"Che!" Nero and Yanqing, who suddenly appeared midway, made Phantylia extremely displeased.
But no matter how displeased she was, there was nothing she could do to counter it at this moment.
Nero seemed to have no intention of giving her even a moment to breathe. Just after jumping down and slashing her out, he immediately leapt up again.
The Black Cutter in Nero's hands was swung with fierce momentum, smashing straight toward Phantylia.
Generally speaking, ordinary methods could hardly cause harm to Phantylia, who was the Spirit of Starfire.
If a judge from the Ten Kings Commission were here, they might be able to use talismans and techniques to have some effect.
But Nero was truly a bit special. Having suffered losses from him earlier, when she saw Nero bring the Black Cutter down again, she hurriedly retreated to dodge.
But she still couldn't completely avoid it.
Everyone only saw Nero swat at Phantylia with the Black Cutter as if swatting a fly. That cluster of fluorescent green Starfire spirit rapidly retreated, but it was still brushed at the edge.
A shocking scene appeared.
In that instant, the cluster of Starfire spirit seemed to turn into a solid object, like a ball, and was slapped onto the ground.
But Phantylia quickly flew up again and rapidly pulled away to widen the distance.
This Lord Ravager didn't say a single word, but everyone could vaguely sense that she was looking at Nero with extreme wariness.
This scene made Yanqing's eyes shine, and he was extremely excited.
Again and again, Nero had proven to him through actual actions countless times that raw stats were the correct path to becoming the Sword Champion.
Immense strength could not only suppress him in battle, but could also send his grandmaster flying, and now, he could even fight Heliobus.
At this moment, Jing Yuan and Dan Heng had just arrived. Nero's sword-riding speed was much faster than theirs.
And just as they arrived, the two of them happened to see the scene of Phantylia being slapped away by Nero.
Dan Heng narrowed his eyes, not knowing what to say. He only felt that the situation in front of him seemed a bit beyond understanding, at least not in line with common sense.
At this moment, the two had not yet entered the crowd. They were just watching from a distance, walking forward at the same time.
Jing Yuan stroked his chin and said, "I didn't expect Nero to be able to directly attack Heliobus purely through physical means… Is this also an effect brought by the power of Pure Beauty?"
Hearing Jing Yuan's words, Dan Heng immediately turned his head and looked at him, asking, "The power of Pure Beauty?"
"Oh, looks like you don't know yet. Recently, Nero has been targeted by the Mirror Holders… That organization rarely appears, but their reputation has never been good, at least not comparable to the Knights of Pure Beauty."
"You also know what they're doing, so why Nero was targeted by them, I don't need to say more, right?"
Dan Heng let out a long breath and nodded, "Fragments of Pure Beauty."
He gently closed his eyes, recalling everything unusual that had happened to Nero since the moment they met.
A face so beautiful it could make people fantasize, a pure and flawless heart and thoughts, astonishing strength and growth speed, and that method where a simple pat of his small hand could repair mechanical creations…
Legend says the Aeon of Pure Beauty, Idrila, once kissed an apple, and that apple would never rot… From a certain angle, it did match Nero's miraculous effect of fixing things with a single pat.
"…"
'So that's how it is. Then those miraculous abilities could be explained. However, for a fragment of Pure Beauty to become a citizen of the Xianzhou… such a transformation might not even appear once in a million years across the universe.'
Dan Heng was silent for a moment, then said, "That's good."
"Yes, that's good." Jing Yuan also said, "The future of the Luofu is simply bright. By then, I can retire with peace of mind."
"…"
Dan Heng glanced at Jing Yuan and said lightly, "That might not be possible. That child's uniqueness isn't limited to this. Do you know he's very popular with Aeons?"
"Hm?" Hearing Dan Heng's words, Jing Yuan couldn't help but freeze.
He rarely encountered situations that went beyond expectations like this.
Dan Heng didn't say more. He simply took out his phone, then found the relevant messages Nero had sent in the group chat "Astral Express Family."
He handed the phone to Jing Yuan and told him to take a look himself.
Dan Heng handed it over naturally, and Jing Yuan naturally took it.
Although Dan Heng was not Dan Feng, in some tacit understandings, the two strangely matched, as if they had undergone countless rounds of coordination before.
