Great Soul Arena

"Of course I meant that senior just now."

"How do you know him?"

Dugu Yan ran over and asked curiously.

Dugu Bo wanted to stop her, but he was curious too. Ever since the Sky Screen had appeared, the world had grown stranger and stranger.

Legends of Tang Chen and Bo Saixi still survived in the Soul Master World, but this senior seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Xue Ke hesitated and looked toward Zhongli.

"Mr. Zhongli, may I tell them?"

Zhongli wanted Su Yun to bring the people of Liyue over as soon as possible, so he had no reason to keep anything under wraps.

He nodded. "Go ahead."

Xue Ke briefly told Dugu Yan everything she knew.

"All I know is that he's the dean of Teyvat Academy, which stands in Windrise, south of Star Dou Forest."

"Windrise?"

Dugu Yan looked at Dugu Bo in confusion.

"Grandpa, is there really a place like that near Star Dou Forest?"

Dugu Bo thought for a moment, then shook his head.

Zhongli spoke up.

"The dean named it. A place where the wind rises, where every dream begins."

"domicra, columbula~"

Zhongli nearly covered his ears by reflex. Once he recognized who it was, he slapped a green figure down with an exasperated swat.

Everyone jumped, especially Dugu Bo. He stared in alarm at Venti, then at Zhongli, who had swatted him down.

He had thought Zhongli was an ordinary man. Ordinary, my ass. He was another old monster.

What sort of place was Shrek Academy? And who was this dark-green-haired boy? Dugu Bo had not sensed his approach at all.

Zhongli merely lifted his tea and took a sip, not bothering to acknowledge Venti.

Venti sat himself down and shouted toward the floor below.

"Waiter, bring me a jug of wine! Your best!"

At first, he had thought, How bad could the wine possibly be? Then he tasted the local wine of Douluo Continent and changed his mind.

He had taught the people of Mondstadt how to brew their wine. On Douluo Continent, the craft had developed entirely on its own.

After drinking so much wine across the continent, he had reached one conclusion: the more expensive the wine, the less likely it was to taste awful.

Zhongli could only sigh at the uninvited arrival of this bard, old friend, and colleague.

When the wine arrived, Venti made himself at home, poured everyone a cup, then cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Let me tell you a story about the dean's childhood."

Zhongli nearly spat out his tea. He stared at Venti in astonishment. Telling stories about Sun Moon's past life or Lord Fa's childhood would have been one thing.

But Su Yun's childhood?

Su Yun had no idea a bard was preparing to dig up his embarrassing past.

The little wings behind Columbina's head twitched as though she were eavesdropping on something.

Every so often, she laughed for no apparent reason as they walked.

"Columbina, what's wrong with you? Are you broken?"

The Marionette eyed the little wings on Columbina's back, tempted to give them a squeeze. They were still out on the street, though, so she held back.

When Su Yun turned around, he thought the little devil Columbina was plotting something again.

Judging by how fast her little wings were fluttering, it would be at least as bad as what he had endured in Snezhnaya.

That day, he had simply settled down for a peaceful afternoon nap.

His eyes had been closed for less than ten seconds.

Then singing came from outside his door.

"Su Yun, come build a snowman with me~"

"In the year the dove bore a branch~"

Who could understand what it felt like to have Voyanissa at the door and Columbina at the window?

Su Yun's expression at the time had looked like the picture below.

Voyanissa didn't understand!

Now The Marionette could draw some of the fire, and Voyanissa had yet to be summoned.

Surely things would not get that miserable.

He glanced at the sky.

Time passed quickly with the Sky Screen's movies: one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and by the time they finished, it was almost dusk.

The three strolled through the streets of Heaven Dou City. Unless something unexpected happened, they would spend the night at the Teyvat Merchants' Guild's guest quarters.

As night fell, scattered lights began to twinkle along the streets of Heaven Dou City.

They wandered for a long time and bought only a few curious trinkets. Nights in this other world were not as lively as they had imagined.

It was less interesting than an evening in Liyue. Only the Great Soul Arena caught their attention.

After learning the rules from a staff member, Columbina hurried back, brimming with excitement.

"Su Yun, Sandrone, let's enter a team Soul Fighting match."

Judging by the little wings on her back, Columbina was very interested.

They could only fight one match anyway, so Su Yun let her have her way and voted in favor.

"Columbina, have the gears finally crushed that head of yours, stuffed full of angelic voices?

We're Fatui Harbingers. You want us to fight locals who aren't even as strong as Debt Collectors?"

Sandrone grumbled without much energy. All she wanted was to get back and finish improving Angel Number One.

Columbina took Sandrone's hand and pulled Su Yun inside with her.

"Sandrone, you're not in Teyvat anymore. You don't have to fulfill your duties to the Fatui. You're Sandrone now."

Sandrone had been resisting, but Columbina's words left her only halfheartedly protesting.

"Hmph. I'm not doing this to play with you. It's just that I've made progress with Angel Number One lately, and I want to test it."

The three paid their registration fees, only to run into a rather stupid problem.

None of them had Soul Rings...

Su Yun fell silent for three seconds, then used divine power to create two yellow and two purple Soul Rings for himself.

As for his Martial Soul...

He conjured a Snow King Ice God to serve as his Martial Soul.

The registrar stared at Su Yun's Martial Soul in silence...

Why was it so hard to keep a straight face when looking at it?

Sandrone patted her chest. Thank goodness the Ice God had not come along, or Su Yun would have been frozen inside a statue again.

Columbina followed Su Yun's example and fashioned herself an identical set of Soul Rings.

For her Martial Soul, she used Moon Distance Power to conjure an image of Su Yun beating the living daylights out of The Doctor in Nod-Krai.

Sandrone almost laughed at the Su Yun Columbina had conjured.

Back then, Su Yun and The Wanderer had hardly looked as though they were trying to stop The Doctor. They had looked like they had come for revenge.

In that fight, The Doctor had nearly been kicked senseless before Columbina was even awakened.

Sandrone had even suspected Su Yun of holding something back on purpose and leaving her to die, so that after her death he could have Columbina all to himself every day.

Even if Columbina had never awakened, he could have kicked March Male God The Doctor to death.

Later, Sandrone realized she had been wrong. Su Yun was a damn pervert! He would even go after a puppet!

He had known all along that Alan had left her something!

Once Columbina's registration was complete, it was Sandrone's turn.

After some thought, Sandrone decided to use the Star-Splitting Wedge as her Martial Soul.

With all three registered, they chose a team Soul Fighting match for their first bout.