Facing Yunli's questioning, Yanqing briefly explained to her what he had seen and heard in Exalting Sanctum.
Yunli shrugged, clearly already aware of everything.
However, after hearing this, Yunli also noticed something off. "The Skysplitter's speed seems to be slowing down? Could it be… Come with me—we're heading to the engine room! As the core facility of the entire ship, we prioritize securing its safety!"
The two immediately headed to the engine bay, only to find Cloud Knights sprawled everywhere on the ground.
Not far away stood borisin disguised as foxians.
Though Yunli and Yanqing didn't get along, together they were no pushovers that just anyone could mess with.
The two cooperated flawlessly, clearing out the hidden borisin in just a few moves.
Yanqing exhaled heavily. "Finding two wolves in the engine bay means even more abominations have infiltrated elsewhere… Hoolay has already boarded the Skysplitter!"
"No time to explain—the 'Martial Exhibition Ceremony' should have already started! If my guess is right, after the borisin boarded, they're very likely to start a massacre during the ceremony." Yunli nodded.
"Let's go—we head to the Martial Exhibition Ceremony arena right now!"
— —
The perspective shifts to the stage.
The announcer's voice spreads to every corner of the stage through the microphones:
"Esteemed guests, esteemed contestants, welcome to the Xianzhou Luofu Skysplitter Martial Exhibition Ceremony! Before we begin the first ring match, the event organizing committee proudly introduces the galaxy-famous host—Mr. Owlbert—as our special guest emcee on site!"
The crowd's cheers surge wave after wave.
"Please welcome our guest host Mr. Owlbert to officially open the Martial Exhibition Ceremony—"
At that moment.
Hoolay descends from the sky, now in his full wolf-man form.
"The Martial Exhibition Ceremony ends here! From this moment on, the Skysplitter belongs to me. Audience members, I will bring you a genuine fight to the death! Now—run for your lives!"
Yet the expected scene of panic does not occur.
The announcer speaks leisurely: "Sorry, but this ship doesn't have the audience you were expecting—all the people here came just for you."
"Cloud Knights, prepare for battle!"
The spectators in the stands shed their disguises, donning the armor hidden beneath.
Soon.
Voices rise from all directions: "Xianzhou soars, Cloud Knights ever victorious! Xianzhou soars, Cloud Knights ever victorious!"
Hoolay scans the surroundings.
"Looks like you were prepared."
Of course, Hoolay did not come empty-handed.
In response, wolf howls echoing the Warhead rise from all sides.
"Fine then! Since you've prepared to die—come at me with everything you've got. Entertain me!"
[Xianzhou soars, Cloud Knights ever victorious!]
[Xianzhou soars, Cloud Knights ever victorious!]
[Xianzhou soars, Cloud Knights ever victorious!]
[I knew it—how could they just let Hoolay run wild the whole time.]
[So why exactly is March 7th substituting for Yanqing in the match?]
— —
The screen fades to black.
Three hours before the "Martial Exhibition Ceremony" begins—Seat of Divine Foresight.
Huaiyan strokes his beard. "'Leave one side open in a three-sided encirclement'… Is this the plan you say will ensure the Martial Exhibition Ceremony proceeds normally?"
Jing Yuan smiles faintly, hands folded before his chest, completely at ease. "Precisely. With Hoolay's escape, the Martial Exhibition Ceremony should have been canceled immediately. No one could predict where this ferocious beast would strike, and a grand event like the ceremony would only become an easier target for his rampage.
However, preparations for the Martial Exhibition Ceremony have been underway for a long time—it must proceed. Announcing a cancellation would pain me greatly. So I thought: since it must be held, then let it be held. But why does today's ceremony have to be the real thing?
Simply replace all boarding spectators and contestants with Cloud Knight soldiers. That towering ship suspended in the sky will become the perfect wolf-hunting battlefield."
Huaiyan also finds the plan feasible, though one fatal flaw remains. "But what if Hoolay has no intention of attacking the Martial Exhibition Ceremony?"
Huaiyan's doubt is clearly within Jing Yuan's calculations.
"Then make him see the Skysplitter as much as possible. The Sky-Faring Commission will clear the flight paths and reduce other star skiff traffic. When only one ship remains in the sky, he'll have no choice but to head there.
Meanwhile, General Feixiao will handle shaking the mountain to startle the wolves, cutting off the borisin escape routes and making him believe he's found his destination.
