Send the Bill to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family

Gu Yuena had already taken her true silver dragon form. Silver-white scales gleamed across the sky, and her spread wings blotted out the sun.

Opposite her, Columbina stood with her eyes closed and her head tilted, as though she had not quite woken up.

"Your aura is so strange, big sister," Columbina said softly. "A little like a dragon, but also a little like... the moon?"

With the powers of all three moons, she was something like a lesser version of the Four Shades.

Even so, this lesser version of the Four Shades would have some trouble fighting The Seven, to say nothing of slippery old foxes like Zhongli and Venti, or Mavuika.

Columbina had never fought Mavuika. Mavuika might have been mortal, but that did not mean she was weak.

After all, the First Pyro Archon had become the Pyro Archon by defeating the Fire Dragon King.

And Mavuika was the strongest Pyro Archon of them all.

Among The Seven was another person no one could overlook: Raiden Ei, who had shut herself away all this time.

The Dark Sea had never opened, after all. Raiden Ei remained at the height of her power and had even acquired a new weapon.

Gu Yuena narrowed her dragon eyes. As an incarnation of the Dragon God who also commanded Elemental Power, she considered herself among the strongest beings even in the Douluo God Realm.

Yet the girl before her, standing there with her eyes closed, felt like—

The Abyss. Bottomless.

"I'm coming at you." Gu Yuena clenched her claws, gathering silver light.

Columbina nodded gently. "Mm. Be careful, big sister."

The silver dragon roared. Her breath poured down like an overturned Milky Way, rushing straight at Columbina's face.

Then Gu Yuena saw Columbina raise a hand.

It was a slender, pale hand. A thread of moonlight streamed from its fingertips.

The moonlight made no sound. The instant it collided with the silver dragon's breath, Gu Yuena shuddered. Her Elemental Power had suddenly slipped beyond her control.

Silver light, flame, ice, lightning... Every power within her ran wild at once and turned against her.

"Pfft—"

Gu Yuena spat a mouthful of blood and staggered back. Her scales shattered one after another as she returned to human form, her face deathly pale.

Columbina tilted her head, seemingly puzzled. "Big sister, your power is such a jumble. Why use so many elements at once? Wouldn't it be better to use them separately?"

Gu Yuena opened her mouth, but no words came out.

What did she mean, why use so many elements at once?

I used so many at once because I wasn't confident I could win!

Wasn't having more elements supposed to make me stronger?

Gu Yuena felt utterly countered. Why did I have to choose her? She had merely remembered seeing Columbina on the poster the Sky Screen had shown at the very beginning.

For some reason, Columbina had never appeared in the footage. But since she had been on the same poster as the others, Gu Yuena had assumed their strength would be about the same.

Gu Yuena had lost to the Asura God, but she still could not bring herself to accept defeat. She had gritted her teeth and chosen Columbina instead, only to lose in a single exchange...

"I... concede."

Columbina clapped happily. "You're very strong, big sister. You just weren't using your power quite right."

She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Su Yun once told me that what my powers over the three moons do best is... control other people's power."

(In the Nod-Krai storyline, Columbina gave the Traveler a boost.)

Gu Yuena stared in astonishment.

She was part of the Dragon God. Her authority over Elemental Power surpassed even that of gods who commanded the elements. How could this girl counter her so completely?

(Columbina was among the first summoned. She made a giant moon above Teyvat Academy for tea parties, though she had hardly used it.)

The battle in the sky was nearing its end as well.

As Venti's final song ended, Anemo eroded the last of the Asura God's divine power. He fell from the sky, but Su Yun caught him with a wave of his hand and set him gently on the ground.

"No hard feelings." Venti landed with a smile and cupped his hands toward the Asura God. "Your swordsmanship is impressive, but you put too much force into it. Next time, remember: you can't cut the wind."

The Asura God's expression was complicated. After a long pause, he let out a breath. "...I've learned something."

He was a mighty God King, yet a "bard" had beaten him so thoroughly that he had been unable to fight back. He had not even forced Venti to reveal a single trump card.

The gulf between them was so vast that he could not even muster any resentment.

The Sky Screen flickered, and the new rankings appeared.

First place: Teyvat Academy.

Second place: Clear Sky Sect.

Third place: Star Dou Forest.

Fourth place: Spirit Hall.

Fifth place: Sea God Island.

Sixth place: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Seventh place: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Eighth place: Ocean Soul Beasts.

Ninth place: Far North.

Tenth place: Slaughter City.

Everyone stared at the list in silence for a long time.

The beasts had suffered a crushing defeat. Only Star Dou Forest ranked near the top, and that was because it had a God King.

The factions all sighed. Without a God King, they were worth absolutely nothing!

Beams of light descended and sent everyone out.

Ronava even tried to resist, but she had no chance. She was teleported out before she could do a thing.

"This Sky Screen is even stronger than the one who created me."

Ronava gazed up at the Sky Screen and murmured to herself.

Su Yun's mouth twitched. Of course it was. It was a cosmic God of Fun. The Heavenly Principles were probably little more than a plaything to it.

As he looked around, he suddenly noticed something was off.

"Hm? Where's Columbina?"

Hadn't she just finished fighting? Where had she run off to?

"Up there. She said she was going to fix up her moon."

Sandrone spread her hands helplessly.

Lately, Columbina seemed to have fallen in love with decorating after experiencing the sights and customs of this new land.

The Moon Spirits on the artificial moon would just have to put up with it.

Su Yun glanced at the artificial moon above the clouds. It had started because each of the seven elements had its own academy.

Columbina had not wanted to build one at first. Then, one day, Sandrone had grown so fed up with her pestering that she told her to go build an academy of her own.

So Columbina had molded a moon with her bare hands.

Sandrone had been dumbstruck.

Su Yun still remembered Sandrone's face then, her little mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

She had blurted out a question without thinking.

"Columbina's this strong? Does that mean I'll never get the upper hand for the rest of my life?"

Su Yun had nearly been struck dead on the spot. After all this time, that's what she'd been thinking about? Getting the upper hand?

When they saw everyone return, the maids Ningguang had trained hurried over with the secretarial staff.

"You're finally back. The guest rooms are almost full. Soul Masters have come from all over the continent."

"Most of them brought children."

Su Yun swept out his Soul Power to check. It was true.

The guest rooms, which could accommodate ten thousand people, were already fully booked.

Some people had even set up camp outside the city.

"Headmaster Su! Zhongli!"

A girl's lively voice drew both men's attention.

Even Guizhong began studying the girl with her beautiful eyes.

She actually called Morax 'Zhongli.'

Zhongli looked at Xue Ke and nodded.

"It seems you've completed your enrollment, young friend."

Hearing Zhongli address her that way, Guizhong breathed an involuntary sigh of relief.

Xue Ke nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! Once I pass the entrance trial, I'll be able to call you Headmaster Zhongli."

"Oh, and Father said my allowance has no limit from now on. Whenever you buy something, just send the bill to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."