Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi refused to personally welcome Duo Jie and sent the Rock Shadow Guards to meet the Thaliga Family delegation instead. When Duo Jie arrived at Liyue Harbor and used elemental pressure against its workers, two stronger forces knocked him to the ground.

• Lin Yi rejected Duo Jie's demand for a personal welcome and ordered Zhang Da and Wang Xiao to receive the delegation with a lesson in courtesy.
• Duo Jie and Muyun sailed toward Liyue, boasting that the Thaliga Family could dictate terms and humiliate Rex Lapis.
• Duo Jie and Muyun arrived at Liyue Harbor to find no grand welcome, and Duo Jie learned that Liyue had ignored his demands.
• Duo Jie released his impure elemental pressure against Liyue's workers, but two stronger waves of pressure knocked him down.

The Thaliga Family’s Duo Jie made a scene at Liyue Harbor, but Zhang Da and Wang Xiao mocked and intimidated him on Lin Yi’s orders. Duo Jie collapsed from anger, and Muyun carried him back to their ship as the guards demanded they stop delaying their meeting with Lin Yi.

• Duo Jie and his companions complained about Liyue while Zhongli and Childe watched from a harbor stall.
• Zhang Da and Wang Xiao confronted Duo Jie and frightened Muyun with a story about piranhas in the harbor.
• Duo Jie demanded to meet Rex Lapis and Ningguang, but Zhang Da and Wang Xiao said they were busy and teased him about a prized fish and Liyue’s valuable materials.
• Duo Jie spat blood and lost consciousness after the guards claimed every inch of Liyue was worth its weight in gold.
• Muyun carried Duo Jie back to the merchant ship, and Zhang Da and Wang Xiao accused the group of disrespecting Lin Yi by delaying their meeting.

Lin Yi humiliated the visiting merchants by making them pay an exorbitant bill and planned further punishment for Duo Jie. Meanwhile, Duo Jie and Muyun entered the ship’s dark hold, where a dangerous presence awaited them.

• Muyun tried to insult the Liyue Shadow Guards, but Duo Jie stopped him and returned to the ship after Wang Xiao and another guard repelled his aura.
• A Shadow Guard reported that Duo Jie had argued with dogs, vomited blood, fainted, and been carried back aboard, leaving the merchants frightened.
• Lin Yi postponed business talks until the next day and left the merchants to pay their own way around Liyue Harbor.
• Xiangling presented the merchants with a bill of nearly ten million Mora, and they paid after she mocked their claims of wealth.
• Lin Yi resolved to keep tormenting Duo Jie, who then led Muyun into the ship’s hold toward a dangerous presence.

Duo Jie awakened Zero, a powerful Delusion Demon God bound to the Thaliga Family, and asked him to deal with Lin Yi and Liyue. Zero agreed to act one last time, while Duo Jie secretly planned to keep him enslaved.

• Duo Jie struck Muyun for questioning whether their forces could defeat Lin Yi and Liyue's powerful guards.
• Duo Jie led Muyun to the locked hold, where a fire spread and freed the being behind the door.
• Zero blasted through the ship's walls, extinguished the flames, and revealed himself as a Delusion Demon God marked with a 0.
• Duo Jie explained the conflict with Lin Yi, and Zero agreed to help on the condition that the Thaliga Family release him afterward.
• Duo Jie escorted Zero to a private cabin, then privately resolved not to free him.

Lin Yi was interrupted at the Jade Chamber by Zero, an assassin hired to kill him, and the two began fighting in the sky. Lin Yi tried to draw Zero away from Ningguang, but Zero noticed someone he cared about and attacked.

• Lin Yi failed to persuade Ningguang to let him join her bath, then went to bed after she shut herself in behind a Jade Screen barrier.
• Zero arrived near the Jade Chamber and dismissed Lin Yi as too weak to be Rex Lapis after sensing only a faint Geo aura.
• Zero ambushed Lin Yi, grabbed his collar, and threw him hundreds of meters from the Jade Chamber.
• Lin Yi steadied himself in midair and traded taunts with Zero before attacking with Elemental Arrows from his Favonius Warbow.
• Zero countered the arrows with his Delusion elemental skill, Demonic Thunder, and noticed the lit room where Ningguang was bathing.
• Lin Yi demanded that Zero fight him fairly, and Zero agreed before attacking.