Jing Yuan looked at the content Dan Heng had found and slightly frowned.
The more he read, the more twisted the expression of this Divine Foresight General became. He was astonished by the content, unable to believe it, unable to understand it.
At the same time, Dan Heng's calm voice came from the side, "As far as we know, or rather, based on Nero's sharing, this child has a very good relationship with Aha."
"And besides that, according to Aha, Nero has also received permission from the Reignbow Arbiter to draw power from the Path of the Hunt."
"In addition, from the information Nero shared, it's not hard to see that after meeting Robin, he also received the protection of Harmony."
Jing Yuan, "…"
'The new child I got recently may not have grown much in size, but in other aspects he seems to have grown exceptionally large… I really didn't know Nero had this kind of ability."
Looking at it this way, Yanqing losing every sparring match made sense. Not to mention Nero himself already had somewhat excessive stats.
"Pure Beauty, Hunt, Elation, Harmony… hehe, this child is really not simple." Jing Yuan returned the phone to Dan Heng and sighed.
At the same time, he thought, his master didn't lose unjustly.
Although he didn't know exactly how much power Nero had drawn from each Path, judging from the attitude of the Masked Fool, in the Path of Elation, his depth of power extraction had definitely reached the level of an Emanator.
And that wasn't even counting the others…
If this kid were to unleash all his power in an instant, it was no wonder his master's face had been swollen from the beating.
Thinking of Jingliu's Mara-struck state being forcibly suppressed, Jing Yuan was certain that the reason her face had swollen like that was definitely because Nero had slapped her with his small hand.
After all, "a small hand pat," right… Previously, Exalting Sanctum had also sent news saying that several Cloud Knights who had fallen into Mara were directly slapped back to their original state by Nero.
Jing Yuan had also met those Cloud Knights. The degree of swelling on their faces explained everything, and the purple marks on their faces along with the handprints on their helmets explained everything.
Speaking of which, his master also had the same handprint on her face, though it faded relatively quickly.
By the time Jingliu woke up from unconsciousness, the handprint was no longer visible on her face, but the swelling was still there.
Jing Yuan touched his phone. Fortunately, he had taken photos in advance. No matter what, this kind of black history of his master was rare to see.
Beside him, after hearing Jing Yuan's sigh, Dan Heng shook his head and added, "Besides those four, I think there might also be Equilibrium. Those powers on Nero seem to maintain a certain balance, without any conflict at all."
Jing Yuan, "…"
'While it's a good thing for the younger generation of Luofu to be talented and strong, isn't some of this a bit too overpowered? Nero at this point is basically a top-tier strategic weapon.'
Jing Yuan took a deep breath and slowly sighed, "Looking at it this way, the difficulty of this crisis targeting Luofu seems to have dropped quite a bit…
"Nero to the Xianzhou is like arrows to the Reignbow Arbiter!"
While Jing Yuan and Dan Heng were "leisurely" discussing Nero here, the conversation on Phantylia's side was also continuing.
But Phantylia obviously couldn't be as relaxed as the two of them.
She was now eager to leave. In her current state, although she possessed the power of Destruction, it wasn't suitable to fight the Xianzhou Alliance.
Not to mention that her plan had already been exposed, the general of Luofu, though skilled in strategy, was also not to be underestimated in strength.
Moreover, he was accompanied by the Lord of Heavenly Thunder who commands lightning and purges evil. And the enemies she had to face, besides that general, also included this white-haired brat.
Phantylia did not dare to underestimate Nero. She took his strength very seriously. No matter what, that heaven-toppling sword move from that day had given this Lord Ravager a tremendous shock.
To deal with both of them alone under such circumstances, Phantylia had no confidence.
However, one must not lose face even if losing ground. Besides, the two sides hadn't truly fought yet, so she couldn't be considered defeated. Therefore, her words were still rather firm at this moment.
While thinking about things on the Xianzhou that could be used, perhaps borrowing the abundant power within the Undying Arbor, Phantylia said to the people below, "Very well, since that is the case, then I can only make a fool of myself. But before taking the stage, please allow me to excuse myself to freshen up a bit."
As she spoke, that cluster of Starfire essence representing Phantylia's true body floated higher and higher, moving faster and faster, as if something were chasing it, and quickly dissipated.
