Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

His current physical condition is such that he can barely sustain himself for three seconds.

Rather, releasing [Thousand Stars] while shrouded in malice is an enormous challenge.

Besides, what good would it do you to use [Thousand Stars]?

Without the Divine Key Adaptability, one cannot pull out the Jizo Mitama. This is a rule that Su Qing'an is destined to never break. Even if he uses [Thousand Stars], it can only make him faster.

But what good is speed? Can you pull it out before the Divine Key can react?

It's like a joke.

Yes, it's like a joke.

But that's exactly what Su Qing'an thought. He knew all too well that this ridiculous idea was nothing but wishful thinking.

But there was no other choice.

The gambler faces a game he is almost certain to lose, and he has only a pitiful single chip in his hand.

Life.

To gamble or not to gamble?

Before me lies hell, and behind me, an abyss.

It is to choose to sit and wait for death.

Or should we choose to disregard everything, ignore all possibilities and rationality, and gamble on an outcome?

Su Qing'an chose the latter. Ironically yet earnestly, he placed a one-yuan coin on the table in front of several billionaires at a magnificent and extremely luxurious high-class gambling game.

The boy said, "I want to win."

Yes, he wants to win.

Even if the price is one's life.

The Honkai energy flow rate of [Thousand Stars] is increased to the limit in order to obtain greater power.

Su Qing'an made the decision to burn through her last remaining chips.

In a second, or even less, his body would succumb to the erosion of Honkai energy, leading to his death.

The blood-soaked demon face on the hilt twisted into an even more dangerous and ferocious appearance. The ethereal yet real purple lines originated from it and pierced through the boy's palm. They began to merge into a strange core-like object in front of him, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

A jet-black hue, like mist, swirled around the core, as if forging something.

Jizo's Soul.

It was about to be resurrected, Su Qing'an realized the situation.

The core-like object in front of me should be the source of evil, and as long as I pull out the Divine Key and kill this source, all of this can end.

【Thousand Stars】

The boy silently recited the name in his heart, and as the Jizo Mitama began to revive, the influence of evil thoughts on him was no longer as great as before.

This also meant that the release of [Thousand Stars] was not as difficult or dangerous as he had previously thought.

However, the structure for building this skill and the control over Honkai energy are extremely demanding, and even with this mental state, he still has the possibility of failure.

But it doesn't matter. Unlike before, Su Qing'an no longer needs to think about using her skills perfectly without getting hurt.

His only requirement was that it be used.

The Honkai energy burned with magnificent colors, such dazzling flames that even the boy's bloodied body was illuminated with unparalleled beauty.

His blood, which made him look disheveled, seemed to have been tainted with a different kind of charm. The blood overflowing from his pores disappeared mysteriously into nothingness, like fireworks that would eventually fade away without a trace.

That was the result of the complete but extremely unstable cycle of external Honkai energy.

"It hurts."

It wasn't Su Qing'an speaking.

It's Yae Rin.

As the boy's sacred mark, she was undoubtedly a part of his body at this moment. Apart from the spiritual erosion caused by evil thoughts, she truly felt all the pain that Su Qing'an suffered.

Su Qing'an was no longer able to speak, but he still tried to comfort the girl through mental communication.

He said softly:

"I'm sorry, Rin."

"It'll be ready in a bit... just wait a little longer."

"It will be over soon."

Intense flames blazed around the boy, their beautiful yet ominous color enveloping him layer by layer. The carefree spirit and familiar clanging sounds vanished—a difference caused by moving towards extremes.

【Thousand Stars】was finally completed, albeit with some stumbles and setbacks.

Honkai energy dances within the body, and this sharp and swift waltz will, in an extremely brief moment, slash through blood vessels, crush bones, and crush flesh, ultimately causing the boy to die a gruesome death.

Life is condensed into this one second, and a person's entire life is displayed in the brilliance of this instant.

Su Qing'an drew his sword.

That was a speed that surpassed the limits. If Su Qing'an were to unleash the [Time Slash] at such speed, it would be the only sword strike in his life that could outrun time.

Even from a distance of ten thousand meters, this sword can slice off a cherry blossom in the blink of an eye, as if time has stood still.

