"What remarkable energy. Though still somewhat immature compared to elemental power, it suits humans very well. The barrier to entry is much lower than that of a Vision. Yucheng, you truly are a genius. This alone is enough to earn you a place in history."
After confirming that chakra was not forbidden knowledge, Zhongli returned to his original attitude, his words filled with praise and admiration for this entirely new form of energy.
But after praising it, Zhongli suddenly looked sorrowful again. "If this energy had appeared five hundred years earlier, the Millelith's casualties would probably have been much lower."
Five hundred years ago, during the battle in The Chasm, the Millelith had practically bought time with their lives. With the defensive lines on the verge of collapse, Boyang, Bosacius, and some of the Millelith had used the Fantastic Compass to forcibly seal the monsters underground in the mining area along with themselves. Only then did the Millelith remaining aboveground gain a chance to catch their breath and ultimately defend Liyue.
"My lord, what's done is done. Try to look on the bright side. Without that bloody battle, the Millelith probably wouldn't have passed down their spirit to later generations: firm as stone, unyielding as the mountains, the Millelith in formation could withstand even gods."
"Indeed. Fortune rests upon misfortune; misfortune lurks within fortune." Zhongli extended his right hand, which shimmered with bright golden light. Before long, a fake Pyro Vision appeared in his palm, and he handed it to Yucheng.
"It's that simple?"
"A fake Vision is merely a glass bead. What difficulty is there?"
Watching Zhongli make a fake Vision so effortlessly, Yucheng couldn't help feeling somewhat shortchanged. "Then, my lord, how about making me Visions of the other elements too? If I learn other nature transformations later, they'll come in handy."
"...Very well. But I hope that one day, you can openly show your creation to the world."
"That day will come."
"Oh, right, my lord. About Shenhe's and Xiao's conditions..."
"You were right. That friend of mine from Mondstadt does indeed have the ability to purify archon residue. However, his carefree, unrestrained manner seems to have left Moon Carver severely traumatized. He also seems very interested in my wine. He's already asked Moon Carver to tell me that whenever he comes to Mondstadt in the future, he must entertain him with wine of this caliber."
You're hardly any different. Barbatos is a drunkard who loves wine more than life, and you're a penniless loafer. Of course, Yucheng didn't dare say that aloud.
"What about Shenhe?"
"That child no longer needs red cords to restrain her baleful aura, but habits formed over many years cannot be changed overnight. Apparently, Cloud Retainer has asked her to stay in her abode, saying she intends to teach her the art of conversation personally."
Hearing that, Yucheng immediately grew anxious. What the hell does that woman know about conversation?! If she teaches Shenhe, won't she just turn her into another version of herself?
At that thought, Yucheng wanted to rush to Mt. Aocang and bring Shenhe out. But then he remembered that that woman should have already left Mt. Aocang by now, and with Liyue currently a tangled mess, it would be better to let Shenhe stay in the abode and settle down for a while.
Zhongli left Yucheng's home. The moment he was gone, Yucheng felt weak all over. The pressure Rex Lapis had exuded just now had been truly terrifying. He certainly lived up to his title as the God of Martial Arts.
In fact, Yucheng had thought long and hard before telling Zhongli about chakra today. As Liyue's guardian deity, he was the one who most hoped to see Liyue develop and grow stronger, and he was also the god who most thoroughly upheld the ideal of loving humanity.
I believe that even though he says he's retired now, if another crisis beyond humanity's ability to handle truly arose, he would still step in to save them.
Liyue owed much of its prosperity to his protection. Its prosperity was only economic, however, and once this affair ended, the Geo Archon would trade his Gnosis to Snezhnaya. At that point, Liyue's exclusive right to mint currency would vanish completely as well.
As for its strongest fighters, if the adepti were excluded, the truly noteworthy human combatants could be counted on one hand.
Although the Millelith possessed an indomitable spirit, their actual combat capabilities fell short of those of the Millelith five hundred years ago. This was evident from the changes in their weapons.
The ancient Millelith's weapons had been hewn from the divinely forged bedrock that formed Liyue Harbor. They were so heavy that ordinary people could not even lift them, let alone wield them in battle. Yet every member of the Millelith back then could wield such a weapon as naturally as their own limbs. In game terms, every one of them had carried a four-star weapon.
These formidable weapons had been necessities in wartime, but in peacetime, fewer and fewer people could wield them. The current Millelith's standard-issue weapon was the White Tassel, a three-star weapon.
What chakra could do was raise the baseline of Liyue's fighting strength. Zhongli's meaning just now had also been clear: he hoped Yucheng would spread chakra throughout Liyue. Even if Yucheng didn't do it, Zhongli could do it himself, because he had already successfully extracted chakra just now.
But as Rex Lapis, he disdained competing with a junior for fame, so he had yielded this history-making achievement to Yucheng. That was far better than certain academic tyrants in his previous life who had appropriated their students' research papers.
Meanwhile, after speaking with Ningguang, Lumine and Paimon had unexpectedly learned of a Fatui hideout. After destroying it, they discovered that the Fatui were mass-producing counterfeit Sigils of Permission.
They then accompanied Zhongli to Dihua Marsh, where they found wild glaze lilies. With that, all the preliminary preparations for the Rite of Parting were complete.
Only upon returning to Liyue Harbor did they learn that all of Liyue's adepti had arrived and were engaged in tense negotiations with the Liyue Qixing. The adepti did not recognize the Qixing's authority; they recognized only their contracts with Rex Lapis. One wrong move could trigger the first war between humans and adepti.
Liyue had been thrown into utter turmoil over the matter. Even the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had been drawn into the conflict, forcing Zhongli to leave early.
Before leaving, Zhongli offered Lumine a reminder. "Traveler, give it some thought yourself. In my view, if you wish to prevent an explosion on the verge of erupting, why not first consider where the fuse lies?"
At those words, Lumine immediately realized who most wanted to see the entire city descend into chaos. It could only be Childe, the Fatui Harbinger.
Childe's objective was Rex Lapis's remains-or, more precisely, the Gnosis within them. Now that all the chaos had grown especially chaotic, there was only one place he would go.
The Golden House!
Before you continue