The three of them walked together toward where Andrius's soul energy was gathering. By the time they arrived, Andrius's soul had completely converged, once again becoming that enormous blue-and-white wolf.
Andrius opened his eyes and immediately let out a furious roar.
"You damned bastard!! How dare you..."
Halfway through his words, Andrius realized he had appeared somewhere new. The grayish-white ground looked utterly desolate, leaving him deeply puzzled. He remembered being collected by that extremely arrogant bald man with a small bowl. Why had he appeared here? Was this the inside of that small bowl?
"Hello, Mr. Great Wolf."
The gentle greeting interrupted Andrius's thoughts. The enormous wolf head turned, and he saw someone he knew.
"Great..."
"Mr. Great Wolf, my name is Aci. I am a resident here."
"Aci? A resident?"
Andrius looked at Aci in confusion, but soon understood. There were two unfamiliar people behind her. Aci was concealing her identity. With Greater Lord Rukkhadevata present, he calmed down somewhat.
"Where is this?"
"This is Mr. Li Yue's Inner World."
Since they knew each other, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata helped explain. However, she did not know why Andrius had appeared in Li Yue's Inner World, so she looked toward Li Yue.
"As for why Mr. Great Wolf is here, I suppose you should ask Mr. Li Yue."
Li Yue looked at Greater Lord Rukkhadevata with satisfaction. She had taken the initiative to speak for him. Wonderful!
"Hello, Wolf Bro. My name is Li Yue, and I'm from Liyue. I ran into a bald guy on my way back to Mondstadt from Sumeru. I fought him and shattered a Golden Bowl in his hand. When it broke, a burst of green light flew out and attached itself to me. After he ran away, I found a safe place and entered my Inner World to take a look. Then I found you."
Li Yue made up the story right in front of Andrius without changing expression. Andrius did not immediately believe him and instead looked toward Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
"Mr. Great Wolf, Mr. Li Yue is trustworthy. He saved me and gave me tremendous help."
"I see. Human, thank you."
Andrius lowered his huge head slightly. He knew Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's duties well. Being able to give her such tremendous help was no exaggeration—it meant giving tremendous help to Teyvat.
"Thank you for saving me from that monster. Please send me back to where I came from."
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
Li Yue shook his head helplessly.
"Wolf Bro, there's something I need to tell you. That bald guy who captured you was an Abyss Envoy. I roughly know why they captured you. They wanted to use the Abyss's power to corrupt your soul and turn you into their weapon."
"What? It was the Abyss?"
Andrius glared fixedly at Li Yue.
"Can you be certain?"
"I can. Not long ago, the Abyss appeared in Mondstadt and controlled Mondstadt's East Wind Dragon, Dvalin. They wanted to turn Dvalin into their weapon, but I stopped them. Jean, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, also knows about it because she was there at the time. They probably failed to obtain the East Wind Dragon, so they started searching all over Mondstadt for targets they could turn into combat power. Wolf Bro, you're so huge and clearly powerful. Capturing you and using you as combat power would definitely work."
Li Yue was not slandering Aether for no reason. After all, Aether really had considered capturing Andrius.
"Hmph, that must be it! I know about Dvalin. I could sense the disturbance that guy caused before. Only those Abyss vermin could do something like that!"
"So no matter what, you can't go back now. The moment you return, they will definitely come after you again. The Knights of Favonius in Mondstadt don't have enough manpower to protect you right now."
"Hmph, they're only a bunch of Abyss insects. I was careless before. Next time, I won't lose to them again!"
Andrius did not take the Abyss seriously and still insisted on returning.
"You may not fear those Abyss Envoys, but what about your wolf pack? Wolf Bro, you look this strong, so there must be many wolves following you. The Abyss won't care what methods they use to capture you. When that happens, those wolves will be the unlucky ones."
"Wolf Bro, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your little wolves, would you?"
Li Yue's words silenced Andrius. He could boast that he was unafraid, but the wolves of Wolvendom could not.
"Besides, due to the special nature of the power I possess, after I snatched your soul from the Abyss Envoy, it merged into my Inner World. In other words, it merged into my soul, just like Aci. Under these circumstances, you can no longer separate yourself from my soul."
