"Acting Grand Master Jean, here's the damage assessment..."
"Acting Grand Master Jean, these are the diplomatic requests from the Fatui and Snezhnaya..."
"Acting Grand Master Jean..."
In the Knights of Favonius' office, the elegant woman with a high blonde ponytail was overwhelmed as she dealt with all manner of administrative affairs.
Stormterror Dvalin's rampage had brought a flood of unidentified monsters into Mondstadt. The impact on Mondstadt's economy and administration was devastating.
Yet all they could do for now was keep things running. It was like a critically ill patient whose underlying condition couldn't be cured, leaving doctors to put them on ECMO to maintain their most basic vital signs.
Behind all this were two additional forces: the Fatui and the Abyss Order.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, I have some good news." Just then, Kaeya pushed open the door and entered. "There's a formidable elite squad in Mondstadt City right now."
"Composition?" Acting Grand Master Jean asked for the information she needed most in the fewest possible words, papers flying through her hands.
"An S-rank adventurer, a senior advisor, a mercenary from Snezhnaya, and a white-haired woman of unknown origin." Kaeya also kept his answer to the essentials. "They just killed one of the Abyss Order's Abyss Heralds at the Dawn Winery. There's no doubt about their strength."
"And there are two whole Vision holders in that team."
In Teyvat, Visions were external organs humans used to wield Elemental Power. A Vision-bearing "Genshin" could at least clear out a Hilichurl camp alone. Compared to ordinary people, who would be beaten down by Hilichurls, they really were far stronger.
"Are they willing to accept a commission from the Knights of Favonius?"
"Naturally." Kaeya nodded. "More importantly, their leader, that S-rank adventurer, expressed clear hostility toward the Fatui."
"He also said he wanted to beat up La Signora himself... something along those lines."
"What about his teammates? Does the mercenary from Snezhnaya have no objection to that?"
"Apparently not." Kaeya shook his head. "Personally, I get the impression this team is quite united."
"They said that as long as they could borrow the Knights of Favonius' training grounds, we had a deal. Tomorrow morning, they'll take the initiative to attack and kill the Cryo Abyss Herald."
According to the Knights of Favonius' intelligence, there were three high-threat targets in Mondstadt at present: Abyss Heralds of the Hydro, Cryo, and Electro elements, all greatly strengthened by the power of the Abyss.
Each of them had already caused at least hundreds, if not thousands, of civilian casualties. Not long ago, Diluc of the Dawn Winery had been gravely wounded in a fierce battle with the Hydro Abyss Herald and was still recuperating in Mondstadt City.
"All right, agree to their terms." Acting Grand Master Jean rubbed her eyes wearily. "And ask them whether they need any more support from the Knights of Favonius."
"All right, everyone," Tang Wang said at the Knights of Favonius' training grounds, in the spacious square filled with wooden training posts. "Time waits for no one."
"First, Danika, Ronava, you want to practice the Traditional Martial Arts Secret Method, right?"
In the most concise terms he could manage, he outlined the basic way to practice it. The very first step it required was "breath regulation," which was greatly beneficial to any creature capable of using Elemental Power.
"What a strange breathing rhythm." After practicing for a while, Danika was a little short of breath. "Does this really work?"
"Yeah, don't worry, Danika. This technique works really well!" Linaya smiled, putting her doubts to rest. "Although I haven't used it in a long time, back when we were adventuring together, this technique helped us defeat lots of monsters."
"...It does. I can feel Elemental Power gathering." As they practiced, Ronava was the first to master the so-called breath regulation technique.
"This first step is a universal technique." Once Danika had also mastered breath regulation, Tang Wang began explaining further. "But the second step, condensing Gang Qi, will stop anyone who can wield Elemental Power in their tracks."
"For someone without Elemental Power, breath regulation would draw on Human Realm Power. But you just tried it yourselves-it drew on your Elemental Power."
Immediately afterward, Tang Wang took a deep breath, and a golden light appeared around him. This was his Human Realm Power.
"Well, that's a shame." After trying it, Danika sighed in disappointment. "But, Tang Wang, according to Snezhnaya's intelligence, Human Realm Power doesn't seem to be something that's easily mastered..."
"Yes." He nodded. "That's why I spent a very, very long time honing myself."
"According to the ancient texts, Human Realm Power comes from a person's wishes and will. The former is rather abstract, but the latter is easy to understand."
With that, he recited some passages of classical prose he had read as a student.
Simply put, in his view, the greatest difference between humans and beasts was "morality." Beasts did as they pleased, while humans exercised self-restraint.
Thus, he held himself to the highest standards to hone his will. To his surprise, many seemingly simple things could provide such an astonishing amount of Human Realm Power.
"The simplest examples..." His expression was a little odd. "Stand at attention when you're being beaten, apologize when you've done something wrong, take responsibility for what you've done and pay for your mistakes, judge comparable things by the same standards, and don't have double standards."
"Besides those, there are some extensions... For example, morality is meant to restrain yourself, not to be used to reproach others. Relationships between people go both ways; helping you is a kindness, but not helping you is no fault of theirs..."
By the time she had heard him out, Danika's expression had completely changed:
"Well, Mr. Tang Wang," she said, unwittingly addressing him with new respect, "it seems your strength truly is worthy of your virtue."
"What virtue?" His tone grew even more puzzled. "Isn't that what a person ought to do?"
"Come on, we're noble, intelligent beings with initiative and self-awareness! If we let our instincts drive us, what difference is there between us and beasts?"
"...Your character is also above that of many people I've met." Danika added, "The rabble in the Fatui, for example."
"Calling them rabble would be completely off the mark." Tang Wang shook his head. "They're clearly a bunch of people who pretend to be united while each harbors their own schemes!"
"Apart from the first and third seats, every other Fatui member is messed up in their own way. I won't go into all the awful things they've done-there are too many to explain in a few words."
"The one who leaves me most speechless has to be The Jester, who lives up to his name! 'I approved the second seat's bombing of Tatarasuna, which nearly sent countless people across Inazuma to their deaths, but the bad things the second seat did have nothing to do with me, and I'll take all the results.'"
"'I was deceived by the second seat,' he says, but he didn't skimp on the support he was supposed to provide, didn't leave out any supplies or funding, and had no intention of stopping it. What a brilliant organizer you are, Lord Pierro!"
After listening to Tang Wang's long string of varied sarcastic remarks, Danika was now thoroughly convinced that he really did have the "very good personal relationship with the third seat" he had mentioned earlier.
The only thing that puzzled her was that the third seat Tang Wang spoke of seemed very different from the one described in popular rumors.
"...You really are a lot like The Captain." Meanwhile, Ronava once again remarked on what she had said before. "But you don't seem to think so yourself."
"Because humility is also part of human will and virtue, and it can provide me with Human Realm Power." He shrugged.
"Since you can't learn the Traditional Martial Arts Secret Method, everyone, let's get back to the main topic."
"Right." Linaya immediately picked up the conversation. "Danika, Ronava, have you decided how you want to use your Elemental Power?"