What Ryen said made a lot of sense, and after a moment of internal struggle, Zhongli agreed.
Liyue was indeed very powerful now, possessing enough strength to face, and even suppress, Archons.
However, only Ningguang and the others in the MC world truly understood this.
Who in Teyvat knew the truth?
At best, people just thought the Millelith had become much stronger and could easily handle monsters.
But if it came to dealing with beings like Archons, not even the people of Liyue believed that.
To suppress an Archon, it had to be done by another Archon.
Even if Liyue could now handle such threats without Zhongli, the people of Liyue and Teyvat were unaware of that.
Zhongli's existence remained the last line of defense for Liyue—at least, openly.
Until Liyue's true strength was fully revealed to the world, Zhongli still had to play the role of the people's guardian.
Of course, from Ryen's point of view...
As long as Zhongli didn't announce a complete "fake death," the stability of Liyue would remain mostly intact.
And it wouldn't impact the development of the MC world either.
Ryen needed a stable, long-term partner nation to co-develop the MC world, and among the Seven Nations, Liyue was the best choice.
Seeing Zhongli's somewhat helpless expression, Ryen chuckled:
"Why are you so obsessed with faking your death and disappearing? If you just announce your abdication and return Liyue to its people, whether you're 'dead' or not doesn't really matter anymore."
"From now on, your existence is just a psychological safety net for the people."
"Even if an Archon attacks again, Liyue can solve it on its own. After doing that a few times, you'll just be a spiritual symbol—they won't rely on you for everything anymore."
"Just be a mascot, Zhongli."
Zhongli smiled slightly, took a sip of tea, and replied with a touch of amusement:
"A mascot? Very well… I'll follow your advice…"
"But the people of Liyue need not worship me. Their faith lies in Liyue itself—this land and its civilization."
"Besides, for this upcoming Archon-level threat, we should raise the difficulty a bit."
As he spoke, a hint of pride lit up Zhongli's eyes.
"With Liyue's current power, Osial alone won't stir up much trouble."
"Xiao, clad in enchanted armor, having drunk alchemical potions and empowered by beacon enhancements, could easily suppress Osial on his own."
"If you include the redstone cannons on the Jade Chamber… Osial won't make a splash at all."
"That doesn't meet my standards for a proper test."
Ryen gave him a sidelong look and said sarcastically:
"So what now? You plan to release Azhdaha too? Are you trying to destroy Liyue or what?"
Zhongli shook his head helplessly.
"Though that would be the ultimate test, Azhdaha holds special meaning for me. I wouldn't insult him like that."
Ryen rolled his eyes, unsure how to respond.
Not insult him?
This guy buried Azhdaha upside down for hundreds of years, and not long ago even flew over to the Fulong Tree just to bomb his butt.
That's not insulting?
Or was that just a friendly 'hello' between old pals?
Zhongli clearly understood what Ryen was thinking and his face darkened slightly as he said calmly:
"Objectively speaking, Azhdaha spoke out of turn. I merely helped him clear his head."
"Yeah, whatever you say."
Ryen shrugged and chuckled softly:
"So you want to increase the pressure on Liyue—got a target in mind? Any other sealed Archons around?"
"Maybe near Qingce Village?"
Zhongli shook his head.
"The one sealed near Qingce is just a remnant soul of a god, not even a threat. But there is someone in the sea close to Archon-level strength."
"Beisht ?"
Ryen immediately understood, shaking his head with a meaningful look at Zhongli.
This old dragon… not only petty, but deviously evil.
It wasn't enough that he sent the husband to die, now he's dragging the wife into it too?
Is this really just a grudge from being single for over six thousand years against happily married Archons?
"An Archon and an Archon-level familiar… perfect candidates for this Liyue trial, don't you think?"
Zhongli ignored Ryen's disdainful expression and asked calmly.
"Up to you. It's your test after all."
Ryen withdrew his gaze, once again mourning his involuntary celibate days.
As for Zhongli's plan to stir up Beisht too…
Did he think redstone cannons were a joke?
Even Archons couldn't cause trouble under that kind of firepower—what could an Archon-level minion do?
Even if Beisht was strong, could she, like Osial, recover endlessly just by staying in the ocean?
By then, the Jade Chamber would descend, beacons activated, and alchemically enhanced light infantry would hold the ports.
Guaranteed—no sea monster would even get near the shore.
Those Millelith soldiers, after all the enhancements, were practically bursting with energy, itching for a fight.
A sea monster invasion would be the perfect chance to let off steam.
As for Osial and Beisht in the sea…
Either they get bombarded continuously by redstone cannons, or just get blanketed with RPG rocket fire.
Forget regeneration.
Ningguang might even want to see if Osial can recover faster than she can bomb him.
Worst case, she could blast for a whole day and night—there's no shortage of TNT, and block mechanics could help with replication.
And if even that fails…
Below the Jade Chamber, there's a magma pool sealed with obsidian blocks.
They could bombard and pour magma at the same time.
If Osial could withstand magma, Ryen would personally salute him as a real man.
"You'd probably personally help Osial onto Celestia, punch the Sustainer straight into the sky, and declare Osial the third throne."
This was still that Heaven-Piercing Dragon Slayer Cannon that Ningguang kept thinking about, but Ryen never built it for her.
Otherwise, Ningguang might've been out every day actively looking for archons to fight.
