Chapter Fifty-Two: An Old Friend

Upon receiving the video sent by Ghostface, Xiao Yang could not help but feel a pounding headache. How had Huron and Tell ended up in their hands?

He discussed with Wujue and the others whether they should change course to rescue the two. Yet Wujue, pointing at the surveillance monitor, said, “I don’t think it’s necessary. It seems to have been a false alarm.”

The airship’s display showed a car approaching below, and after scanning, Xiao Yang confirmed it was Huron and Tell inside.

Immediately, he called out to them through the loudspeaker, “What happened? Ghostface just sent a threat, saying you’d been captured. How did you escape so quickly?”

Tell floated out of the car, replying with slight embarrassment, “It’s a long story. There was a minor incident, but it’s been resolved. Huron, aren’t you coming up?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a blinding light flashed across the sky.

A trace of surprise crossed Tell’s face, and then the light struck him, forcing him back a step.

A man bathed in golden radiance appeared in midair and said to him, “Tell, as the thirty-seventh Mirror Knight of Earth, you have neglected your duties and usurped the right of your successor. Do you admit your guilt?”

Tell gazed at the man and answered quietly, “Sael, you actually came. But things have changed—the Divine Mirror chose me again; it wasn’t my doing.”

“No,” Sael replied. “According to the Xuantian Divine Mirror’s revelation, a new Mirror Knight has already been born on Earth, and is right beside you. The two of you now share the mirror’s radiance. Will you still not admit it?”

“Another Mirror Knight?” On the airship, Wujue and the others were utterly confused.

But Xun’er quickly shouted, “Look at Xiao Han—he’s glowing all over!”

Indeed, Xiao Han was sweating profusely, his body emitting a light similar to Tell’s, struggling in pain.

Wujue and An Yi rushed to restrain him, but in a flash, Xiao Han transformed into a beam of mirror-light, passing through the airship’s hull to the outside.

A miraculous scene unfolded—Xiao Han, like Tell, now possessed the powers of a Mirror Knight, but the Divine Mirror on his chest appeared only as a phantom, not solid.

Sael looked at Xiao Han and said to Tell, “See? This is the new heir chosen by the Divine Mirror, and you are stifling him.”

With that, he extended his hand, and a crimson radiance enveloped the Eight Trigrams Mirror on Tell’s chest, preparing to extract it.

Hesitating, Tell at last removed the mirror himself. “I had thought about clinging to this position, but perhaps it is time I fulfilled my destiny.”

He floated before Xiao Han and handed over the Eight Trigrams Mirror. Instantly, Tell’s body became faint and transparent, as if he might vanish at any moment.

Xiao Han took the mirror, unable to accept the reality, clutching his head and shouting, “No! My head is killing me! Tell, what is happening? Didn’t we resolve this? If I inherit your role, what will become of you?”

Tell smiled gently. “It’s all right. From the moment I became a Mirror Knight, I knew there would come a day I’d depart. Xiao Han, protect Earth—and everyone—for me.”

With those words, Tell closed his eyes and began to float upward. Unexpectedly, Huron leapt out, catching him and crying, “Tell, wake up! Even if Xiao Han inherits your mantle, it shouldn’t cost your life. That’s not fair!”

“Who are you?” Sael eyed Huron with disdain.

Huron flew before him, equally displeased. “I am Huron, Martial Saint of the Divine Martial Clan. Sorry about this!”

Suddenly, he threw a fierce punch at Sael’s face. Before Sael’s body could dissolve into mirror-light, Huron adapted to the mirror-light himself, miraculously landing the blow.

With a sharp crack, Sael was hurled away, his body tumbling through the air for several seconds before returning, mercilessly unleashing a beam of mirror-light at Huron.

The powerful beam pierced straight through Huron’s chest, leaving a gaping hole, the crimson mirror-light searing with heat.

“We Mirror Knights are not so easily dealt with.” Sael sneered, revealing the crimson Vermilion Bird Mirror on his chest, and fired another blazing ray at Huron.

Fortunately, Huron was prepared this time, dodging aside as his wound slowly regenerated. The meteorite fragments in his body were gradually repairing the damage inflicted by the mirror-light.

Just as Sael was about to pursue, a voice called out behind him, “Hey, show some courtesy in front of my friends.”

It was Xiao Yang, aiming a shotgun at Sael’s head. With a thunderous bang, the shot exploded against Sael’s skull.

Half his head was blown away, yet he laughed and said, “Foolish humans, we do this for your own safety. Only a new Mirror Knight can take on the mission and resolve humanity’s crisis!”

“Don’t make me laugh. And where were you before?” Huron shouted uncontrollably. “When my Divine Martial Clan was exterminated, where were you Mirror Knights? It’s a joke.”

There was indeed old resentment between Huron and the Mirror Knights, especially with Sael. Confronted, Sael replied coldly, “You brought your own destruction. The Mirror Knights do not shield disobedient brutes.”

