"ROAR!"
The giant crimson Honkai Beast suddenly roared, red light surging beneath its siliceous carapace as if molten lava was flowing. Flames coiled around the Honkai Beast's body, making it look like a king of fire.
Hearing that imposing roar, Ming Yu's eyes lowered slightly as memories flooded into his mind like a tide. A surging killing intent rose from his chest, urging him to raise his weapon and execute the abominable Honkai Beast.
But...
Taking a deep breath, Ming Yu activated his Sword Heart again. The originally turbulent killing intent gradually subsided, and his mind became clear once again.
His gaze fell on the ancient golden sword in his hand, and a complex look flashed in his eyes.
With a soft sigh, Ming Yu completely ignored the approaching Honkai Beast and threw the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand forward with force. The golden blade sank halfway into the scorched earth, its hilt, as if cast from gold, trembled continuously, as if wailing for being abandoned.
A chill rose in his eyes as Ming Yu suddenly shouted: "I respect you as a senior and hold due respect for you, but if you insist on this, don't blame me for turning hostile!"
Ming Yu's words drifted in the air and gradually dissipated with the wind, but the surrounding scene did not change in the slightest. The Honkai Beast continued to approach, and red Honkai Energy gathered in front of it, a terrifying aura emanating from the gradually forming beam of light.
Seeing this, Ming Yu snorted coldly. His right hand suddenly opened, and jet-black flames danced merrily in his palm. A long, ink-black sword slowly materialized from within the flames.
Even though this was a Mindscape formed by the Xuanyuan Sword, it could not sever Ming Yu's connection with another Divine Key.
Tightly gripping the hilt of Jizo Mitama, a familiar sensation returned. Ming Yu no longer hesitated and swung down at the Xuanyuan Sword in front of him, as if it weren't a precious Divine Key at all, but just an ordinary training tool.
"Stop!"
A slightly panicked voice rang out urgently. The ancient golden sword suddenly burst into brilliant light, the blinding rays causing Ming Yu to subconsciously close his eyes.
When his vision returned, Ming Yu found that he had left the original space. All he could see was a void, with only a single golden sword slowly rotating in front of him.
Under Ming Yu's gaze, a girl in magnificent clothes materialized beside the ancient sword. She quickly hugged the Xuanyuan Sword, as if afraid that Ming Yu would slash at it again in the next moment.
"You, why are you unwilling to accept the power of this sword?" The girl sized up the young man before her, a trace of doubt flashing in her amber eyes. "For people like you, pursuing powerful strength is necessary and essential, and your original weapon happens to be damaged. Logically speaking, this should be the best time for you to accept this sword."
If it were someone who didn't understand this sword, that would be one thing, but based on her previous observations, Ming Yu clearly knew the truth about the Xuanyuan Sword. Moreover, he possessed a weapon of the same class as the Xuanyuan Sword; he should understand its power even more.
No matter how you looked at it, this person should not have refused the Xuanyuan Sword.
But what troubled the girl was that this person in front of her really didn't seem to care about the Xuanyuan Sword, even unceremoniously trying to chop it with another Divine Key.
When ordinary people obtain a treasure of this level, they would at least treasure it, if not enshrine it. Who would act like Ming Yu!?
Hearing the girl's question, Ming Yu didn't answer immediately. Instead, he surveyed his surroundings. After confirming that he had the power to leave this space at any time, he finally turned his gaze to the girl before him, who had the same appearance as Ji Lin.
"It is indeed as you say. I am pursuing greater power, and the power this sword possesses is not something I can ignore," Ming Yu said slowly after a moment of contemplation.
"Then you..." The doubt in the girl's eyes deepened.
"However, the power of this sword is not essential for me." Ming Yu's eyes were filled with calm, as if he were stating a simple fact. "Besides, if I really needed this sword, I could take it myself, without anyone's approval!"
As he spoke, Ming Yu raised the Key of Corruption in his hand, and Jizo Mitama responded by igniting with deep, jet-black flames.
So what if he didn't have operational authority? He still had a master key in his hands!
Even the Key of Creation couldn't escape the influence of the Key of Corruption; Ming Yu didn't believe that a mere Key of Domination could do so. Just as he had said, if he wanted to use the Xuanyuan Sword, he didn't need the sword's approval at all.
Although the initial corrosion would be troublesome, once successful, Ming Yu could even make the Xuanyuan Sword move on its own.
As the owner of the Key of Corruption, Ming Yu didn't pay too much mind to a Key of Domination, even if this particular one might be somewhat special.
However, a Key of Domination was still a Key of Domination. Even if its abilities were more diverse, it was far inferior to the corresponding other Divine Keys in a single domain.
Just as the Xuanyuan Sword could convert Honkai Energy into flames, it could in no way compare to the Judgment of Shamash, and even its ordinary greatsword form was far inferior, let alone its subsequent Might of An-Utu form.
And Ming Yu hadn't even fully developed his own Key of Corruption yet. An extra Key of Domination was honestly a bit of a waste for him. As long as he could fully utilize the power of the Key of Corruption, he could still have the power to fight and even defeat Herrschers.
So, even though his spirit blade was damaged in the recent battle, Ming Yu had no intention of replacing it with the Xuanyuan Sword, even if it could raise his strength by a small notch. After all, even as a Key of Domination, the Xuanyuan Sword was still one of the thirteen Divine Keys; it wasn't something to be taken lightly.
Of course, what was more important was Theresa's attitude on this matter!
Logically, the Xuanyuan Sword was a spoil of war belonging to the Far East Branch. Theresa had only temporarily entrusted it to Ming Yu's use, and only for this current battle.
For a battle whose outcome was already determined, it was completely unnecessary for Ming Yu to risk seeking the Xuanyuan Sword's approval. Even if he and Theresa were defeated, there was still a Celestial outside.
As for claiming the Xuanyuan Sword for himself, Ming Yu was not so short-sighted. A mere Key of Domination versus the support of the Far East Branch—it was a very simple choice.
His current strength was decent, but only decent. He had not yet reached the point where he could fly solo.
Moreover, he alone could not contend with a large organization like Schicksal. Even a figure like Siegfried had only barely managed to escape Schicksal with the support of Theresa and Anti-Entropy.
If it were Ming Yu, it would be better to honestly work for the Far East Branch. Isn't the monthly salary and bonus good enough? Is the adorable Principal not cute enough? Or has Mei's cooking stopped being delicious?
Seeing Ming Yu's indifference towards the Xuanyuan Sword, the girl smiled gently. She slowly opened her left hand, and a complex golden pattern appeared on her fair palm.
"If one Xuanyuan Sword is not enough, what if you add this?"