Andrius's eyes widened as he looked at Greater Lord Rukkhadevata beside him. She nodded again. Enma's Blade had told her this.
"Therefore, whether for the sake of your wolf pack or because of your current situation, you cannot return. Not only can't you go back, you must stay as far from the wolf pack as possible. Only then will the Abyss shift its attention away from them, allowing the wolf pack to avoid the Abyss Envoys."
Andrius lowered his head and closed his eyes.
"I understand. In that case, please allow me to remain here for now."
"I never expected that you were also fighting against the Abyss, Mr. Li Yue."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata finally had a chance to speak. She looked at Li Yue seriously. Previously, she had only known that Li Yue had happened to take in Nahida and later healed the World Tree. She had not expected him to possess the ability to oppose the Abyss as well. No, rather, it was precisely because he possessed the power to oppose the Abyss that he could heal the World Tree.
"After all, I live on the Teyvat continent, while the Abyss wants to overturn Teyvat. So I have to stop them."
Li Yue spoke with righteous conviction.
"Actually, I was just an ordinary person at first and only wanted to live peacefully. Then one day, I accidentally awakened my power. I could absorb certain souls around me, and Enma's Blade appeared in my Inner World and was willing to lend me its power. After gaining Enma's Blade's power, I was lost for a while, until someone told me something."
"With great power comes great... responsibility!"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Andrius both looked at Li Yue in surprise.
"Those words made me understand that after gaining power, I should use it to do something. So I chose to use this power to protect those I wanted to protect, to protect the Teyvat where everyone lived. I want to become a Partner of Justice!"
Li Yue had piled a whole stack of buffs onto himself. As Andrius looked at him, approval filled his gaze. Someone who opposed the Abyss and protected Teyvat was not a bad fellow.
"Borrowing another's power, huh? If it is a righteous human like you, then I have no objections! I am the Wolf King who roams the wilds of Mondstadt. You may call me Boreas. Take my power and use it as you please—use it to oppose the Abyss and protect Teyvat!"
Like Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Andrius chose to conceal his true name.
As Andrius acknowledged him, a new power merged into Li Yue's soul, and another color appeared at the tips of Li Yue's hair.
Teacher Chalk, I'm Your Fan!
After swallowing two Demon Gods in one night, Li Yue's hair tips had already turned white, cyan, and green. Li Yue declared that he was full. That would be enough for today.
Of course, it was not that he could not eat any more. His Reiatsu was simply almost exhausted.
He had consumed too much Reiatsu while searching for the World Tree's space in Sumeru. Asking Li Yue to directly open a Portal to Inazuma now was simply impossible. Not to mention that he did not have enough Reiatsu to open a Portal over such a distance, even if his Reiatsu were sufficient, he could not guarantee that the Portal would open directly in Inazuma. The distance from Mondstadt to Inazuma was so absurdly great that even with enough Reiatsu, he could only open a few Portals. And given the randomness when he had opened one in Sumeru before, Li Yue felt that the odds of opening a Portal directly to Fontaine were even higher. He might as well wait and take Beidou's ship to Inazuma, then unlock the coordinates for teleportation.
There was no helping it. Inazuma's location on the Teyvat continent was far too remote. It was practically an isolated nation overseas, incredibly far from the mainland. It was truly cut off from the world, surrounded by nothing but sea, with nowhere to set foot.
For the time being, Li Yue did not intend to go to Inazuma. He brought Aizen to rest in Mondstadt for a while. He had been making Aizen help absorb power nonstop, so he had to let Aizen gain something too—such as the Demon God-level life form Aizen had been yearning for.
Apep was difficult to find right now, but there was an easy target in Mondstadt.
"Durin the dragon?"
"That's right. Durin was not a Demon God, but he possessed Demon God-level power. He was an artificial life form created by Gold Rhine, an artificially created magical beast."
At the foot of Dragonspine Mountain, Li Yue and Aizen, having rushed over from Wolvendom, began climbing the snow-covered mountain.
"Do you remember when I said that the Seven Archons ruled seven nations, where the vast majority of humanity lived? Another portion of humanity lived in a godless land, a nation called Cainrea."
