Ningguang, Do You Know What You're Doing?

Thud!

Keqing struggled to her feet and looked up. Tianfeng Douluo, who had seemed untouchable moments ago, had dropped heavily to his knees before her.

He clutched his bleeding chest and opened his mouth, but blood poured from his lips too. He could not get a single word out.

A peak level ninety-nine fighter against a level ninety-seven fighter was a crushing mismatch from the start. And Tianfeng Douluo had not even been in good condition.

"What—"

Keqing stared at the scene, stunned.

If she had seen correctly, the man who had come with Ningguang, the Tianquan, was also an outsider.

Then why were the outsiders fighting each other?

What was going on?

And why had Ningguang enlisted an outsider who might threaten Liyue?

After the Rite of Descension, Keqing knew all too well what those outsiders had done.

But this—

How was what Ningguang had done any different from bargaining with a tiger for its hide?

[Spirit Hall Empire participant Tianfeng Douluo has fallen. Take note!]

[The Spirit Hall Empire has only one participant remaining: Sea Turtle Douluo. If this participant falls, the Spirit Hall Empire's mission will immediately be deemed a failure, and the penalty for failure will be imposed!]

The Teleportation Gate's majestic voice suddenly rang out in the minds of countless beings across Douluo Continent.

The Spirit Hall Empire's camp fell into a deathly silence. Everyone looked as though they had lost their parents, their spirits shattered.

Inside the tent of the empire's leaders, the atmosphere was stifling.

Qian Renxue had already left the Spirit Hall Empire with Qianjun Douluo and Jiangmo Douluo, and Guibao Douluo had sacrificed himself.

After the earlier battle with the Heaven Dou Empire,

Bibi Dong had precious few Titled Douluo left at her disposal.

Apart from Sea Turtle Douluo, only Snake Lance Douluo remained—

"Your Majesty, what... what do we do now?"

Snake Lance Douluo glanced around. Aside from the guards outside the tent, it seemed only he and Bibi Dong remained. He swallowed and asked cautiously.

"Get out!"

"Get out of here!"

Bibi Dong, the Rakshasa God, trembled and barked the order. Snake Lance Douluo hurriedly lowered his head and withdrew in silence, not daring to say another word.

Once outside, he saw that the Cardinals' morale had sunk just as low. Gloom hung over the entire camp—

But what could they do?

Snake Lance Douluo gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and returned quietly to his tent.

If he had known this would happen, he would have left the Spirit Hall Empire with Qian Renxue.

Leaving now, though—how would that be any different from offering up his own head?

So,

he could only take things one step at a time.

Liyue Harbor, the Jade Chamber.

"You—"

Keqing pointed at Chen Fan and was about to speak when the world spun around her. With a thud, she collapsed unconscious.

The elemental burst she had used to kill Pufferfish Douluo had pushed her past her limits. She had stayed awake through the confrontation with Tianfeng Douluo on sheer determination alone.

And now,

the danger to Liyue Harbor had passed. The Jade Chamber was no longer at risk of falling.

The moment Keqing let herself relax, she could no longer withstand her weakness and passed out.

"Thank you for your help."

Ningguang first asked Yaoyao to carry Keqing away. As Yaoyao left, she cast Chen Fan a curious glance but said nothing.

"A contract once made must be honored. Those who break their word shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock!"

Chen Fan brushed aside Ningguang's courtesy and got straight to business. "I need a large ship that can withstand thunderstorms."

"I'll need you to see to it, Tianquan."

A ship that could withstand thunderstorms?

Ningguang paused, then asked instinctively, "Are you going to Inazuma?"

"That isn't your concern, is it, Tianquan?"

Ningguang fell silent.

Since becoming one of the Liyue Qixing, this was the first time anyone had spoken to her that way.

Still, she was not one to take offense over a slight. After a moment's thought, she said, "I have heard of a fleet bound for Inazuma. Perhaps—"

"I need a ship that can withstand thunderstorms, not passage on someone else's."

Chen Fan cut her off again. "Do you understand?"

He could certainly reach Inazuma aboard Beidou's fleet, but he could arrange that himself. Why waste the favor Ningguang owed him on it?

He had not agreed to help Ningguang because her beauty had turned his head. With her temperament, that would hardly have gotten him anywhere. From the beginning, he had wanted her to build him a ship.

"I... understand."

Ningguang's expression stiffened. Standing so close, Chen Fan could clearly see the faint twitch in her face. "But you may have to wait some time. We don't currently have the means to build it—"

"Just have it ready before I return."

Chen Fan did not mind. He was not leaving for Inazuma immediately.

"Good. I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going to get some rest."

Chen Fan beckoned, and Bi Ji, who had been watching from the side, hurried after him.

As a healing-type Ferocious Beast, she had little fighting power. All she could do was stand there and watch.

As for her healing abilities—

Chen Fan said nothing. Bi Ji was compassionate, but she was no indiscriminate savior. She knew whom to heal and whom to leave alone.

"Ningguang, do you know what you're doing?"

After Chen Fan left, Ningguang went to a side hall, where Keqing had slowly regained consciousness under Yaoyao's care.

Yaoyao's face was pale too. At a glance from Ningguang, she withdrew to rest.

Keqing struggled to prop herself up. Her face was drained of color, but she stared Ningguang straight in the eye. "These outsiders came from who knows where. They killed so many Millelith and threw Liyue Harbor into chaos."

"How is winning him over any different from bargaining with a tiger for its hide?"

"Or would you really do anything to protect the profits of your business empire?"

Ningguang and Keqing had always held sharply conflicting beliefs.

Keqing firmly believed that, as humans, people should have human pride—and that their ideas deserved to be heard.

That was why

she often voiced opinions that differed from Rex Lapis's and led the charge to put them into practice. Among the Liyue Qixing, she was a radical reformer.

Her bold approach had achieved remarkable results, but it had also drawn opposition from many devout followers of Rex Lapis.

Keqing paid them no mind.

In her eyes, someone had to walk at the very forefront of the age and carve out a new path with their own hands.

And as the Yuheng Star, she would not shrink from that duty!