Even the Emperor-level Honkai Beast Ganesha, who had once given Su Qing'an a hard time, would have its life easily ended by this sword in a single encounter.

But Su Qing'an is now putting all of that into drawing his sword.

Before the muscles melted and the bone frequencies shattered, in that extremely brief moment that seemed like an illusion.

Speed ​​is power.

boom!

An extremely dull, subtle yet undeniably present rustling sound reached the boy's ears, only to be suddenly followed by a violent, tumultuous roar, as if a storm had been brewing.

There's been some activity! All the efforts that had been going unanswered for so long have finally yielded a result.

Is it going to succeed?

What then awakened reality was a fine, continuous rain of blood.

Blood streamed into his eyes like a curtain, and the boy looked down blankly, only to find that the place that should have been his right arm was now empty.

The rustling sound he heard in that instant was not a sign that he was about to pull out the Jizo-Mitama.

Rather, it is an early warning sign of limb breakage or fracture.

The joints of the arm could not exceed the limit of the Jizo's Soul's defense and were directly dislocated. Then, the terrifying speed brought by [Thousand Stars] led to the current result.

A complete and utter defeat.

86. You haven't lost yet.

"Rin wasn't talking about himself, big brother."

Yae Rin's melodious sigh gently echoed in her ears, and the stigmata on her back glowed slightly, the lines outlining the cherry blossom pattern revealing a faint radiance.

A life that should have vanished in an instant was forcibly kept alive by the warmth transmitted from within the stigmata.

He is still alive, but he has lost all his leverage.

This was an undeniable defeat.

"I can feel what my older brother was going through at that time. Knowing that he was destined to fail, it must have been very painful for him."

"Even though he had worked so hard to overcome the trials of evil thoughts to get here, my older brother already knew this would be the outcome when he couldn't pull out the Divine Key the first time."

"Because you can guess that the Key of God is not such a simple thing. It can revive humans who have been dead for a long time. How could such a Key of God be pulled out by mere brute force?"

After losing his arm, the medium for evil thoughts was completely severed, but due to the severity of his injuries, Su Qing'an could barely speak.

But in the end, he still spoke up.

"Rin... I'm sorry for ending it this way."

It was a hoarse and low voice, spoken so softly it was almost inaudible.

A layer of glass-like haze had clouded the boy's dark eyes. He leaned against the still unmoving scabbard, maintaining a half-kneeling posture, which looked extremely unsightly.

His entire body was covered in open wounds, and the blood seemed to have dried up. The remaining blood covered his tattered body, making it hard to imagine what was keeping this boy alive.

A girl emerged from the sacred mark, her silhouette hazy and indistinct. She gently embraced the boy's broken body, her youthful face etched with sorrow and grief. She whispered in Su Qing'an's ear:

"It's okay, big brother has already tried his best."

His consciousness was almost sinking into the darkness of nothingness, but an inexplicable will forcefully dragged him away from sleep.

Even at this point, his inherent stubbornness still prevented him from giving up.

Lin's words resonated in his heart, but Su Qing'an felt somewhat disappointed. He thought that he still hadn't been able to keep his promise. He had always been like this, every single time.

It could be power, luck, or fate.

Defeat, defeat, defeat.

Defeat after defeat.

He couldn't keep his promise, nor could he protect the St. Freya Academy behind him.

Is this the only end that awaits a talentless human like him in such a cruel world?

I hope Hua comes back soon; only she can defeat a Herrscher-level opponent.

But I'm still a little worried. Her strength is still draining away. Under these circumstances, will she really be alright when facing such an enemy?

Kiana, Himeko-san, Yuno...

I hope everyone is safe and sound.

And then there's Principal Theresa... In the end, I still couldn't save her...

A torrent of thoughts swirled in his mind, all of which surged forth after Su Qing'an believed he had been utterly defeated, almost instantly overwhelming and covering the pain emanating from his body.

"Don't be sad. Even now, your big brother isn't sad for his own sake. He's hopeless. Such gentleness doesn't belong in this world."

Lin's voice was like winter snow falling on my cheek, seeping into my heart.