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

Su Qing'an's progress was far behind the enemy's evolving levels. Without finding a fundamental solution, trying to deal with a level of Honkai consciousness was simply playing with his life.

Therefore, in the process of pursuing the Third Herrscher, the boy has already come up with a preliminary strategy.

This plan was originally intended to be tailored to the specific circumstances, but after witnessing Sato Yuno's mournful soul, many elements were already fulfilled on their own.

Su Qing'an's gaze was indifferent; from the beginning of the battle until now, his expression remained unchanged, as calm as still water.

Neither his own safety nor whether Yuno, as the Herrscher's physical form, would be injured seemed to be outside his consideration.

Looking back at the boy's previous behavior, such a thorough and all-out response was actually unreasonable.

The Third Herrscher's defensive capabilities, based on fragmented memories, are far less powerful than they are in reality. This would normally cause Su Qing'an to worry about whether Sato Yuno would be alright.

This thought can cause hesitation when exerting effort.

But in reality, he did the exact opposite, directly using [Eight Desolations] to fling Sato Yuno three kilometers away, and then using [Time Cut], which was so clear that even inspirational memes were incorporated into it, to make her slide several thousand meters on the ground.

In Su Qing'an's mind, such a clean and decisive fighting style could easily lead to serious injury to Sato Yuno.

Because the Herrscher's true form is a frail girl, even a slight application of force is enough to cause her organs to fail and her heart to shatter.

The normal approach he would take is to gradually test the opponent's true defensive limits before increasing his output.

The Honkai consciousness couldn't see anything wrong; it would only think that Su Qing'an's initial restraint was foolish.

But in reality, the boy's actions are quite unbelievable from the perspective of someone familiar with his personality.

This is naturally justified and is closely related to the plan to rescue Sato Yuno.

Having experienced the previous incident of pulling Seele out of the Sea of ​​Quanta, the boy had already tested the consequences of burning an extremely small amount of soul energy.

The answer is that it will not cause any sense of loss, but will only lead to a temporary emotional blank. At the same time, this practice can also be exchanged for a portion of the power to control and amplify the essence of the soul.

After realizing this, Su Qing'an understood how foolish her previous actions of directly burning the root of emotions by applying the essence of the soul had been.

The Soul Burn skill is essentially an exchange of equal value; you get back exactly what you put in.

In response, Su Qing'an initially categorized the chips into several types.

One type is the fundamental bargaining chip.

Using the experience of a teenager's death as an example, he can clearly and thoroughly ignite the source of this fear and despair. The price he pays is that his personality is corrected back to a state where he had never experienced this death, and he is completely unable to feel any emotion or empathy for this experience.

Another type is marginal chips.

These chips are like the cards automatically dealt to each player at the gambling table; they can be obtained continuously without much cost.

That was pure emotion.

This kind of bargaining chip doesn't even require burning one's soul.

Because the connection between emotions and the soul is sometimes like the daily shedding of skin flakes and hair, burning emotions alone do not affect the soul, so there is no need to worry about whether the soul's self-healing ability is sufficient to support the squandering of resources.

Of course, this approach also has certain hidden dangers, as the essence of equivalent exchange lies in equality.

The name given to the skill "Soul Burn" is not entirely accurate; calling it "Soul Balance" or "Soul Spell" would be more appropriate.

Therefore, the instant Su Qing'an grasped the Feather Dust and entered the critical state, he had already placed the initial chips on the scales of his soul.

Hatred and anger towards the Honkai consciousness.

The sorrow and pity for what happened to Yuno Sato.

Disdain and regret for one's own inadequacy.

In order to acquire enough power, the boy chose a bargaining chip that lay somewhere between the fundamental and the marginal...

77. Su Qing'an fought alone.

The stakes, somewhere between the fundamental and the marginal, seem complex.

To put it simply, it means putting all the emotions generated in this battle, as irredeemable chips, on the gambling table in exchange for greater power.

Therefore, from the very beginning of the battle, Su Qing'an's every move was made in the purest state of rationality.

Once he enters this state, he won't feel any emotional burden when he attacks Sato Yuno.

As the saying goes, concern leads to confusion; after completely losing emotions, the boy can naturally come to understand a reality.

The Honkai consciousness wouldn't allow itself to harm the Third Herrscher, and its own strength wasn't at a point where it needed to worry about the Herrscher.

Having understood this, he remained unwavering no matter how he drew his sword.

Su Qing'an left all her emotions in the temple of her soul, where they quietly accumulated strength.

In the frame after pulling [Thousand Stars] to its limit, he himself could no longer perceive any emotional fluctuations in himself.

As if an invisible constraint and contract were automatically established, a strange feeling permeated the soul, forming a separator that isolates and divides.

Even though he could no longer perceive emotions, Su Qing'an could still understand, through the chips that were constantly accumulating in the Hall of Souls, that the great fire in his heart was continuously flickering with an inextinguishable temperature.

It's like the embers of hatred are hard to extinguish. Even if the root of anger and sorrow is quickly eradicated, as long as the familiar twisted and mournful cries of souls are heard again, the embers will be reborn and replaced with new bargaining chips.

Su Qing'an doesn't need to do anything extra.

