"Ningguang, do you know what you are doing?"

Thud!

Keqing struggled to her feet and looked up. Tianfeng Douluo, who had been so arrogant moments ago, was now heavily kneeling on the ground before her.

He clutched his relentlessly bleeding chest and opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but blood poured from his lips as well, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

A level ninety-nine peak fighter against a level ninety-seven one was an utterly one-sided crushing victory to begin with, not to mention that Tianfeng Douluo had been in poor condition.

"This—"

Keqing, who had witnessed it all, was completely bewildered!

If she had not been mistaken just now, that person who had come with Tianquan Ningguang—seemed to be an Outlander as well?

But why were the Outlanders fighting each other?

What was going on?

And why was Ningguang employing an Outlander who could potentially threaten Liyue?

After the Rite of Descension, she knew very clearly what those Outlanders had done.

But this—

How was what Ningguang was doing any different from seeking the skin of a tiger?

[Spirit Hall Empire faction participant Tianfeng Douluo has been "killed." Please be advised!]

[Currently, only one participant remains in the Spirit Hall Empire faction: Sea Turtle Douluo. If this participant is killed, the Spirit Hall Empire faction will be directly judged to have failed its mission and will receive the punishment for failure!]

The imposing voice of the Teleportation Gate suddenly rang out in the hearts of countless beings across Douluo Continent.

The Spirit Hall Empire faction fell into deathly silence. Everyone looked as though their parents had died, utterly despondent and lost.

Within the tent belonging to the upper ranks of the Spirit Hall Empire, the atmosphere had frozen to a terrifying degree.

Earlier, Qian Renxue had taken Qianjun Douluo and Jiangmo Douluo away from the Spirit Hall Empire, while Guibao Douluo had sacrificed himself.

After the previous great battle against the Heaven Dou Empire—

Bibi Dong had very few titled Douluo left at her disposal.

Now, aside from Sea Turtle Douluo, only Snake Lance Douluo remained usable—

"Your Majesty, this—what should we do next?"

Looking around, Snake Lance Douluo realized that apart from the guards outside the tent, it seemed that only he and Bibi Dong remained. He swallowed and cautiously asked.

"Get out!"

"Get out of here!"

Rakshasa God Bibi Dong shuddered and shouted sharply. Snake Lance Douluo was so frightened that he hurriedly lowered his head and silently withdrew, not daring to make a sound.

Only after leaving the tent did he discover that the many Cardinals were equally low in morale, and the entire camp was stiflingly oppressive—

But what could they do?

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

If he had known, he should have left the Spirit Hall Empire with Qian Renxue back then.

As for leaving now—how was that any different from offering up his own head?

So—

He could only take things one step at a time.

Liyue Harbor, Jade Chamber.

"You—"

Keqing pointed at Chen Fan, about to say something, when she suddenly felt the world spin around her. With a thud, she collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.

The earlier burst of elemental power that had slain Pufferfish Douluo had already pushed her to her absolute limit. The only reason she had remained awake while facing Tianfeng Douluo was because she had been holding on by sheer force of will.

And now—

The crisis in Liyue Harbor had been resolved, and the Jade Chamber no longer faced the risk of falling.

After relaxing just slightly, Keqing could no longer endure such weakness and passed out completely.

"Thank you for your help this time."

Ningguang first instructed Yaoyao to carry Keqing away. Before leaving, Yaoyao curiously glanced at Chen Fan, but she did not say anything and quietly departed.

"Once a contract is formed, those who break it shall suffer the wrath of the rock!"

Chen Fan ignored Ningguang's pleasantries and spoke in a businesslike tone. "I need a large ship capable of withstanding thunderstorms."

"I'll have to trouble Tianquan to put some effort into this."

"A large ship that can withstand thunderstorms?"

Ningguang was visibly startled, then instinctively asked, "Are you going to Inazuma?"

"That isn't something Tianquan needs to concern herself with, is it?"

Ningguang fell silent.

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

Fortunately, she was not narrow-minded. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I have heard of a fleet heading to Inazuma. I wonder—"

"What I need is a vessel that can withstand thunderstorms, not passage aboard someone else's ship."

Chen Fan interrupted her again. "Do you understand what I mean?"

Beidou's fleet could indeed reach Inazuma, but Chen Fan could accomplish that himself. Why would he need Ningguang to repay this favor in that way?

The reason he had agreed to help Ningguang was naturally not because he had been bewitched by her beauty. Given Ningguang's personality, that was practically impossible—so from the very beginning, Chen Fan had intended for her to build him a ship.

"—I understand."

Ningguang's expression stiffened. From such close range, Chen Fan could clearly see the slight twitching on her face. "It's just that—I'm afraid you will need to wait some time. At present, we temporarily lack the means to construct one—"

"Just have it built before I return next time."

Chen Fan did not particularly care. It was not as though he was leaving for Inazuma immediately.

"Alright, you can handle the rest yourselves. I'm going to rest."

Chen Fan waved his hand, and Bi Ji, who had been watching the show from the side, hurriedly followed him.

As a healing-type ferocious beast, her combat strength was truly limited, so she had simply stood by and watched.

As for the fact that she could heal—

Chen Fan had not mentioned it. Bi Ji might be compassionate, but she was not the sort to blindly overflow with saintly mercy. Naturally, she knew whom to save and whom not to save.

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

After Chen Fan left, Ningguang headed toward a side hall and found Keqing slowly regaining consciousness under Yaoyao's treatment.

Yaoyao's little face was pale as well. At Ningguang's signal, she withdrew to rest.

Keqing struggled to prop herself up. Though her face was bloodless, her eyes bore directly into Ningguang as she sternly said, "These Outlanders who appeared from who knows where killed so many Millelith soldiers and turned Liyue Harbor into a complete mess."

"How is recruiting him any different from seeking the skin of a tiger?"

"Or is it that, for the sake of your commercial empire's interests, you truly can do anything!?"

Ningguang and Keqing had always held deeply conflicting ideals.

Keqing had always believed that, as "humans," people should possess the pride of "humans," and that the thoughts of "humans" should likewise be valued.

Precisely because of this—

She often voiced opinions that differed from Rex Lapis's and took the lead in putting them into practice. She belonged to the radical faction of reformers within the Liyue Qixing.

Of course, such radical methods had indeed produced many outstanding results, but they had also drawn opposition from many devout believers of Rex Lapis.

Yet she did not care in the slightest.

In her view, someone had to walk at the forefront of the age and personally forge a new path.

As the Yuheng Star, she naturally would not yield that role to anyone else!