"Rhinedottir was Cainrea's court alchemist, known as Gold Rhine. Cainrea was located underground, so it had few species. Since it was a godless land, they had no Visions either. However, they possessed a special technology: alchemy, an alchemy capable of creating life. Gold Rhine used alchemy to create artificial humans. The most outstanding was Albedo, known as the Child of Chalk. This artificial human currently lived in Mondstadt and conducted research on this snow mountain year-round. Besides him, she created many magical beasts, the strongest being Durin, who possessed Demon God-level power."
"Alchemy that creates life? That interests me greatly."
Compared to Durin, Aizen's attention was more focused on alchemy. As expected of a researcher, he cared more about the method of fishing than the fish.
"I don't know the specifics of the alchemy either, but Albedo inherited Rhine's alchemy. If you're interested, you can exchange ideas with him. He should be very willing to speak with you."
When Li Yue left Liyue, he had said he would look for Albedo and Noelle. Though that had only been a joke meant to tease Zhongli, he now genuinely had business with Albedo. Since he was already coming to the snow mountain, he could speak with Albedo.
"Then after we descend the mountain, I'll have to ask Li Yue-kun to take me to Mondstadt. I will certainly have a thorough exchange with Albedo."
Aizen adjusted his glasses and agreed.
"Let's continue talking about Durin. As the most powerful artificial magical beast, Durin was innocent. However, he was corrupted by the darkness of the Abyss that overflowed from Cainrea, becoming a mad dragon that invaded Mondstadt. The Anemo Archon summoned Dvalin, the East Wind Dragon, to fight him. Through the efforts of the Anemo Archon and Dvalin, Durin was bitten to death. His body fell onto this snow mountain and was buried beneath the wind and snow. However, Durin did not completely die. As an alchemical creation, his vital signs differed from those of ordinary creatures. Although his body had completely decayed, his heart remained intact and was still beating, continuously providing life force."
Li Yue smiled at Aizen.
"I think that heart should make a very fine research specimen."
"A heart that continues beating even after the body has decayed? That is an excellent research material."
On Dragonspine Mountain, Durin's heart could be considered the essence of Durin, Gold Rhine's greatest alchemical masterpiece. Giving it to Aizen for research would certainly make him happy. Look at him now—the smile at the corners of his lips could not be suppressed.
Besides, giving Durin's heart to Aizen for research was better than leaving it in Teyvat for the Fatui and the Abyss to exploit. Before the Fatui and the Abyss could act, Li Yue would make his move first and send Durin's heart away! It was useless to him anyway.
"If we're lucky, we might encounter Albedo while he's conducting research on Dragonspine Mountain. Albedo spent most of his time not in Mondstadt, but investigating Dragonspine Mountain."
"That would be even better."
The two entered the snow mountain as they talked. Dragonspine Mountain was covered in wind and snow year-round. Anyone entering it unprepared could easily freeze to death.
Andrius's power had granted Li Yue control over the Anemo element and Cryo element, as well as the Power of the North Wind. The so-called north wind was a frigid wind that brought death, capable of quickly freezing the earth, rivers, and even life itself. It was far more terrifying than the wind and snow on Dragonspine Mountain, because neither blankets nor campfires could withstand that power.
Ignoring the snow sweeping through the sky, the two followed the mountain path opened by adventurers and swiftly headed toward the mountainside. In Li Yue's memories, Albedo's temporary laboratory was located halfway up the mountain, and not far below it was where Durin had been buried—the location where Durin's heart remained.
In the game, reaching Sleeping Dragon Valley might only take a few minutes, but in reality, climbing there took a very long time. Fortunately, Li Yue and Aizen were not ordinary people. They used Flash Step along the faintly visible trail, taking less than ten minutes to cover a journey that might have taken ordinary people several hours.
Sleeping Dragon Valley, Durin's burial site, could be reached by following the snow-covered path upward from the Adventurer's Guild camp without taking any forks. From afar, they could see Durin's bones, shaped like an arch bridge. Durin's heart lay in a cave beneath those enormous, arch-like remains.
Li Yue helped Aizen locate the cave containing the heart and had Aizen deal with it alone first. When this great villain from the world of Bleach saw Durin's heart, the upward curve of his lips was so pronounced that even an AK could not suppress it.
