Xiao

"Damn, no wonder he was one of the Liyue Adepti—he could actually withstand elemental resistance!"

Chen Fan stumbled back several steps. His entire right arm had gone numb, and his face twisted with uncertainty as he looked at Xiao, holding the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear in the distance, and Lumine, who was getting back to her feet behind him.

"No, but really, the Liyue Adepti—"

"But I'm not going to waste time here with you two."

Exhaling a breath, Chen Fan smiled faintly. "You two, until we meet again—"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Impermanence Chain shot from its sheath and soared into the sky. At the other end, Chen Fan shot upward with it.

"Cough, cough—"

Xiao wanted to give chase, but as soon as he rose, he began coughing violently, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"A-are you all right?"

Lumine got to her feet, ready to pursue as well, but when she saw Xiao was injured, she stopped and hurriedly asked, "Thank you for helping me—"

"I'm fine."

Xiao shook his head, as sparing with words as ever. His figure flickered—and vanished.

Lumine, who had just been about to say something, fell silent, left standing there in the wind—

"Oh my god! Who's that little guy? How could such a small body unleash that kind of explosive power?"

"If I saw right, Chen Fan's arm was shaken numb. Usually, after someone absorbs a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, the part of the body where it's absorbed glows when they use the Soul Bone Skill. Once the glow dims, that means they can't use that skill for the time being."

"So that Soul Bone with elemental resistance was actually knocked out of commission by that one strike?"

"No, seriously, they're both from one of Teyvat's Seven Nations. Why does Liyue come out swinging at the peak of its power?"

"Why do I feel like Xiao isn't much weaker than that La Signora?"

"Don't tell me Liyue is even more outrageous, and every one of them has the power of a god?"

That brief clash had left every living being across Douluo Continent stunned!

There was no helping it.

Xiao looked like a harmless little boy, but who could have guessed that such a small body could unleash such tremendous strength?

You really couldn't judge a person by their appearance!

This was outrageous!

"Thank goodness—"

In the Heaven Dou Empire's camp, Xue Beng was also shocked by what he saw, but soon let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness the Heaven Dou Empire sent the most intelligent Grandmaster."

"With his brains, he'll surely make a name for himself in Liyue!"

But—

At his words, many people's expressions turned strange. Marshal Ge Long gave an awkward cough. "Um—Your Majesty, perhaps you should take a look first?"

"Hm?"

Xue Beng froze, then instinctively raised his head to look at Yu Xiaogang's scene on the screen.

Yu Xiaogang had spawned beside an archway in Liyue Harbor.

But now, what was on the screen wasn't an archway at all.

It was a sealed little wooden hut, its floor covered in hay. There was nothing else.

And Yu Xiaogang—just look at him.

"Damn! No wonder he's the Heaven Dou Empire's national preceptor, the renowned Grandmaster of the Soul Master World. He's only just arrived, and already he's eating from the imperial treasury. Hahaha!"

"Oh my god, the Heaven Dou Empire really doesn't play by the rules. The moment he entered the cell, he was eating public rations. Surviving three days and three nights should be a piece of cake, right?"

"Can't argue with that! If he hides in a cell, he'll definitely survive three days and three nights with ease!"

After Chen Fan left, the scenes on the screens settled down. Many people turned their attention to the other screens, and immediately spotted Yu Xiaogang, standing out from the crowd—

"Now that you mention it, the three people the Heaven Dou Empire sent are all characters!"

"Isn't that the dean of Shrek Academy? Why does he look so disheveled—wait, what's that huge thing standing in front of him? A Soul Beast?"

"Bullshit, there aren't any Soul Beasts in Teyvat. But judging by that hunk of metal—it doesn't look like a wild animal either, does it?"

At that moment—

Flender stood before the Ruin Guard, his hair a mess and his head drenched in sweat. "Damn it, what kind of monster is this?"

"I was already flying, and it still knocked me out of the sky!"

"I hit the damn thing with several Soul Skills, and all I managed was a few tiny scratches. They did nothing!"

Flender was practically ready to throw up!

He couldn't beat it, and he couldn't run away.

All he could do was stand there and take a beating!

This was just—

A curse!

Meanwhile—

Liu Erlong, locked in a battle of wits and strength with the Regisvine, was just as close to losing her temper!

"What kind of monster is this!?"

"Why doesn't my eighth Soul Skill even take a layer of skin off it!?"

"What the hell is this thing!?"

Liu Erlong felt like she was about to explode.

"No, I can't keep this up!"

"Get out of here first!"

Fortunately, Liu Erlong wasn't foolish. After trading blows, she realized the Regisvine was rooted in place, like some kind of plant.

So—

She activated her Martial Soul Avatar—Fire Dragon Avatar—and sped toward the sky!

By comparison—

The one who had safely reached Liyue Harbor first, much to everyone's surprise, was—A-Tai!

The Titan Snow Demon King from the Far North Forest's camp!

Of course—

Once they entered the Teleportation Gate, all the Soul Beasts had transformed into human form, so there was no way to tell what kind of Soul Beast they were.

"Whew—so this is Liyue, the place ruled by that Geo Archon?"

A-Tai wiped away his sweat and curiously looked around. He muttered in a booming voice, but the deep, bass-like sound was impossible to hide.

"How rude, foreigner!"

At the Titan Snow Demon King's booming voice, many Liyue locals changed expression and looked at him with hostility.

One burly man even snorted and shot back at him without the slightest courtesy.

Unfortunately, A-Tai didn't care about distinctions between nations. Those were concepts for human Spirit Masters; they meant nothing to him.

"But where's this Rite of Descension supposed to be?"

A-Tai was completely oblivious. His loud remark had already begun to spread across Liyue Harbor. Scratching his head, he peered this way and that, looking just like a thief.

As a result, quite a few people watched him warily. Judging by their expressions, they were just waiting to call over the Millelith and have him arrested.

By contrast—

At that moment, Tianfeng Douluo, in the Spirit Hall Empire's camp, seemed to be in an even more awkward position—

"Where is this place—why is it so high—"

Tianfeng Douluo was standing on a rooftop, his legs trembling uncontrollably. He looked down and was instantly reminded of the heights above Stormterror's Lair. His legs went weak...