Like a dragon chasing a pearl—
The Geo dragon surged forward with overwhelming force.
The enormous creature of rock and energy lunged toward the falling core of the Anemo Hypostasis.
BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward.
Blinding light filled the ruins.
Everyone had to close their eyes.
Paimon grabbed Lumine's hair again just to keep from being blown away.
"So strong…"
Noelle, as another Geo user, could sense how devastating the attack truly was.
Now she understood why Diluc, the uncrowned king of Mondstadt, followed Jiang Chen's plans without hesitation.
Even someone as proud as Diluc had to lower his stance in front of him.
But Barbara noticed something else entirely.
Her blue eyes sparkled.
"So cool!"
Meanwhile Lumine clenched her fist.
"I still have a long way to go…"
The Hypostasis' Final Attempt
Inside the ruins, the smoke cleared.
The Hypostasis' core flickered in the center of the arena.
The core trembled violently.
Four Anemo energy spheres floated out of it.
Then the core turned ethereal.
At this moment, all attacks—both physical and elemental—became useless.
Diluc frowned.
"What's happening?"
"This is different from the Electro Hypostasis."
"It isn't splitting into smaller cores."
Jiang Chen smiled calmly.
"Do you feel the difference between these wind spheres and the ones created during its tornado attack?"
Diluc focused.
Then answered hesitantly:
"…Life force?"
The earlier wind spheres were pure energy.
But these four contained living essence.
"Correct."
Jiang Chen nodded.
"'Hypostasis' means abandoning the normal biological form of elemental life."
"It becomes a pure elemental existence."
"But the key word is still life."
"We've already destroyed the outer layers of wind energy protecting it."
"So its core essence has appeared."
He continued:
"Just like the Electro Hypostasis, it's trying to recover power by absorbing elemental energy from the environment."
Diluc stepped forward.
"Then we just destroy those spheres."
"That should finish it."
But he suddenly stopped.
Jiang Chen looked far too relaxed.
Why the Boss Can't Recover
Jiang Chen chuckled.
"This one is slightly different."
"It kept a small reserve of energy."
"Even if we destroy the spheres, we'll still need to finish the core afterward."
"But if we don't destroy them, it will absorb wind energy and recover—"
Diluc suddenly paused.
He realized something.
There was no wind energy left.
Jiang Chen's earlier attack had blown away every Anemo current in the ruins.
The battlefield was now filled with lingering Geo energy instead.
"No wonder…"
Diluc finally understood.
The End of the Hypostasis
After a while, the weakened core reabsorbed the four life-spheres.
But there was no Anemo energy left to absorb.
The Hypostasis simply collapsed to the ground.
It no longer had the energy to function.
Jiang Chen walked forward calmly.
The blade of Wolf's Gravestone pierced the core.
The creature's life force drained rapidly.
CRACK.
The Hypostasis shattered.
Fragments of crystal scattered into the ancient ruins.
The ruins lit up again.
Glowing lines spread across the stone floor.
The ground trembled violently.
The Ley Line Flower Appears
The others rushed over cautiously.
"Jiang Chen!"
Paimon panicked.
"Stormbearer Mountains is too dangerous!"
"Now there's an earthquake!"
Jiang Chen shook his head with a gentle smile.
"This is Lumine's gift package."
"My… gift?"
Lumine looked confused.
Paimon suddenly remembered something.
"Wait! Where's the ley line energy?"
"It's coming."
Jiang Chen said.
The glow of the ruins faded.
Nearby, the ground cracked open.
A green bud slowly emerged.
A Ley Line Blossom.
Ley Line Blossom
Everyone stared in surprise.
Paimon didn't even dare fly closer.
She worried the flower might suddenly swallow her whole.
Jiang Chen explained calmly.
"When the ley line consumes the corpse of a powerful elemental life form…"
"It always gives something back."
He gently pushed Lumine forward.
"Go ahead."
"Open it."
Lumine's Power Surge
Lumine glanced back at him.
Seeing his reassuring expression, she stepped forward.
She placed her hand on the flower bud.
Nothing happened.
Then she tried channeling Anemo energy.
The flower sensed the wind element.
Slowly—
It blossomed.
Several items dropped from the flower.
At the same time—
A huge surge of ley line energy poured into Lumine's body.
Her level skyrocketed.
Lv9 → Lv10
Lv11 → Lv12
Lv14 → Lv15 → Lv16
Lv18 → Lv19 → Lv20
Petal by petal, the flower withered away.
When Lumine reached Level 20, the blossom lost all its energy and collapsed.
Lumine's Reaction
Lumine opened her eyes.
Shock filled them.
She never expected Jiang Chen's "gift package" to be this powerful.
All the effort…
All the dangerous battles…
All the preparation—
It had been for her.
"Jiang Chen…"
Jiang Chen was examining the items that had fallen from the flower.
He turned around.
At that moment—
The golden-haired girl in the white dress suddenly rushed forward.
And hugged him tightly.