Lin Yi battled Zero, whose Delusion powers and extraordinary speed made him a formidable opponent. Lin Yi’s Geo Artifacts and wings helped him turn the fight around, but Zero remained alive and enraged after Lin Yi broke his ribs.

• Zero attacked Lin Yi with powerful punches and kicks, while Lin Yi blocked and dodged as best he could.
• Zero unleashed Delusion Thunderstorm and Evil Thunder Hand, but Lin Yi activated his full set of Four-Star Geo Artifacts and resisted the assault.
• Zero transformed, increasing his strength, and continued attacking Lin Yi at high speed.
• Lin Yi used his Geo Wings to outpace Zero and kicked him hard enough to break his ribs.
• A pale golden light suddenly appeared in Lin Yi’s eyes as Zero glared at him in rage.

Lin Yi and Zero fought as Zero unleashed more of the Delusion Demon God’s power, briefly overwhelming Lin Yi with a lightning burst. Lin Yi resisted and counterattacked, but Zero smashed through his defenses and continued pressing him as their battle raged on.

• Zero revealed a strange symbol that increased his strength and speed, then attacked Lin Yi with a corrosive lightning claw.
• Zero’s aura surged, and he healed his wounds and grew into a giant before unleashing the Delusion Demon God’s lightning power.
• Zero’s purple lightning sphere exploded, hurling Lin Yi away and leaving him numb and weak.
• Lin Yi blocked Zero’s surprise attack and formed a saber from Geo flames, then slashed at him.
• Zero shattered Lin Yi’s left shoulder and drove him back with a relentless series of attacks.

Lin Yi defeated Zero after revealing his full power, then learned that the Thunder Mark on his chest was a tracking curse tied to Khaenri'ah Technology. Zero escaped, and Lin Yi collapsed under the backlash from the fight.

• Zero identified Lin Yi's reliance on defense and counterattacks, but Lin Yi used his agility to get around him.
• Zero unleashed his Evil Thunder Domain, and Lin Yi sealed their battlefield inside a barrier.
• Lin Yi coated the Rockflame Longblade in pale golden Geo and shattered Zero's sinister lightning before overpowering him in a clash.
• Zero admitted defeat and told Lin Yi that his Thunder Mark was a Cursed Mark from Khaenri'ah Technology that let Zero track him.
• Lin Yi let Zero leave, then began trembling as the strain and backlash from his upgraded strength overwhelmed him.

After a brutal fight with Zero, Lin Yi escaped to the Jade Chamber and collapsed into Ningguang’s arms, leaving her to treat his injuries and order an emergency investigation. Three days later, he woke to find his breakthrough quests completed but could not remember what had happened while he was unconscious.

• Lin Yi ended his fight with Zero when his strength and artifact boosts ran out, then returned to the Jade Chamber badly injured and exhausted.
• Lin Yi stumbled into Ningguang’s bathroom and collapsed into her, and they both fell into the bathing pool.
• Ningguang noticed Lin Yi’s wounds, contacted Keqing and Ganyu, ordered Liyue put on emergency alert, and treated him.
• Lin Yi woke three days later wrapped in bandages and saw a faint red mark beside Ningguang’s cleavage.
• Lin Yi checked his system and discovered that both his level 20 breakthrough quest and hidden breakthrough quest had been completed, though he remembered nothing.

Lin Yi recovered while Ningguang grew closer to him, but their intimate moment was interrupted by news that gunpowder merchants were causing trouble in Liyue Harbor. As Lin Yi prepared to confront them, Ningguang covered his naked body with Jade Screens and left him to dress.

• Lin Yi asked Ningguang what had happened while he was unconscious, and she blushed, suggesting something intimate had occurred.
• Ningguang told Lin Yi that the assassin investigation had found nothing, and Lin Yi promised to handle it once he recovered.
• Ningguang kissed Lin Yi, but Yanfei burst into the room with news that gunpowder merchants were demanding an explanation from them.
• Lin Yi's bandages tore away to reveal that his body had fully recovered, and Ningguang used ten Jade Screens to shield him from Yanfei.
• Ningguang conjured the Emperor's robes for Lin Yi and told him to handle the merchants while she attended to something else.

