Tantai Lanling watched the changes unfold, her expression shifting from concern to cautious optimism. "The mergers are working. The hunting hounds are being pushed back."
Nian Shi's prime form nodded grimly. "For now. But Yin will adapt. He always does."
He watched as a particularly large merger—eight versions combining—overwhelmed a Number Nine manifestation. The merged Nian Shi didn't just defeat the hunting hound; he unraveled it, studying its essence as it dissipated.
"We need to understand how Yin created these things," the prime Nian Shi said. "And we need to accelerate Yun Lintian's development."
Tantai Lanling looked surprised. "I thought we were abandoning that plan?"
Nian Shi's smile was cold. "No. We're changing it. Instead of waiting for him to reach perfection naturally... we're going to force it."