His shattered head slowly regenerated. Without waiting for Xiao Yang to fire again, he drifted through Xiao Yang’s body to appear before Xiao Han, asking, “I’ll ask you once: are you willing to assume the mission of a Mirror Knight and protect this Earth?”

Witnessing all that had occurred, Xiao Han, enduring the discomfort, asked, “And if I refuse?”

“Then you will be stripped of the power granted by the Divine Mirror and return to being an ordinary person.” Sael reached to seize the illusory Eight Trigrams Mirror on Xiao Han’s chest.

Suddenly, Wujue’s voice sounded behind Xiao Han, resolute: “Without Xiao Han’s consent, no one can force him to do anything.”

He grabbed Sael’s wrist, the two suspended in midair. “Is this the chivalry you Mirror Knights uphold?”

“What… do… you… know?” Sael met Wujue’s unwavering gaze and spoke only those words.

Wujue stared for a moment, then suddenly threw a punch. “I don’t know much, but I really want to hit you.”

His fist landed on Sael’s face, and for a brief moment, there was a sense of real impact. But Sael quickly evaded, his form retreating in the air before transforming into a crimson beam of mirror-light that struck Wujue.

Yet Wujue already held a bronze staff, which he swung in midair to intercept the red beam. His inner strength exploded, rebounding the mirror-light.

Sael was nearly forced into solid form by the impact, a cold smile flickering on his lips as he increased his strength and forced a fierce battle with Wujue.

A chaotic battle erupted, earth and sky overturned.

Xiao Yang watched with a sigh. Huron was gravely wounded, Xiao Han in poor shape, Tell on the verge of vanishing. Only Xun’er could help now.

Xun’er and An Yi had already left the airship. At this moment, Xun’er asked Xiao Yang, “Need our help?”

Xiao Yang replied, “Xun’er, see to Tell. An Yi, help deal with Sael. I’ll take Huron back.”

With that, he supported Huron back to the airship, tending his wounds and switching the airship to autopilot.

Outside, with An Yi joining the fray, the battle reached a fever pitch. Xun’er tried to use sorcery to ease Xiao Han’s suffering, but Tell’s condition worsened.

Unable to hold on, Tell finally burst out before Xiao Han, “Xiao Han, I can’t drag you down any longer. If this continues, we’ll both disappear. Remember to be a worthy Mirror Knight in my place.”

With a final cry, Tell erupted in blinding light, and before everyone’s eyes, dissolved into thousands of rays, vanishing from the world.

The scene left all present in shock, even those still battling. Wujue froze mid-punch and looked back at Tell’s disappearance.

A friend, met so briefly, had departed so suddenly?

With a roar of rage, Wujue seized Sael, raining blows upon him like a storm, shattering every inch of his body.

For a moment, even the intangible Sael seemed to feel pain, his form flung seven or eight meters away, barely able to float, drenched in sweat.

On his chest, the Vermilion Bird Mirror cracked with a sharp sound, a dazzling wound.

Suspended in midair, Xiao Han let out a cry of his own, feeling all those rays of light streaming into his body.

He felt a power he had never known, but also a deep, ineffable sorrow and loneliness.

Floating in the sky, he reached to touch the now solid Eight Trigrams Mirror on his chest—he had finally become the new Mirror Knight.

“All right, I accept,” Xiao Han said, inexplicably calm. “At this point, what’s left to fight over?”

He glanced at the others, then drifted away, vanishing into the vast world.

Wujue’s body swayed in midair, about to fall when An Yi caught his shoulder, murmuring, “Let’s go back. He probably needs some time alone.”

Everyone returned to the airship. The five remaining sat in silence, waiting until the dazed Sael outside vanished at last.

That night, no one spoke.

Only when Xiao Yang started the airship, breaking the silence, did he remark, “Remember the prophecy? There are seven of us. Perhaps one day we’ll meet Tell again. Xiao Han will return too.”

“Yes, this is the apocalypse. Our journey is far from over,” Huron comforted the group, saying little more.

Wujue stood by the window, gazing at the wasteland below, murmuring, “I’ll recite prayers for Tell every day. I hope our reunion will not be too long in coming.”

***

Late at night, after the battle, the wastelands were especially quiet.

The day’s conflict seemed not to have disturbed the barren lands below, which remained desolate as ever.

Suddenly, a cold light burst from underground, shooting upward, dazzling as if divine light from the heavens.

In midair, Sael’s figure appeared once more. He tossed the Vermilion Bird Mirror into the air, and whispered, “Tell, you have passed the test. For the Divine Mirror, for the universe and all things, be reborn!”

In an instant, countless white beams shot up from the ground.

They converged and reformed into that familiar figure.

The Mirror Knight, Tell.

End of Chapter 52: The Old Friend—The End of This Update!