"..."
Venti swallowed the fruit in his mouth and smiled at the beautiful visitor.
Bi Ji snapped back to her senses, blushing with embarrassment as she hurriedly bowed.
"Bi Ji of Star Dou Forest pays her respects to the honored Wind God."
Her voice was soft and melodious, utterly captivating.
"There's no need to be so formal. Sit."
Venti pointed to the stone stool across from him.
"Godwind City is a free place. We don't bother with empty formalities."
"I heard you came as a representative of the Soul Beasts?"
Bi Ji sat down as he asked, her posture poised and graceful.
"Yes."
She looked at Venti and spoke sincerely:
"Our Master sensed Your Grace's divine might and ordered Bi Ji to pay you a visit."
"We of the Soul Beast Clan have long lived in the forest and have no desire to take part in the conflicts of the human world."
"We came only in the hope of forming friendly ties with Godwind City, so that if any misunderstandings arise in the future, we might look out for one another."
Venti nodded.
"As long as you don't bother me while I'm drinking or sleeping, I have no interest in going into the forest to cause trouble."
He looked at Bi Ji. A strange glint suddenly flashed in his clear eyes.
Just now, an interesting idea had suddenly occurred to him.
The Soul Beasts in this world were, at their core, living beings.
And Bi Ji was a top-tier healing expert, embodying an exceptionally abundant vitality.
What if...
He bestowed an Anemo Vision upon her?
What would happen if this power system from Teyvat combined with the Soul Beasts of Douluo Continent?
Soul Beasts had no Martial Souls. They relied on their bodies and innate abilities.
Could a Vision give rise to an entirely new form of power within them?
Could it even... allow them to transform into a more perfect form?
The more Venti thought about it, the more intriguing the idea seemed.
As the Wind God, his greatest pleasure besides drinking was observing these fascinating "changes."
Under Venti's unblinking gaze, Bi Ji began to feel uneasy. Her heart raced, and the sensation that he could see right through her left her flustered.
To cover up her embarrassment, she hurriedly took an exquisite jade box from her Storage Soul Tool.
"Your Grace, this is a small gift from our Master."
She opened the box.
An incredibly rich vitality instantly filled the entire courtyard.
A single jade-green leaf lay quietly inside.
Its veins looked like blood vessels, suffused with a golden glow.
"This is the Heart Leaf of the Tree of Life," Bi Ji explained gently.
"Although it can't compare to Your Grace's Supreme Divine Artifacts, this leaf contains an immense source of life."
"As long as a person still draws breath, no matter how severe the injury, holding this leaf in their mouth will preserve their life and rebuild their body."
This was one of Star Dou Forest's most precious treasures. To win over the Wind God, Gu Yuena had spared no expense.
Venti glanced at the leaf, his brows lifting slightly.
"Quite a treasure."
He didn't stand on ceremony. Taking the jade box, he closed the lid and set it on the table.
"Since I've accepted your gift, I won't be stingy in return."
Venti looked at Bi Ji, his smile growing brighter, like a child who'd just thought of a fun prank.
"I don't like being indebted to anyone."
"As it happens, I have a little trinket here that might suit you."
Bi Ji was slightly taken aback, curiosity showing in her beautiful eyes.
A return gift from the Wind God?
What could it be?
Before Venti could take anything out, the strange sight in the sky changed dramatically once more.
The Golden Ranking, which had just settled down, suddenly erupted in an unprecedented roar.
This time, the sound was no longer melodious. It carried a sharp, domineering edge, as if it could rend the heavens and earth!
The sky over the entire Douluo Continent seemed to split apart in that instant.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
On the Sky Curtain, golden ancient characters slowly appeared, each one seeming to have been carved with a sword's edge, radiating a bone-chilling cold.
[First Place on the Rare Treasure Ranking: History of Dawn!]
The continent erupted.
First place!
It had finally appeared!
The image didn't show the artifact in full at first. Instead, a ray of light appeared.
A light that could split the dawn and cleave through the night.
Then came an ancient-looking longsword, its entire length glowing a deep shade of blue-green.
It looked less like a weapon forged from mortal iron and more like a piece of history made solid—a saga of resistance and freedom.
Space shattered and reformed around the blade like a mirror.
The black spatial rifts seemed as docile as little snakes before it.
[Holder: Wind God Venti!]
No surprises there.
That name again!
The name that had driven every Soul Master on the continent to despair and numb resignation!
He had swept the top three!
[Quality: Supreme Divine Artifact (Peak)!]
[Description: A dawn epic chronicling the fall of Decarabian and the birth of a new god. It is no ordinary weapon, but the embodiment of the Wind God's Divine Authority.]
[Innate Ability: Space-Time Severing.]
[Effect: Ignores physical defenses, energy defenses, and spatial distance. When swung, it can directly cut through space, severing the target's entire dimension! Its primary purpose is ultimate slaughter. None but a God King can withstand it!]
At the words "cut through space" and "severing dimensions," countless powerful figures felt cold sweat soak their backs.
This was no longer mere power.
This was a rule!
A terrifying Divine Authority, transcending the mortal realm!
Inside Godwind City.
Bi Ji stared at the description on the Sky Curtain, her mouth slightly agape, utterly stunned.
She was sitting right across from Venti.
Looking at the smiling young man before her, she felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head.
Skyward Harp and Elegy for the End had still been within the bounds of her understanding. But this "History of Dawn" had completely surpassed it.
Cutting through space...
Didn't that mean that, if he wished, he could erase Star Dou Forest from the map at any moment?
Before everyone could recover from the shock of first place, the Sky Curtain changed again.
[The Rare Treasure Ranking has been fully revealed!]
[Before the final rewards are issued, the holders of the top three treasures on the Rare Treasure Ranking will receive a special showcase of their greatest battles!]
[At the same time...]
[A new ranking is about to begin: the Continental Power Ranking!]
[Those who make the ranking will receive Godhead Fragments, Super Divine Artifacts, and even the chance to rewrite their fate!]
Deep within Life Lake, Star Dou Forest.
Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena stood by the lakeshore, her silver dress snapping in the wind.
Her usually calm, indifferent purple eyes were now filled with unconcealed shock.
"It's him again..."
"It's all him..."
Gu Yuena murmured to herself.
Three Supreme Divine Artifacts.
Each more terrifying than the last. That final one, "History of Dawn," was especially fearsome. Even at the height of her power, she wouldn't dare claim she could withstand its space-cutting might head-on.