Chapter 146: Come Back to Life! My Love—Ting Yun—!

"Miss Ting Yun!" San Yueqi shouted.

Before she could approach, Ting Yun's body collapsed to the ground like a cut wire, and a small glowing sphere slowly floated out of her chest and abdomen.

"Esteemed benefactors, allow me to reintroduce myself— I am the Extinction Great Lord, Huan Long. I have come to cause this Celestial Vessel to fall apart and self‑destruct!"

As he spoke, countless antimatter legions suddenly appeared, blocking the crowd.

"Miss Ting Yun is... the Extinction Great Lord of the legion? Wh-what on earth is happening?!" San Yueqi still wore an expression of disbelief.

"Everyone, stay calm! With a great enemy before us, we must not lose formation!" Fu Xuan's voice came from behind, and the Cloud Cavalry behind him quickly joined the battle against the antimatter legions.

"The ones targeting the Celestial Vessel aren't Burning Wind or Star Howl; you are quite lucky."

Huan Long's voice floated in the air, looking down from above at the melee, as if admiring an interesting work, and continued: "I, for my part, am the least fond of creating destruction myself... Unfortunately that general insisted I take the stage, so Huan Long can only make a clumsy appearance."

"The appointment awaits; allow me to take my leave first. I hope you enjoy yourselves with those performers..."

The mastermind behind the scenes finally revealed himself; Ting Yun truly has an issue. Wu Tiao Wu yawned and stretched: "Since the bounty of the Profound Deer, I've been waiting for Ting Yun to reveal her true form, and indeed she's a big fish."

"But the opponent is the Herald of Destruction..." Yui Itto stroked his chin, "And I don't think Huan Long would act without preparing in advance."

"Isn't there a Hunting Herald on this side of the Celestial Vessel?"

Wu Tiao Wu curled his lip, "You've seen General Jingyuan's strength, right? Not to mention the guy behind him bathed in golden light—clearly extraordinary, ridiculously strong! And we have the Train Squad assisting... That Wa'ertu is low‑key, hard to say he lacks hidden power."

"Teacher, do you think they'll win?" Yui Itto still looked worried.

"Ha, if two more Extinction Great Lords showed up it would be troublesome, but if it's just Huan Long alone..." Wu Tiao Wu's mouth twitched upward, exuding complete confidence.

"They will win!"

"This... this... so the Miss Ting Yun who traveled with us is a member of the legion?" San Yueqi was now utterly panicked: "What was that flame that erupted from her? Where did Miss Ting Yun's body... her body go?"

She looked up at Wa'ertu: "Uncle Yang, you're well‑versed, what exactly just happened?!"

"... " Wa'ertu sighed, "That flame called itself the Extinction Great Lord, Huan Long. I've heard that name from other nameless guests before."

"She is one of the seven Great Lords under Na Nu Ke, enamored with mortals' self‑destruction; many beings have been lured by her into an abyss of endless calamity..."

Fu Xuan's gaze darkened: "You mean that lady from the Celestial Transport Office has already been bewitched by her, becoming a foot soldier of the legion?"

Xing and Wa'ertu exchanged a glance; no one could readily accept such a conclusion.

"... I don't think so. Huan Long is enamored with the dual destruction of spirit and matter, leading from spiritual collapse to bodily demise," Wa'ertu analyzed, "But Ting Yun's words and actions don't seem bewitched or controlled; if she's not the original Ting Yun, she is more likely a manifestation of Huan Long."

"Uncle Yang means the real Ting Yun still..." San Yueqi looked worriedly at Wa'ertu.

"Sorry, San Yueqi, I cannot give a definitive answer. We don't know where the original Ting Yun was, when she was swapped, and with that body dissipated, we have no way to investigate."

"If Miss Ting Yun dies, how are we supposed to live, sob sob..."

"Please, Miss Ting Yun! Come back to life! My beloved—!"

"No! I would trade ten years of being single for Boss Yi Dou to bring Miss Ting Yun back!"

Inside Inazuma City, a group of grown men clutching the newest Ting Yun fan merchandise were weeping miserably, their anguished wails causing onlookers to shake their heads and sigh, even the Heavenly Commandant tasked with dispersing them felt compassion.

"Hahaha—my Miss Ting Yun definitely isn't dead; how could she be? Hehe..." Among them, a man wearing a Ting Yun illustration shirt wiped tears while laughing, his face a crazy, dazed grin.

"Sigh, another one gone mad..." Kuki Shin let out a sigh, then spotted the boss and a few Desolate Torrent Sect underlings in the crowd, all weeping, and she angrily lifted Yi Dou out of the crowd.

"Boss, they're crying for themselves; why are you joining the fun?" Kuki Shin questioned.

"Huh?" Yi Dou of the Desolate Torrent Sect wiped his tears, pulled a limited‑edition Ting Yun fan from his pocket, and proudly waved it at Kuki Shin, "Shin, I'm now the president of the 'Ting Yun Fans Mutual Aid Association'! Of course I came!"

"So the money you took from my gang a few days ago was to register the fan aid association with the Heavenly Commandant?"

"... " Kuki Shin silently held her forehead, "What now? Your association is less than three days old, and Ting Yun is already dead."

"Shin! I must correct you! Miss Ting Yun isn't dead!" Seeing many people around, Yi Dou whispered into Kuki Shin's ear, "There's no sign that Ting Yun has died, right?"

"... but there's also no sign she's still alive." Kuki Shin mercilessly shattered his illusion.

"Stop it, Shin!" Yi Dou made a pitiful face, "If you keep talking, the aid group I barely built will dissolve! I don't want my half‑month's wages to vanish in three days!"

"This is merely my personal speculation… and hope. If that is Ting Yun, why would Huan Long go to the trouble of erasing evidence? Throwing the corpse before the deceased fits her destructive aesthetic, doesn't it?"

"I believe this is Huan Long's aim—to plunge us into chaos and doubt, fully falling into her trap."

Wa'ertu's analysis was meticulous, and Fu Xuan nodded in agreement, "No wonder the Pharmacist King's Secret Transmission sparked a rebellion; it was colluding with the legion's great lord. She disguised herself as a Celestial Vessel person, sending the star core to Luofu, causing us to destroy each other..."

"Her target must be Jianmu! Touching Jianmu is like seizing Luofu's foundation; then annihilating the Celestial Vessel becomes easy. We must act quickly and stop her!"

"Climb onto the Star Chariot, and ahead lies the sealed Jianmu realm, the Scale Abyss Realm."