Considering the borisin have insiders on the Luofu, I will apply pressure personally, forcing those insiders to focus on self-preservation."
"Excellent! Then this old man should get moving too. I'll coordinate with the Sky-Faring Commission to tightly guard Jade Gate Pass in case the situation spirals."
"With Elder Yan standing as the final safeguard, this junior can rest easy. This hunt must teach Hoolay that the arrows of the Hunt are always one step ahead of abominations."
[As expected of General Jing Yuan.]
[So you weren't offline—you had everything arranged already.]
[I figured the Martial Exhibition Ceremony was a pig-slaughter trap for Hoolay. Otherwise it makes no sense—terrorists attacking everywhere, yet they still hold a huge public event?]
[General Jing Yuan still carrying!]
[Masterful chain of schemes—exterminate the borisin!]
[Decisive heavenly principle, flawless planning!]
[Three generals each handling their own front!]
[Hahaha, do you understand the weight of three Emanators?]
— —
The perspective returns to the Skysplitter.
March 7th also senses something unusual on the ship. The moment to test her sword has finally come.
She fights her way through obstacles and finally reunites with Yunli and Yanqing.
After a brief pre-battle pep talk, the three resolutely step onto the stage.
The Martial Exhibition Ceremony "Wolf Hunt Ring Defense" begins!
"Pathetic—utterly pathetic!"
At Hoolay's feet lie fallen Cloud Knights everywhere.
Now Yunli, Yanqing, and March 7th surround Hoolay in a triangular formation.
Battle is imminent.
At first, Hoolay handles the trio's attacks with ease, even slowly gaining the upper hand.
"Not bad! But still far from enough! My body cannot be killed by a hundred strikes—your blades are as weak as blades of grass!"
Hoolay effortlessly neutralizes their assault. He grabs the fallen Yanqing and opens his bloodthirsty maw.
"Hoolay: I'm getting bored… Let's end the game here!"
The camera switches to Hoolay's first-person view. A wave of dizziness hits his head, and his vision blurs.
"…What's happening?"
— —
The screen fades to black.
Jiaoqiu appears in the frame without warning.
He leans against the wall, three vicious claw marks across his chest, blood already dried.
Jiaoqiu's pupils are unfocused.
The only sign of life is the faint rise and fall of his chest.
[Jiaoqiu!!!!]
[Nooo, don't kill him off!]
[I really like this pink-furred fox!]
[Damn it, here comes the knife!]
[AHHHH!!!!]
[Please don't do this, I'm begging you—don't knife him!]
— —
Hoolay looks down arrogantly at Jiaoqiu as if at a corpse. "For hunting, secrets are an indispensable weapon. A person without secrets is merely prey whose flesh is torn open, waiting miserably to die."
Jiaoqiu musters his last strength to reply. "So in your eyes, I've already become prey with no secrets left, ready to die at any moment?"
"Do you have any other path to escape? Jiaoqiu, I've already torn away your disguises and defenses layer by layer. The secrets you and the general you serve hide—I know them all."
Jiaoqiu curls his lips faintly. "But the Warhead has also told me his secrets. I know them all too."
"You'll never get to use them. You'll be buried here along with them. Still… you're a lucky one.
You won't have to live to witness the tragic fate awaiting your general.
I think she understands her own end better than you—someday, she'll be overwhelmed in battle by increasingly violent 'Moon Rage,' ultimately torn apart in mutation and fury.
Even the god you worship cannot save her from this fate… On the contrary, They could grant her release.
And the only cure is in my hands."
"Are you the healer or am I? You're that confident in your own judgment?"
Hoolay steps toward Jiaoqiu, one hand seizing his neck. "Time for me to go, foxian. Before I leave, you know what I'm going to do, right?"
Jiaoqiu forces out a sentence. "'Blood-Drinking Rite'… I hear it's a borisin war custom—killing captives and drinking their blood before battle to ignite ferocity…"
"You really put in the effort to study us… But your road ends here."
With that, Hoolay's fangs sink into Jiaoqiu.
And then—
Jiaoqiu's agonized scream…
[miHoYo, are you even human?]
[Damn it, I just thought Jiaoqiu was already knifed, and then you pull this?]
[Hahaha, insane—miHoYo you're actually insane!]
[Knifing someone right in front of us—yep, classic miHoYo move!]
[Nooo!]
[Great, I thought there was a glimmer of hope—now there's jack shit.]
