Yunlai Sea, Guyun Pavilion.
The time was already ten o'clock, and there were no ships sailing on the sea.
Lu Heng stood atop the peak of Guyun Pavilion, scanning the surroundings, but he couldn't see the Crux Fleet's flagship, the Alcor.
Perhaps it was in other waters.
However, this also made things convenient for Zhongli and Tartaglia.
The location they chose was over a hundred kilometers away from Guyun Pavilion, in the vast open sea.
Lu Heng, Venti, Klee, and the Crimson Calamity Toad were on the peak of Guyun Pavilion.
Klee didn't need to watch, while Lu Heng and the others had sharp enough vision and perception to observe the battle as if they were right there.
"Are you cold?" Lu Heng asked.
Klee was nestled in Lu Heng's arms, sitting on his lap, while she held the sleeping Crimson Calamity Toad in her hands.
When Lu Heng asked, she shook her head.
Venti stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing toward Liyue Harbor in the distance, and nodded slightly. "It's about right. Even if a huge wave is stirred up later, it can still be calmed."
For a battle at the level of gods, a distance of two to three hundred kilometers wasn't very far.
But with Venti here, the distance was more than enough to protect Liyue Harbor.
He didn't need to directly block the shockwaves of their battle—just slow down and disperse the impact over the vast buffer zone.
With two to three hundred kilometers of buffer, it wouldn't take much effort for Venti to handle.
In the distance.
Over the vast sea.
"Ready?" Tartaglia asked.
Zhongli nodded slightly.
The two stood ten kilometers apart, each hovering in mid-air.
As Zhongli nodded, a white hood appeared over his head, gradually transforming his appearance.
In the blink of an eye, the scholarly and composed Zhongli was gone.
In his place stood Morax—clad in white robes, a hood covering his head, his dark arms adorned with golden patterns, barefoot and floating in the air, his golden eyes radiating boundless divinity.
"Haha, you really are strong!"
Feeling the terrifying aura surging from Morax, Tartaglia felt as if his blood was boiling.
The overwhelming pressure, like facing an insurmountable mountain... Trying to resist Him with just a Vision and a Delusion?
Hahaha!
How laughable his past self had been!
But now, the times had changed!
Boom!
Tartaglia's blue eyes were filled with dark purple energy.
Pale, bone-like armor gradually covered his body, revealing a fierce and muscular form.
Blood-red wings spread behind him, and a crimson cape billowed in the wind.
Transformed into the "Crownless," Tartaglia reached out with his right hand and grasped the air—
A dragon-coiled spear materialized in his grip!
With a swing, a coiling dragon followed!
Tartaglia's figure flickered.
Without warning, he appeared behind Morax.
"Have you seen my crown?"
A thrust of the spear!
The coiling dragon opened its maw, as if to swallow Morax whole!
"Hmph, amusing."
Golden patterns shimmered around Morax's body, forming a shield.
Boom!
The terrifying force struck the shield.
Ripples spread across its surface, and at the point of impact, cracks began to form.
Whoosh—
A fierce gale erupted.
Layers of waves were churned up.
The night sea was now a tempest of wind and rain.
Two terrifying auras clashed in the sky.
Too far away.
For Klee, all she felt was a gust of wind.
She could barely make out a red light and a golden light colliding in the distance, soaring into the clouds, then plunging back into the sea...
Beneath Guyun Pavilion.
Boom!
The overwhelming aura reached this place.
That familiar, terrifying power...
Osial's heart pounded.
There was no doubt—this aura belonged to Morax!
He was still alive!
Still as powerful as ever!
Osial could hardly breathe.
It had thought that, no matter how strong Morax was, He would eventually erode and weaken over time, just like the stone spears that pinned it down.
But now, the truth was deafening.
It didn't dare leak even a trace of its own aura, afraid that Morax would remember it, notice that the spears holding it had been corroded by the sea, and decide to impale it with another one...
Boom!
Osial could sense the terrifying waves being stirred up.
It was the explosion of immense power on the sea's surface.
Osial was terrified.
It wanted to flee, but pinned down as it was, escape was impossible.
Fear gripped its heart.
This feeling was nothing short of torture.
"Seems like the one down there is trembling in fear," Venti teased without restraint.