He only needs to do his best to hold off the Third Herrscher in a protracted battle before [Feathered Dust O Critical] reaches its limit, and finally, at the moment the critical point is reached, he can exchange the chips he has accumulated so far for equivalent power.

Then, let the so-called gods bear witness.

What extent can the joys and sorrows of a mere mortal go, and can they possibly bring Him down from His high throne?

—Completely pull it down.

Before that, Su Qing'an had to make sure she didn't die.

There's no need for deliberate attacks anymore; just focus on defense by using Feather Dust to extend the distance of the [Stigmata].

This semi-passive fighting style is justified; it's impossible for him to contend with a Herrscher based solely on his individual output potential.

In terms of raw power, there is still an insurmountable gap between myself and the Herrschers.

Therefore, we can only use the absorbed Honkai energy to play Tai Chi and maneuver at that time.

However, the actual situation was somewhat different from what Su Qing'an had in mind; that [Time Cut] was not entirely useless.

At least according to the Honkai consciousness, the Honkai energy barrier on the surface of the Third Herrscher's body was not enough to gather all of it in the instant that it was struck.

The exaggerated sword speed and the complex power it carried were enough to truly break through defenses and inflict damage on Sato Yuno.

—It will probably cut into the surface layer of skin by about one centimeter, causing bleeding.

However, this is also an element that the Honkai consciousness does not allow. Although the physical abilities of the Herrscher's original body have been shaped to the best of their ability, they cannot exceed the limits of the human body by much.

At least compared to the human body opposite, which is devoid of racial norms, it is completely insignificant.

However, when one's powers do not involve healing and one's physique is not strong, bleeding itself becomes a detail that needs to be taken into account.

As an intelligent entity, the Honkai consciousness lacks dignity and arrogance, which prevents it from overlooking any events that could cause subsequent outcomes to deviate from its intended purpose.

Therefore, He commanded the Third Lawrence to use his power.

Yuno Sato transformed lightning, a phenomenon that only occurs for a fleeting moment, into a continuous, fixed phenomenon.

Because this operation is performed on the surface of the body, the reaction is so subtle that even Su Qing'an himself would find it difficult to detect the activation of the power through touch.

Kill him.

The girl hovered barefoot on the ground. She did not look at Su Qing'an, who had somehow retreated several kilometers away. She simply held her delicate hands in front of her chest.

Sato Yuno seemed to be holding a bunch of flowers that had just been picked in the morning. In a daze, it was as if crystal clear dewdrops were dripping onto the delicate petals and slowly rolling down, setting off her skirt and her fair, flawless fingers.

But as she lowered her head, countless scattered branches were born from the dark, blood-red lightning, thus annihilating the bouquet that never existed in the first place.

The lightning-filled land transformed the spot where the girl stood into a tranquil island, while the rest of the land was constantly being swallowed up by the wandering lightning tongues.

As the lightning passed through several phases, it gradually turned a dangerous purple. The extreme heat caused the air along its path to expand violently, accelerating its flow and eventually forming continuous, surging waves that emitted a roaring sound.

Su Qing'an did not stop retreating before the opponent launched an attack.

Killing or harming the Third Herrscher is not his goal; the most suitable approach is to entangle and delay the inevitable.

and……

The essence of power is the control of electromagnetic force.

While there are certainly limitations—for example, the temperature of purple lightning is about five times that of the sun's surface—the actual results do not reflect the true data of this natural phenomenon.

However, to think that the Third Herrscher can only generate electricity and shape Honkai energy is to seriously underestimate her.

Ever since the Herrscher's basic defenses completely exceeded Su Qing'an's expectations, he has found it difficult to view the Herrscher with the same perspective as before.

Even though he had overestimated his opponent, Su Qing'an did not expect the crisis to come so quickly and reach the core of the problem.

Before Yu Duchen's illusion could even touch the lightning, he had barely reacted.

But when his fingertips touched the lightning, the boy's pupils involuntarily contracted.

He understands that he is now in the most critical moment.

Su Qing'an understood exactly what tricks the other side had played in the attack.

Since all particles carry an electric charge, the strong electromagnetic force prevents them from actually colliding with each other.

The common understanding of particle collisions is actually the interaction of electromagnetic forces at extreme distances.

However, under the power of the Third Herrscher, it is not difficult to reverse these so-called physical rules.

What the Third Herrscher does is very simple—it decomposes electromagnetic forces, that is, it decomposes everything.

The trail that lightning had left behind had completely evaporated into nothingness.

The interaction between electromagnetic forces causes the object to melt, and vaporization creates this scene.

According to the law of conservation of matter, matter and energy can only be transformed into each other; the lost matter is merely transformed into other forms of matter.

However, this is a bug caused by Honkai energy, which does not conform to the law of conservation of energy. The decomposition of all things by power ignores and tramples even the law of conservation of matter.

The disappearing matter is a true erasure, as if vast voids that never existed in the world are constantly being created and reappearing.

This scene is so terrifying that current human technology can only tremble in the face of such incomprehensible power.

Even so, the boy did not feel any sense of crisis.

Theoretically speaking, Su Qing'an's [Sacred Mark] ability leans towards conceptual ability.

The core of the [Stigmata] lies in its ability to absorb all phenomena caused by Honkai energy, an absurd power.