#(ok so when do we get taunts in game Hoyo. give me an EX provocation for this man and let him dance! iykyk)

[shallliveoninsong]

「Provocation」

Both in the Phantylia fight as well as Jing Yuan's interactions with Cirrus he's much more antagonistic and takes on an air of arrogance toward his enemies to taunt them, which contrasts with his normally lax, humble, and kind personality.

Once upon a time in his younger years he was a fair bit cocky when it came to his ability to come up with cunning battle strategies, but overall he's quite humble. However, he amps up the arrogance to get under his opponent's skin with the intention of either pissing them off so much they get careless or at the very least they reveal a bit more of their hand.

He does so with Phantylia in hopes of protecting the others by drawing her attacks toward himself. He knows more than anyone else there (other than Dan Heng perhaps depending on how much knowledge of the Arbor he retains from Dan Feng's memories) how powerful it is and doesn't want the others being injured or worse in the name of protecting a ship they don't even live on.

His ceaseless verbal jabs despite the dire situation work and Phantylia gets fed up with him running his mouth and targets him first when trying to turn the team into Voidrangers. And this also enables Jing Yuan to have the connection to the Ravager that was vital in defeating her.

After Cirrus threw some insults of their own Jing Yuan hurled some right back at Cirrus. It didn't take much to get a rise out of the heliobus, giving him great insight into what was the best course of action so the Ghost Hunting squad could get the information they needed. He could quickly tell that even if he were to indulge the heliobi in battle they were far too stubborn and hellbent on wanting a fight that only a very definitive and humiliating defeat would truly get Cirrus to concede.

In summary, when taunting an opponent Jing Yuan acts in a way that seems quite out of character to anyone who knows him personally, but this is simply an act to try and gain an advantage. And if nothing else it will make him the bigger target to protect those he cares about.