After recovering from his battle with Zero, Lin Yi went to Liyue Harbor to address gunpowder merchants protesting alleged fraud and exploitation. Suspecting someone was manipulating the dispute, he confronted the crowd and waited to see who would reveal themselves.

• Lin Yi found his strength had grown and left Ningguang to go with Yanfei to investigate trouble in Liyue.
• Gunpowder merchants protested in Liyue Harbor, claiming local businesses had overcharged and defrauded them.
• Duo Jie and Muyun watched from a distance, having arranged for outside investors to target the merchants and damage Liyue's reputation.
• Lin Yi arrived, heard Xiangling explain the dispute, and suspected the merchants' agitation was being orchestrated.
• Lin Yi stepped forward to demand that the merchants stop shouting and discuss their complaints properly.

Lin Yi confronted the gunpowder merchants over their accusations of fraud and overcharging in Liyue, while public anger grew and vegetables were thrown at him. He detected a sinister energy influencing at least fifty people in the crowd.

• Lin Yi silenced the merchants and arranged for the Rock Shadow Guards to deal with the man who insulted him.
• Lin Yi told Wang Erhu that Xiangling’s million-gold charge had been a warning and denied ordering other merchants to overcharge anyone.
• The merchants accused Lin Yi of allowing fraud, and outsiders in the crowd demanded an explanation as public opinion turned against him.
• Lin Yi stopped the Millelith commander from suppressing the crowd and said he had already sent the Shadow Guard to arrest merchants who charged exorbitant prices.
• The crowd threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at Lin Yi, who used the Geo Archon’s Authority and discovered that at least fifty people were influenced by sinister energy.

Lin Yi discovered that Zero was using sinister energy to amplify the harbor crowd’s anger and turn them against him. Ningguang resisted the interference, warned Lin Yi, and agreed to help catch the Thaliga father and son while Lin Yi prepared to expose the scheme.

• Lin Yi sensed that sinister energy was intensifying people’s negative emotions, but concealed his discovery while Duo Jie and Muyun watched the unrest.
• Zero used his implanted Archon Brain to spread the mind-corroding energy and observed Lin Yi from the Thaliga merchant ship.
• The crowd’s anger escalated despite Lin Yi’s attempts to counter the energy, and people hurled insults and rotten food at him.
• Ningguang tried to stop the crowd, resisted a sudden attempt to influence her mind, and warned Lin Yi that someone was plotting against them.
• Lin Yi told Ningguang he had identified the enemy and asked her to help catch the Thaliga father and son, and she agreed.

Lin Yi suppressed the sinister elemental energy at the harbor, arrested merchants who had overcharged gunpowder traders, and learned that two outsiders had ordered the scheme. The chapter ended as a squad arrived with two members of the Thaliga Family.

• Lin Yi used his Divine Authority and Geo Ring to suppress the sinister elemental energy and restore the harbor crowd’s reason.
• The Rock Shadow Guards brought the offending merchants before Lin Yi, who demanded to know why they had overcharged the gunpowder merchants.
• A merchant confessed that two black-robed outsiders had paid and threatened them into targeting the gunpowder traders, but he could not identify them.
• Lin Yi ordered the merchants taken to prison for questioning, then called the gunpowder merchants over to address the interference affecting them.
• A squad arrived and told Lin Yi that they had brought two members of the Thaliga Family.

Lin Yi confronted the Thaliga Family over the trouble in Liyue and ordered their ship searched, only for its hidden warship and Zero to be revealed. Zero threatened Liyue unless Lin Yi accepted his demand, and Lin Yi laughed in response.

• Lin Yi accused Duo Jie and Muyun of causing trouble, but Duo Jie denied it and refused to let the Rock Shadow Guards search his ship.
• A Rock Shadow Guard kicked Duo Jie down when he attacked, and Lin Yi ordered his team to inspect the Thaliga Family's ship.
• The Thaliga Family's merchant ship broke apart, revealing a concealed Ironclad Warship in Liyue Harbor.
• After a hidden door was discovered and a dark figure landed nearby, Zero emerged and admitted responsibility.
• Zero demanded that Lin Yi agree to a request, threatening to kill Liyue's people if he refused, and Lin Yi laughed at him.

