"For me, my only enemy... has always been myself!"
"Hiss... that hurts..."
With the Aeon of The Hunt's fleeting gaze upon them, the battle concluded. The Inner Demon was defeated, bringing the spiritual realm clash to its climax.
"So cool! So freaking cool!"
"The Triumphant General is so badass!"
In the live stream, while many viewers were still fuming over Mihoyo's cliffhanger right before the Lumina vs. Feixiao showdown, Little Bear decided to forgive Mihoyo for one minute after witnessing the Aeon's descending gaze in the animated short.
Why exactly one minute?
Because if Little Bear didn't see the Lumina vs. Feixiao Animated Short in the game after that minute, he'd start ranting about Mihoyo again.
After all, a one-minute stay of execution was just that: a mere sixty seconds of immunity.
Besides...
The final interpretation of this so-called "stay of execution" ultimately rests with me...
[ The Triumphant General is so cool! But we absolutely can't miss the animated short of Lumina and Feixiao fighting! ]
[ Absolutely can't miss it, Mihoyo! Did you hear me? I said absolutely not!~ ]
[ Speaking of which, if I ship Feixiao and Lumina, who's the top? ]
[ Feixiao and Lumina? Just look at Feixiao's demeanor—there's no way she'd be the bottom, right? So, Little Lumina, just be a good girl and enjoy being on the bottom! (creepy laughter)]
[ As a member of the Xianzhou Yaoqing and the Triumphant General herself, Feixiao naturally follows the principle of "might makes right." If those two got together, the stronger one would definitely be on top! So, without a doubt, Lumina would be the top (hehe). ]
"We've already defeated the Inner Demon, so the main story for Version 2.5 is pretty much done."
Little Bear noticed that after the cutscene ended, their character was still in the same space.
Looking at the teleportation portal in the distance, Little Bear smiled and said, "Time to head back." He then controlled the character to walk through the portal.
The screen went black, loaded briefly, and then a close-up of Feixiao's face filled the screen.
Her crimson eyes gradually returned to their normal state.
"Oh, it's a cutscene!"
Because the cutscene started almost from frame zero, Little Bear didn't immediately realize what was happening. But in the next instant, he recognized it, gasped in excitement, and his eyes lit up with delight.
Before Little Bear could say another word, the cutscene continued playing.
"Huh? What's going on? Why am I in the air?" Having just returned to reality from the Spirit World, Feixiao was already disoriented. Discovering herself floating high above the ground only deepened her confusion.
Wait, all I did was summon Hoolay and fight my Inner Demon! How did I end up here?
Though momentarily bewildered, Feixiao quickly regained her composure.
She sensed a powerful force locking onto her.
Taking a deep breath to steady her breathing, she performed a graceful backflip in mid-air, channeling her Path power to maintain her levitation high above the world.
Having completed these preparations, Feixiao turned her gaze toward the direction from which the powerful energy signature emanated.
She saw Lumina, staff raised high, aiming directly at her. When Lumina noticed Feixiao's gaze, she flashed a brief, knowing smile.
In the next instant, a barrage of attacks erupted from Lumina's staff, each with enough destructive force to obliterate an entire planet.
"!"
Realizing these were Sister Lumina's attacks, Feixiao couldn't afford to be careless.
But now that she'd reacted too late, conventional defenses were useless.
Without hesitation, Feixiao summoned Flying Aureus.
No longer influenced by the Scarlet Moon, Feixiao and Flying Aureus now exuded an overwhelmingly terrifying aura of dominance.
"Wait, wait... isn't something off here?" Yanqing stared at General Feixiao, enveloped by Flying Aureus high in the sky, and immediately sensed something was wrong.
Judging by General Feixiao and Flying Aureus's current state... General Feixiao must have returned to normal, right?
"Something's wrong? What's wrong? Sister Lumina has been dominating the battle all along!" March 7th exclaimed, her eyes still shining with adoration as she gazed at Lumina, who stood gracefully with her Staff, radiating elegance and beauty.
"General Feixiao seems to have returned to normal..." Yanqing murmured, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. After observing more closely, he confirmed his suspicion: General Feixiao's eyes had regained their usual clarity, and the red and black miasma had vanished from Flying Aureus.
But...
If even he could see it, Lady Lumina must have noticed it too.
So why was she still attacking?
"Aiya, why worry so much?" Yunli said nonchalantly, noticing Yanqing's worried and confused expression. "Have you ever heard a saying on the Luofu?"
"I overheard it on Luofu Street once and found it quite insightful, so I remembered it."
"Even if the sky were to fall, the tall ones would hold it up."
"As for us ordinary folk, we just need to carry on with our lives."
"After all, there's nothing we can really do about it anyway."
Yunli said this with such conviction.
"Hmm... that actually makes sense," Yanqing murmured, falling into deep thought.
After pondering for a while, Yanqing realized Yunli was right.
If the great figures weren't saying anything, why should he, a mere "small fry," worry his head over it?
If General Feixiao had truly regained her senses and continued fighting Lady Lumina, she must have her own reasons.
And Lady Lumina, knowing General Feixiao had regained her senses, yet still attacking... she must have her own reasons too.
As ordinary folk, all we need to do is watch properly...
"Um... Master Yunli, your words sound so familiar..."
"Like something my old friend would say..."
March 7th, who had been watching her own Sister Lumina nearby, perked up at Yunli's words, instantly recognizing the sentiment.
"Huh? Does it sound familiar?"
"Then it must be your old friend."
"I just overheard it on Luofu Street. I don't know who said it specifically."
Upon hearing this, Yunli shrugged and shook her head, indicating she knew nothing more.
Such profound wisdom could only come from someone who had experienced much and seen through the illusions of life.
In Yunli's mind, that person must be at least five hundred years old!
Otherwise, they could never have uttered such deeply insightful words...
If possible, Yunli would have loved to meet this "Master" in person!
To discuss matters of "life" with them!
"Uh..." March 7th, having witnessed Master Yunli's expression, suddenly found herself speechless.
Though she couldn't know exactly what Master Yunli was thinking, she could infer at least a few possibilities from that look.
Could it be... is Master Yunli mistaking Qingque for some kind of worldly sage who has seen through the illusions of life?
Surely not, right?
Hmm, probably not.
March 7th nodded inwardly, reassuring herself with that thought.