry filled with sobs, Ye Zixuan, under the astonished gazes of Su Yuqing and Luo Bingli, suddenly opened her arms and rushed towards the lonely figure in front of her, filled with overwhelming emotion, guilt, and intense feelings that she could no longer suppress.

This time, Su Yuqing didn't have time to do anything to stop it.

"Hey? Wait, wait a minute! Zixuan?! Calm down!"

Ji Ying was startled by Ye Zixuan's sudden action and instinctively tried to back away, but she was sitting on the edge of the bed and had nowhere to retreat.

Simple verbal persuasion is clearly insufficient to stop this girl who has been completely blinded by her emotions.

"Thump!"

With a dull thud, before Ji Ying could even utter a complete gasp, Ye Zixuan pulled her into a tight embrace, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward onto the soft bed, the two of them pressed tightly together.'

"6'

"6, Ji Ying lay on the bed, feeling the other person's proud curves and the warm tears dripping onto her cheeks, and was briefly stunned.

Su Yuqing and Luo Bingli, standing to the side, also stared wide-eyed at the impactful scene before them, momentarily at a loss for how to react.

A brief and eerie silence fell over the room.