One residual echo after another pounced forward, and at the same time, Jinhsi felt her body growing heavier and heavier.
Having lost her connection with the Sentinel, and on top of that overusing her resonance ability, her body had already reached its limit.
After swinging her long blade several times and cutting down a few residual echoes, her forehead was already covered in sweat, and her damp white hair clung to her cheeks.
Like a lily still stubbornly blooming in a storm. Even as its leaves droop and its petals scatter, it still lifts its head and faces the wind and rain.
Her breathing was rapid and exhausted, yet she still raised her long blade again and again.
Jinhsi knew very clearly.
She absolutely could not fall here.
Right now, the Sentinel was imprisoned, and Mt. Firmament had also been pushed to the brink of destruction due to the rampaging time flow.
If she, as a resonator, fell, then there would truly be no one left who could save this land. The loss of control over the time flow would become unstoppable, and the chaotic flow of time would swallow the entire Jinzhou.
Jinhsi took two steps back and raised a hand to rub her slightly blurred eyes.
A TD lunged at her, the blade on its arm aimed straight at her.
Jinhsi clenched her teeth, raised her long blade again, and swung it with all her strength, sending the attacking residual echo flying.
But before Jinhsi could pull her blade back, a Snowmane Wolf had already circled behind her and launched a sneak attack.
By the time Jinhsi reacted and turned around, the Snowmane Wolf's claws were already right in front of her.
"This is bad!"
Seeing that there was no way to dodge, Jinhsi could only press her lips together, grit her teeth, and use her weakening body to take the blow head-on.
But after waiting for a while, the expected pain of bones shattering never came.
Instead, there was a violent clash, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.
'Could it be…'
A guess formed in Jinhsi's mind.
With a strong sense of hope, Jinhsi slowly opened her eyes, and what came into view was that familiar white figure.
"Sister Jinhsi, I missed you so much!", Levi wailed as he threw himself into Jinhsi's arms…
Uh, judging by their height difference, maybe it was more like Levi suddenly made Jinhsi fall into his arms?
Almost knocked over, Jinhsi steadied herself. She raised her head and looked at the face so close to hers, and the grievance written all over it. For a moment, she couldn't tell who had saved whom.
"Levi, you're already a grown boy. Why are you still so clingy?"
She said that, but the faint blush spreading across her ears had already given her away.
"Sister Jinhsi, Rover is bullying meeeee!"
Hearing Levi's accusation, and then seeing Rover standing there with her hands on her hips, looking full of indignation, the gentleness on Jinhsi's face froze instantly.
'You brat, I thought you were worried about me. Turns out the grievance is real, and coming to complain to me is real too.'
But Jinhsi had grown up with him after all, so she naturally knew that someone was just finding an excuse to take advantage of her.
Feeling that reassuring warmth, Jinhsi's heart softened. Even the scales on her arm faded quite a bit.
As for the other residual echoes, they had already all been knocked down one by one by Stelle.
After a long while, Jinhsi slowly let out a breath of stale air, looked at Levi, her eyes filled with a mix of reproach and concern.
"Right now, the situation on Mt. Firmament is unclear. How could you rush into the mountain so recklessly? Is your body okay?", As she spoke, the reproach on her face gradually turned into worry.
Levi immediately flexed his bicep and patted it, "Sister Jinhsi, look, I feel ridiculously strong right now. Even another Threnodian wouldn't be enough for me to kill."
Jinhsi thought he was joking, so she shook her head helplessly and raised her hand to ruffle Levi's hair.
"Yes, yes, Levi is the strongest."
"Sister Jinhsi, after you find the Sentinel, what are you planning to do? You're not really going to follow what's written in the Jiting archives and carry out Second Resonance, are you?"
Along the way, Jinhsi could see the experimental records left behind by the Jiting people, so naturally Levi and the others could see them too.
"You surpass your own limits and correct the time flow, and sure, you can save the entire Mt. Firmament… but doing that comes at a cost. Do you know what you'll have to pay?"
"I understand.", A trace of sadness passed across Jinhsi's face.
"Because of resonance, I'm connected with the Sentinel on a spiritual level, but it seems I've never truly understood it. I know very little about its suffering."
The light in Jinhsi's eyes dimmed a little. She naturally knew the price that Second Resonance required.
This was a gamble.
Second Resonance required her to enter overclocking, and the result would either be a reduction in lifespan or the loss of her life.
"When you think about it, ever since Jinzhou was established, every decision the Sentinel has made and every piece of advice it has given has been carefully considered, laying plans far into the future."
"Even the current hidden danger in the time flow was left behind because it protected Hong Town."
"If back then the Sentinel hadn't raised the time flow to eliminate the residual echoes, today's Jinzhou would probably still be a barren land."
The determination in Jinhsi's eyes grew even stronger as she stared at the young man in front of her without yielding.
"This is the only way I can save Mt. Firmament and preserve Jinzhou. It's also the only way I can help the Sentinel."
As she spoke, a gentle smile appeared on Jinhsi's face.
"When that time comes, Jinzhou will be left to you."
"I don't agree with your plan.", Levi shook his head and turned away, not daring to meet those eyes again.
"With your current physical condition, carrying out Second Resonance is just suicide!"
Thinking about it, Jinhsi seemed quite similar to Master.
Changli, in pursuit of what she sought, had never cared about her life either.
And now Jinhsi was the same…
Sensing Levi's emotions, Jinhsi smiled, held his face, and turned him back toward her.
"You, me, and Master, aren't we all the same? For our goals, we've never backed down, have we?"
Jinhsi recalled Levi's past. For the sake of protecting Jinzhou and the people he cared about, he had already died twice…
So as his older sister, how could she have any reason to retreat?
Looking at the unwavering determination in Jinhsi's eyes, it was only at this moment that Levi realized why Master had gone as far as using a honey trap to bring Rover along…
Master had never intended to stop sister Jinhsi from the beginning, which was why she had him bring Rover, the only variable capable of defeating the Threnodian, here.
After everything that had happened, even a fool could tell that Rover was the "strange person" from the story who repelled the Threnodian, saved Mt. Firmament, and stood side by side with the Sentinel.
Noticing Levi's gaze, Rover proudly put her hands on her hips.
Now, even without words, she could tell what Levi was thinking.
"I feel super strong right now, lending a hand is no problem."
Jinhsi looked at Levi, then at Rover, surprise on her face.
'When did these two become so in sync?'
'Should I be under the carriage instead?'
'Did I just step out for a moment and my house got stolen?'
Three question marks popped up in Jinhsi's mind. If the timing weren't so wrong, she would definitely have pulled out her authority as an older sister and interrogated them properly.
At that moment, Stelle's voice came from deep within the cave…