Liyue Qixing Infighting! Sowing Discord Succeeds!

Compared to Keqing,

Ningguang was completely different.

She had never said she would personally handle affairs like Keqing did.

On the contrary,

she relied purely on long-term planning and behind-the-scenes scheming to manipulate Liyue's commercial environment and establish an excellent order.

Only then

could she accumulate wealth.

Then, through that wealth, she developed commerce and in turn propelled Liyue's growth.

Neither of them could be called right or wrong; they were simply both indispensable.

Thus, although their philosophies clashed, nothing too explosive had ever happened.

But today—

Keqing simply could not imagine that Ningguang would actually cooperate with these outsiders who had persecuted Liyue's people.

This was simply—

outrageous!

"Ningguang, say something!?"

Ningguang remained silent because she could see that Keqing was in poor condition. If she got angry, it would only make things worse.

But to Keqing, that silence looked like speechlessness born of guilt. Staring closely at her, Keqing suddenly jolted. "Ningguang, you—you couldn't possibly be!?"

Ningguang, "?"

She did not understand what Keqing meant. Frowning at her, she said calmly, "Focus on recuperating from your injuries first."

"We can discuss everything else after you're feeling better."

With that, she clicked away toward the exit in her high heels.

"Ningguang, come back!"

"Come back and explain yourself!"

Yaoyao, who had been resting lightly nearby, was also startled awake by the shout and hurried over. "Sister Keqing, don't—don't move."

"You need to rest properly!"

For two consecutive days, Liyue Harbor seemed to have fallen into peace once again.

At least, Chen Fan, who lived aboard the Jade Chamber, had been having a rather leisurely time and had not heard of anything happening.

Even the obscure yet extraordinary aura he had vaguely sensed before had vanished after he acted that night.

"That should have been Morax—but why didn't he come keep an eye on me?"

Chen Fan stroked his chin. "I remember that when a dangerous guy came to Liyue before, Morax accompanied him."

"Maybe—I'm too weak and not worth the trouble?"

Thinking this, Chen Fan shook his head and looked out the window.

By then, dawn had already painted the sky fish-belly white. Once noon arrived, the three days and three nights would be complete.

"Looks like Lumine's progress bar is a little slow. Tartaglia still hasn't used the Sigil of Permission to summon Osial."

Stroking his chin, Chen Fan's eyes lit up slightly. "Maybe I could take a look at the Golden House?"

On the Teyvat Continent, one could not take a single step without Mora.

Although, if he was lucky, he could encounter Treasure Hoarders on the road and get some Mora by killing them, the amount was tiny—far too little.

So—

should he go to the Golden House and see whether he could swipe some Mora?

Chen Fan seriously considered the gap between his strength and Morax's, then ultimately shook his head.

[PS: See the picture. Isn't it easy to understand that this means "even the divine power protecting Liyue Harbor will be lost"? What's wrong with the comment section?]

The Martial God Morax and Zhongli represented the same person, but there was also a difference in their strength.

For example,

the current The Doctor weekly boss and Shouki no Kami weekly boss.

One was an experimental god created through usurping three moons, while the other was an artificial false god.

No matter which one it was, if Morax, the Martial God and one of The Seven who ruled the mortal realm, came personally, a single The Bane of All Evil would clear them instantly.

But—

could your C6R5 Level 100 Zhongli clear The Doctor weekly boss alone while using only one The Bane of All Evil?

Now look at how the Martial God Morax pierced through Guyun Stone Forest with a single spear strike.

Could the C6R5 Level 100 Zhongli in a player's hands do that?

Therefore,

in terms of combat power, Morax > Zhongli was true.

And now,

Morax had not yet lost his divine power, nor had he handed over his Gnosis. Although erosion had diminished his strength somewhat, he was absolutely stronger than C6R5 Zhongli!

Morax could be Zhongli, but Zhongli ≠ Morax.

It was like how

Genesis Crystals could be exchanged for Primogems, but Primogems could not be exchanged for Genesis Crystals.

Morax's combat strength was beyond doubt. He could smash Guyun Stone Forest to pieces with one spear strike and seal a god. Even a C6R5 Level 200 Zhongli could never pull that off.

If he were facing Morax, Chen Fan would not dare go looking for that Gnosis in the Golden House. But if he were facing the C6R5 Level 100 Zhongli in a player's hands, it was not impossible to give it a try.

Of course,

the prerequisite was completing the mission and being able to teleport away at any time.

Otherwise, trying it might turn into actually dying!

"Everything you said is true!?"

Liyue Harbor, council hall.

Of the Liyue Qixing, all six stars other than Ningguang had actually gathered here.

Keqing, whose injuries had recovered by seventy or eighty percent, abruptly rose to her feet. She stared in horror at the woman before her, whose appearance closely resembled Zhu Zhuqing's. "Are you certain?"

"Reporting to Lord Yuheng Star, it is true!"

The woman's name was Zhu Youran, Zhu Zhuqing's cousin.

She was one of the three contestants selected by the Star Luo Empire!

However, her luck had been fairly good. After struggling and clawing her way through things, she had actually secured an iron rice bowl in Liyue, working at the grassroots level of the financial sector.

"There are discrepancies in the financial ledgers handled by Lady Tianquan, and most of them occurred over the past two days. The rest are still being verified—"

As she spoke, Zhu Youran handed over documents of evidence and detailed reports.

The remaining five stars of Liyue grew increasingly solemn as they read.

Keqing's expression also turned ugly.

Earlier,

aboard the Jade Chamber, Ningguang's silence had already made her suspicious.

Because

these outsiders—specifically Tianfeng Douluo, Pufferfish Douluo, and the trio of Flender, Liu Erlong, and Yu Xiaogang—had killed many Millelith soldiers and even caused a certain degree of panic in Liyue Harbor.

Keqing refused to believe that Ningguang did not know about this.

Yet even so, how could Ningguang dare recruit those outsiders to the Jade Chamber and seek the tiger's skin with them?

And besides!

How could such powerful outsiders willingly work for Ningguang?

Money?

Money would not be of much use to these outsiders, would it?

And she did not think money alone would necessarily be enough to move them!

Thus,

Keqing thought again of the beautiful woman who had silently stood beside Chen Fan, then of Ningguang's equally silent refusal to say a word—

"I strongly suspect that Ningguang is selling off Liyue's existing assets. I propose that she be suspended pending investigation!"

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

After leaving the meeting room, Zhu Youran vaguely heard those voices. A smile curled at the corner of her lips. "The human heart is the most complicated thing!"

Holding a leave request form, she cheerfully obtained three months of paid leave, packed her luggage, and temporarily departed from Liyue Harbor.

Because—

the time had come!

[Act Two, Stage One: Participate in the Rite of Descension and survive safely for three days and three nights has been declared complete. All surviving contestants will now return. Evaluations will now be assigned!]

[Perfect Rating: Bi Ji, Zhu Xiaoxian, Zhu Youran.]

[The above participants perfectly took part in the Rite of Descension and safely survived for three days and three nights, and are therefore awarded a perfect rating!]

[Rewards Issued: Soul Power Level increased by ten levels each (or one hundred thousand years of cultivation), and the age of all existing Spirit Rings increased by ten thousand years.]