[Thanks miHoYo. Who's the writer? I want to send them some local specialties.]
— —
"You… are Healer Jiaoqiu?" A young foxian pulls back the tent curtain and approaches Jiaoqiu.
"What do you want?"
"I heard it was you who saved me back then?"
"No need to thank me."
"Since you're a healer, can you cure my 'Moon Rage' condition?"
Jiaoqiu gives a cold laugh. "And if I cure it? So you can return to the battlefield and die? Listen to my advice, child—your condition isn't suited for battle anymore."
The foxian isn't angered. "Then, can you 'cure' war?"
Jiaoqiu frowns slightly—clearly no one has ever questioned him like this. "What did you say? I'm just a healer! All I can do is…"
The foxian interrupts. "So what you can do is heal us—so we can go 'heal' war."
Jiaoqiu thought there might be some shocking revelation, but that's it?
"What arrogance, little girl. This war has lasted millennia and will continue! Talking about 'healing' war—you're just going to your deaths!"
"Just like you healers desperately save the dying and wounded, yet disease and death still exist in this world. We too will keep fighting.
I can't speak for those who are already gone. But I know General Feixiao… and all the warriors who never returned didn't die in vain.
They fought so more people could live to return home—just like what you do."
Jiaoqiu is stunned: "…"
"Jiaoqiu, I order you! Heal me!"
— —
"How do you make a picky child eat green peppers? How do you make a suspicious evil wolf swallow poison? The answer—I already told you."
The perspective returns to Jiaoqiu.
"A person without secrets… is merely prey whose flesh is torn open, waiting miserably to die.
Drink my blood to your heart's content… Hoolay. Unfortunately, I'm not a person without secrets. I still hide one tiny, insignificant secret…
'Stumbling Powder'… I took it long ago. The poison has already spread through my entire body… Sooner or later… it will take effect on you.
The world's deadliest poison… if it can save innocent lives, then it can also be called a good medicine…
'I will do my utmost to heal'… Feixiao, I've kept my promise. With this insignificant life…
I bring victory to the Yaoqing."
At this moment, the entire screen floods with the same barrage: [Sir's Great Righteousness!]
[Sir's Great Righteousness!]
[Sir's Great Righteousness!]
[As expected from the one who wields the feather fan!]
['Stumbling Powder' was mentioned in passing in Early Blossom Sword Records—small doses are premium anesthetics, large doses are deadly.]
[So the foreshadowing was planted this early?]
[The strategist enters the game himself, outplaying heaven by half a move!]
[Earlier Jiaoqiu said the same thing to Modu—yep, foreshadowing everywhere.]
[Sigh! I think Jiaoqiu is truly amazing—he single-handedly turned the tide. But… can Jiaoqiu survive?]
[Maybe there's a revival match… Never mind… Honkai Impact 3rd is still fresh in my mind. I don't want to say more.]
— —
Back to the Martial Exhibition Ceremony arena.
Hoolay's body now bears several more wounds.
Finally Yunli swings her greatsword with full force, sending Hoolay staggering back more than ten meters.
"Truly… no holds barred."
At Yanqing's feet, a ring of cold air begins spreading outward from him.
Hoolay suddenly becomes alert, panic appearing on his face. "The air… it's getting cold?"
"My sword… is colder." Cold air radiates from Yanqing's body as six flying swords lock onto Hoolay.
As expected.
For some reason, Hoolay's movements slow. The trio seizes the chance—strike while he's weak!
Hoolay fends off their attacks while trying to recall why this is happening.
The next moment, realization dawns.
"Jiaoqiu, you actually…! Just a dose of poison… You thought such a trick could turn the battle?"
Hoolay's body glows red. With two slashes he shatters Yanqing's flying swords.
Even poisoned, his movements remain swift. One heavy chop directly severs the longsword in Yanqing's hand.
"How is this possible? A mere whelp… How could you defeat me?!"
Hoolay leaps up to attack Yanqing.
In this instant, time seems to freeze.
In the moment of near-death, the sword once taught by Jingliu in legend flashes through Yanqing's mind.
He comprehends it!
The broken sword in his hand becomes coated in frost, turning into an ice blade.
At this moment, in Hoolay's eyes, Yanqing's figure overlaps with that unforgettable woman?
It's the swordsmanship only she could wield.
Yanqing unleashes a single strike.
In an instant, half of Hoolay's body is frozen in ice.