Lin Yi and Zero fought across the harbor as Zero used his Elemental Secret Art to boost his strength and toughness. Just as Lin Yi seemed to gain the upper hand, Zero activated another transformation that made his body grow larger and harder.

• Lin Yi and Zero resumed their fight, and Zero revealed that his Elemental Secret Art could temporarily triple his strength and toughen his body.
• Lin Yi unleashed a move that summoned a thousand Rock Spears, wounding Zero, then continued attacking him.
• Lin Yi and Zero battled across rooftops, streets, the harbor, and the sea, with neither able to land a decisive blow.
• Zero stabbed Lin Yi in the shoulder with a dagger, but Lin Yi grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ground.
• Zero said physical combat could not defeat him, then glowed blue and began growing larger with skin as hard as cast steel.

Lin Yi defeated Zero and offered him a chance to live if he confessed and submitted, and Zero accepted, kneeling to acknowledge Lin Yi as Emperor. Before Lin Yi and Ningguang could respond to the new threat, a powerful unfamiliar presence shook the sea, and Zero sensed another demon god.

• Zero mutated as the demon god's brain fused with him, then fought Lin Yi with a tongue attack and surging black energy.
• Zero realized he was losing and admitted he was no match for Lin Yi, who offered to spare him if he gave up his demon god title and submitted.
• Zero initially refused, but after Lin Yi offered a chance to escape death if he confessed his crimes, Zero agreed and knelt before Lin Yi as Emperor.
• A powerful presence made the sea tremble, and Zero sensed that it belonged to another demon god.
• Lin Yi rushed to Liyue Harbor and sought out Ningguang, who shared his grave expression.

Lin Yi and Ningguang responded to a surge of demonic energy near Liyue Harbor, ordering preparations while Lin Yi went to investigate. Ningguang evacuated the harbor and dealt with merchants who had been stirring up trouble, trapping them behind her Jade Screen.

• Lin Yi told Ningguang to set aside the detained Duo Jie and Muyun and prepare Liyue for the turbulent demonic energy near the coast.
• Ningguang agreed to evacuate the crowds and mobilize Vision bearers, True Adepti, and Immortals as Lin Yi went to investigate.
• Lin Yi kissed Ningguang, told her he would protect her while she protected the people, and departed.
• Ningguang evacuated the onlookers and confronted gunpowder merchants who had manipulated public opinion and threatened her.
• Ningguang struck several merchants with Geo Star Swirls and trapped them behind a Jade Screen.

Lin Yi and Zero searched the Sea of Clouds for signs of danger, but the strange weather and magnetic interference led Lin Yi into a hidden region of sea fog. His Geo Ring shattered while he was eight thousand meters above the sea, leaving him falling through the storm.

• Lin Yi asked Zero what he had found, and Zero reported that he had detected no useful signs beyond a fleeting trace of an archon's aura.
• Lin Yi sent Zero west while he searched east along Liyue's waters, guided by his sense that danger was approaching.
• Magnetic interference disoriented Lin Yi as he traveled deep into the Sea of Clouds, and he entered a region of fog invisible from outside.
• Thunder and electrical energy surged around Lin Yi, and his strength faltered until the Geo Ring beneath him shattered.
• Lin Yi began plummeting from eight thousand meters above the sea.

Lin Yi struggled to recover his ability to fly over a fog-shrouded sea, and Beidou ordered the Crux Fleet to risk changing course to rescue him. He landed safely aboard her ship and recognized Beidou, who welcomed the unexpected encounter with amusement.

• Lin Yi found too little Geo energy in the air to restore his flight and feared crashing into the sea.
• Beidou spotted Lin Yi falling and ordered the Crux Fleet to change course despite the danger of losing their bearings.
• A veteran crew member reminded the hesitant navigator that Beidou had once risked her life to save the crew, and the ship increased its speed.
• Lin Yi spotted the Crux ship and glided toward it as Beidou recognized him as the new Rex Lapis.
• Beidou caught Lin Yi on a net of lightning, and he sprang onto the deck safely.
• Lin Yi realized Beidou had rescued him and exclaimed in surprise, while she smiled at his reaction.