After that, Phantylia's voice could no longer be heard. It seemed she had fled far away.
Seeing this, Mirror Holder slightly bowed to everyone, "As you can see, my partner is an Emanator under Destruction.
"However, I personally have no intention of destroying the Xianzhou. To unnecessarily provoke the Xianzhou Alliance and be designated as a target of the Hunt brings me no benefit."
At this point, Mirror Holder raised his head and looked at Nero.
The expression beneath his mask froze slightly.
'Beautiful! Too beautiful!'
'Holding the Sword of Judgment, embodying justice, using holy light and flames to bring judgment upon the evil and blasphemy of this world, if a judging angel had a true form, it would surely look like this!'
'This is exactly what I pursue.'
'Lady Idrila, only by cleansing all the sins of the world with sacred flames can a homeland of beauty be built. And only by building such a homeland can we say we are ready to welcome your return.'
For a brief moment, Mirror Holder's eyes beneath the pitch-black mask became incomparably devout, as if holy light had descended from the heavens and shone upon him.
From the moment he appeared until now, Mirror Holder's behavior did not resemble that of an arrogant and radical Mirror Holder.
He was more like a devout believer, a true man of faith, a templar knight stationed in a church, always placing the object of his faith in his heart.
Naturally polite to others, elegant and proper, like a true ascetic who had walked through the mortal world.
After a brief moment of distraction, Mirror Holder sighed, "Ah… my apologies, please forgive my lapse."
"I only wish to say that I have no intention of being an enemy of the Xianzhou."
"From beginning to end, my goal, what I want, has always been only one thing."
Mirror Holder looked at Nero and issued an invitation in a sincere and fervent tone, "Beautiful young man, please forgive my rudeness."
"I must admit, you are the child most favored by Her. In terms of closeness to Her, you are closer than any of us."
"I sincerely invite you to join us."
"With you, I can almost be certain of one thing..."
"On the road of recovery ahead, we will become smooth and unimpeded."
"And before She returns to this world, we can also get along harmoniously. This may be a long period of time, but on the path of pursuing beauty, time will always become short."
While Mirror Holder was speaking, no one else said a word.
To them, Mirror Holder was a strange fellow, and at this moment, as they listened to him, they viewed this Mirror Holder with an extremely negative mindset.
Mirror Holder was undoubtedly an enemy, yet because of his sincerity and politeness, this layer of identity was unconsciously weakened, and instead, he was more often regarded as a lunatic.
As they listened to Mirror Holder speak, March and Stelle stepped forward, grabbed Nero's hand, and pulled him back, bringing him to their side.
This weird, muttering guy spoke strangely and kept staring at Nero.
Combined with what he just said, he was clearly trying to abduct him.
Everyone wasn't worried about Nero's combat strength, but considering his personality of basically trusting everyone and showing kindness to anyone…
It was better to keep him by their side. Otherwise, he might get tricked if they weren't careful, especially by people like Mirror Holder.
Mr. Yang narrowed his eyes, looking at Mirror Holder thoughtfully.
Compared to a Mirror Holder, he felt this guy was closer to some Pure Beauty organizations he already had an impression of.
For example, that Mr. Yin Zhi whom Nero had introduced.
Finally, Mirror Holder once again swept his gaze across everyone. He adjusted his posture, facing them directly, and said, "Well then, I have said everything I needed to say. Now it is time for me to take my leave.
"I believe the Diviner Fu has already calculated our location, so I look forward to our next meeting."
"When we meet again, perhaps we will be crossing blades."
"But my stance remains unchanged. As long as this one (Nero) is willing to come with me, the Mirror Holders will not launch any attacks, nor will we provide any assistance to Phantylia."
"I have no intention of threatening you all, nor do I intend to morally coerce you (Nero). Everything I have said here is due to the mission."
"The Mirror Holders' objective will not change, but whether to make a decision, and what kind of decision to make, is entirely up to you."
"Of course, no matter how much I say, I cannot deny that my actions have threatened you, nor can I erase the ugliness within such behavior."
"So I will not ask for your forgiveness. With that, please allow me to take my leave."
After speaking, Mirror Holder once again bowed politely to everyone before slowly retreating. Only when the space rippled like water did his figure gradually disappear before their eyes.