"Probably afraid of getting speared again, right?"
Lu Heng thought for a moment. After experiencing such terrifying power, Osial probably wouldn't dare attack Liyue Harbor even if the seal broke.
Its only thought would be to run—as far away from Liyue as possible!
"Hey, what if we let the old man pretend to lose and fall, then release Osial, only for him to appear in full power right in front of it? What do you think?"
"You..."
"You're really a saint, aren't you?"
That would scare Osial out of its wits!
"Haha!"
As he laughed, Venti turned his head. "Oh, an acquaintance is here."
A streak of black-tinged cyan light approached swiftly.
A short, tattooed young man—only slightly taller than Klee—appeared and clasped his hands toward Venti.
"Lord Barbatos, who is fighting against the Emperor?" Xiao asked urgently.
He had been at Wangshu Inn.
After sensing the aura of a god, he had rushed to investigate.
But just as he set out, the godly aura vanished without a trace.
He was determined to check, but halfway there, he sensed two terrifying auras already clashing.
He immediately recognized that it was Rex Lapis battling someone, so he sped over and saw Venti laughing heartily atop Guyun Pavilion.
"It's you. No need to panic," Venti waved his hand. "Just a spar, not a fight to the death."
"I see."
Xiao relaxed slightly.
The other aura was incredibly strong—far beyond his level!
But from the subtle fluctuations in the auras, he could tell it wasn't a life-or-death battle!
When had such a powerful being appeared in the world?
Xiao was puzzled, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. Venti was already speaking to him:
"Come, let me introduce you to a truly great figure—someone even greater than your old man!"
"This is Lu Heng, owner of the Card Shop. You can call him Mr. Lu."
Xiao clasped his hands. "Greetings, Mr. Lu."
"Hello. Have a seat, have some tea," Lu Heng offered.
Venti grinned. "This is Klee, the Spark Knight of Mondstadt, Alice's daughter. I brought her to Liyue for fun."
"Hello, big brother~"
Klee gave an adorable smile.
"Hello," Xiao nodded.
Then, he noticed the Crimson Calamity Toad in Klee's hands and felt his heart skip a beat.
What in the world is that thing?
"Don't worry, it's Tartaglia's pet toad," Venti said cheerfully. "Since you came from that direction, you must have been investigating the unfamiliar godly aura, right? Well, it came from this little guy."
Xiao fell silent for a moment.
Lu Heng looked into the distance and remarked, "Seems like more people are coming."
Venti raised an eyebrow. "The whole gang's here?"
"Mr. Lu, Lord Barbatos, I'll take my leave now to inform the other adepti, lest they act without knowing the situation."
Xiao stood, clasped his hands, and vanished to intercept the arriving adepti.
"Guyun Pavilion is lively tonight."
And not just Guyun Pavilion.
The terrifying commotion had already reached Liyue Harbor.
Ningguang, who had just fallen asleep, was awakened again.
Rex Lapis appeared every year to deliver divine prophecies, so Ningguang was familiar with His aura.
"Who is the Emperor fighting?!" Keqing rushed in anxiously. "Ganyu has already gone to assist. Should we mobilize the—"
"Don't panic," Ningguang waved her hand.
"A battle of this magnitude—no number of Millelith would be enough."
"Besides, judging by the scale... haven't you noticed there's not even a ripple near the harbor? We just need to be ready to evacuate the citizens if—"
"No need."
A voice came from the roof of the Jade Chamber.
"The Emperor is merely sparring. There's no need for alarm."
Such a terrifying commotion... just a spar?!
"The era of the Archon War... what kind of horrifying scene must that have been?" Keqing murmured in awe, her heart still racing.
To protect Liyue for 3,700 years... Rex Lapis had weathered storms far worse than this!
Truly worthy of her admiration!
"It's hard to believe someone who worships the Emperor so much would still insist on human governance," Ningguang mused.
"You wouldn't understand even if I explained!"
Keqing couldn't be bothered to argue about her ideals.
Ningguang wasn't offended by her cold attitude and instead asked leisurely, "Tell me, is part of your insistence on human rule because you think the Emperor has worked tirelessly all these years and deserves to retire and live a peaceful life?"
Huh?
If you put it that way... then I'll stick to my ideals even more firmly!
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T/N:
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