After a moment of silence, Zhongli couldn't help but think of Liyue's current hard power.
The alchemy potions and enchanted weapons out in the open.
The redstone technology and strategic enhancement beacons hidden on the Jade Chamber.
The hundreds of Qianyan soldiers armed with firearms stationed in the Minecraft world, and the hundred RPGs stored away...
All in all, the strength was terrifying.
The things he and Ryen once discussed while sitting in the Minecraft villa—Liyue was gradually realizing them step by step.
Fighting archons was no longer something Liyue needed to worry about.
Ningguang didn't even see archon invasions as a threat anymore.
What she was thinking about now...
Was the great undertaking of standing as an equal against Celestia.
"Just over two months..."
Zhongli sighed softly.
"I spent 3,700 years to make Liyue stand tall in Teyvat, and after meeting you, just two months was enough for Liyue to reach this point..."
"So you feel a little lost?" Ryen teased with a smile.
"Lost? Not really." Zhongli shook his head gently.
"It's just... I'm more convinced than ever that a Liyue governed by humans is far stronger than the one I once ruled."
"If only you had arrived in Teyvat earlier... perhaps many would still be..."
His gaze dimmed slightly.
Back during the Archon War, if Ryen had been around, Liyue wouldn't have had to pay such a bloody price. So many old friends wouldn't have fallen in vain.
Just the Totem of Undying alone would've been enough for Zhongli to maintain his full power and win that battle.
As Liyue grew stronger by the day, Zhongli mourned the past more deeply with each passing moment.
Maybe this was the only thing that made him feel sorrow in his quiet retirement.
Ryen sighed.
"I wasn't going to bring this up to you... it felt too far off in the future."
"But watching you sulk around like a resentful housewife every day, tsk..."
Shaking his head, Ryen said with meaning:
"If you have time, maybe go look for the remnants of your old friends' souls. I believe, with how strong adepti and archon souls are, something must remain."
Zhongli froze. After a moment, his eyes lit up. For someone usually so composed, his tone actually had a rare hint of excitement.
"You mean... a mod?!"
Ryen simply smiled and took a sip of tea.
"Did you ever imagine a world where the Totem of Undying exists?"
"Did you ever imagine one where Dragon Knights could be cultivated en masse?"
"Did you ever imagine a world that could be completely controlled by a single person?"
Zhongli's heart calmed. His face lit up with joy.
"Then... how can I be certain that no mod exists with the power to bring someone back?"
Ryen said no more.
This was basically painting a pie in the sky for Zhongli.
But Ryen wasn't one to make empty promises. Anything he said, he meant to fulfill.
Like the flower carriage and Sanctuary of Surasthana he promised Nahida.
Like telling Zhongli that Liyue no longer needed his protection.
All of it had been achieved...
But when it came to resurrection, Ryen couldn't think of any mods that could do it—at least not yet.
He had originally planned to wait until the right mods became available and test them.
Unfortunately, Zhongli, now with nothing to do, reminisced about his old friends almost every single day.
Whether it was while drinking tea or fishing with Ryen.
Like a full-blown grieving widow, giving Ryen a constant headache.
So, he gave Zhongli a big dream—for now. Hopefully it'd stop him from becoming the male version of Aunt Xianglin.
Zhongli originally wanted to ask more, but the sound of light footsteps came from outside.
So he held back.
After all, Ryen had always followed through on his words.
Zhongli didn't mind waiting a bit longer.
Time might wear down his powers, but he still had plenty left...
The door creaked open slightly, and Hu Tao poked her head in playfully.
Spotting Ryen, she instantly beamed.
"Heehee! Ryen! I knew you'd be sitting here zoning out!"
Ryen rolled his eyes.
"Zhongli was the one who dragged me into zoning out. I've got a ton of stuff to do."
Zhongli wouldn't let that slide, and said calmly:
"For example?"
Ryen fell silent.
Hu Tao didn't care about his excuse. She bounced in, grabbed Ryen's arm, and chirped:
"Come on, come on! Stop zoning out! It's rare that there's nothing to do in that world. Let's go stroll around Liyue!"
"Aren't you tired of sitting around here every day?"
Ryen didn't refuse. He had been in Liyue for a while now, and truthfully hadn't spent much time exploring Liyue Harbor.
Since everything in the Minecraft world was stable for the moment, and Ganyu was busy, he might as well take a break and have some fun with Hu Tao.
He got up, looked at Zhongli, and asked softly:
"You staying here, or heading over to that world?"
Wow, he didn't even mention bringing him along.
Zhongli pursed his lips and said with a faint sigh:
"Can't I go out with you two?"
The moment he finished, Ryen and Hu Tao both turned and gave him a death glare.
Zhongli shook his head inwardly, then pointed to the portal.
"Looks like you're not shutting that portal down anytime soon. I'll stay here and keep watch."
Hu Tao gave him an approving look and grinned:
"Thanks for your hard work, Zhongli!"
Then, without another word, she grabbed Ryen by the arm and cheerfully pulled him out.
Zhongli sighed quietly.
Hu Tao had grown up after all—she now had the heart of a young woman.
But still...
"You didn't even pretend to be polite to me..."
An intense wave of single-dragon resentment burst from Zhongli.
"You didn't even say 'bring me some jade'..."
~~----------------------
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