Li Yue himself headed upward through Sleeping Dragon Valley in search of Albedo's laboratory. Albedo's laboratory was above Sleeping Dragon Valley, where Albedo often stayed, especially at night when he rested there. When Dvalin attacked Mondstadt City, Albedo had not been in the city, which meant Albedo had been on the snow mountain recently. On the snow mountain, the most likely place to find him was his laboratory. Li Yue could indeed sense a Reiatsu in the direction of the laboratory.
Sure enough, when Li Yue found Albedo's temporary laboratory camp, he saw Albedo sitting in a chair and resting. There was even soup simmering in the pot before him.
"Hoho~~ I finally found you!"
Li Yue openly revealed himself and strode toward Albedo with an invincible expression. Li Yue's appearance startled Albedo, who had been simmering soup. Seeing that invincible look on Li Yue's face, Albedo frowned slightly. This visitor did not seem friendly!
Though wary, Albedo still politely asked.
"May I ask who you are?"
Li Yue walked over, directly grasped Albedo's right hand with both of his hands, and looked utterly excited.
"Teacher Chalk, I'm your fan!"
"Huh?"
Albedo let out a confused cry.
I Want to Become a Light Novel Master!
"You want me to draw illustrations for you?"
"That's right. I'm planning to write light novels, but I lack an illustrator, so I hope Teacher Chalk can help me draw some illustrations!"
Albedo looked at Li Yue before him, pinching his chin as he fell into thought. He had initially thought Li Yue was an enemy, but he had not expected that the man had come to commission artwork from him. It truly caught him off guard, especially because Li Yue knew his pen name, Chalk. If he remembered correctly, although he was an illustrator contracted with Yae Publishing House, no one had ever met him in person. In theory, no one should know that he was Chalk.
But those things were not important now. What mattered was this.
"If I remember correctly, Yae Publishing House should not be able to receive manuscripts now. Inazuma has closed its borders, and I haven't received a letter from Yae Publishing House in a long time. If you write a novel now, can it be published?"
Although Albedo was in Mondstadt, he understood Inazuma's situation. Inazuma was currently under a closed-border policy. The Electro Archon had surrounded all of Inazuma with thunderstorms, making normal commercial activity impossible. The only ones who could—and dared to—brave the storms were probably Beidou's South Sea Fleet from Liyue.
Thus, Albedo was concerned for this fan with rather too many hair colors. Writing a novel at a time like this meant his manuscript likely could not be delivered to Yae Publishing House.
"Teacher Chalk, you don't need to worry about that, because I don't plan to publish through Yae Publishing House."
"Oh? If you aren't publishing through Yae Publishing House, do you intend to send it to Fontaine?"
Aside from Yae Publishing House, Fontaine also had publishing houses. However, they seemed less willing to accept light novels and preferred traditional literature instead.
"Not that either. I plan to publish in the Otherworld."
"The... Otherworld?"
Albedo first thought he had misheard.
"That's right, the Otherworld."
Li Yue had no intention of hiding it.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Yue. It's as simple as that. I'm from another world and currently live at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor in Liyue. I recently awakened the ability to travel to other worlds, and I'm preparing to become a light novel author in another world."
As he spoke, he extended his right hand toward Albedo.
Li Yue's introduction left Albedo somewhat stunned. It was not as though he had never seen people from other worlds, nor had he never seen people who could travel to other worlds. But someone who could travel to other worlds and merely wanted to become a light novel author there... that way of thinking was probably something only his adoptive mother, Alice, could understand. After all, his adoptive mother was also someone who would deliberately travel to other worlds to see idols.
"Albedo. I currently live in Mondstadt and temporarily serve as the Chief Alchemist and Investigation Team Captain of the Knights of Favonius. My interests include sketching. I occasionally draw illustrations for Yae Publishing House, under the pen name Chalk."
Albedo reached out and shook Li Yue's right hand as he introduced himself.
"You can call me Albedo. Please find a chair and sit down so we can talk."
After shaking hands, Albedo gestured for Li Yue to sit down. Li Yue did not stand on ceremony and directly found a chair. As for why there were chairs on a snow mountain, Albedo had probably carried them up himself.
"May I ask what kind of novel you plan to write?"
"Oh, I don't plan to write just one novel. I plan to write several."
Before you continue