On Yujing Terrace, Zhongli and Lumine stood before the ceremonial offering table, with Ningguang and the adepti waiting silently to the side. In the distance, from a nearby pavilion, Ryen and the others watched on.
The Rite of Parting for the Immortal marked the final act in this grand drama. There was still a scene involving Venti coming up.
With Hu Tao and Ganyu leaning on either side of him, and Nahida and Klee sitting on his lap, Ryen was enjoying the full blessings of a "harem of beauties." But despite his surroundings, his heart was feeling... complicated.
Zhongli… This guy was truly operating outside the bounds of normalcy.
In the Rite of Descension, he killed himself. In the Rite of Parting, he was now offering tribute to himself. Every part of the ceremony was something he had to do himself—the definition of self-reliance~!
Soon, the Yujing Terrace became packed with most of Liyue's population. Many foreigners had also arrived. Even Tartaglia and Rosalyne were hidden away in a corner, closely observing Zhongli and the others.
The Cryo Archon had already entered Liyue's borders and was currently making her way on foot. Though she was a god too, she wasn't a founding Archon, and didn't have as close a relationship with Zhongli as Venti did. Naturally, she didn't dare violate Zhongli's contracts by using divine power to speed up her journey within Liyue.
Still, keeping in contact with Rosalyne and Tartaglia was fine. After all, the two of them had been sent by the Cryo Archon to attend this ceremony.
Otherwise, you'd have to kill them before they'd leave the Northland Bank before her arrival.
Compared to the Rite of Descension, today's Rite of Parting was far more solemn and heavy. The people of Liyue looked around and saw that all the adepti were present—except for the Geo Archon.
That only made the ominous feelings in their hearts grow stronger.
Even though they had defeated a Demon God with nothing but mortal strength just yesterday and achieved a historic victory, they still couldn't shake off the fear and sorrow over the Geo Archon's possible passing.
No one knew how much time had passed, but eventually, Zhongli scanned the crowd and saw that nearly all of Liyue had gathered. Only then did he nod to Ningguang.
Ningguang stepped forward and faced the citizens of Liyue, her voice clear and resonant:
"Several days ago, during the Rite of Descension, the Emperor was struck by triple divine calamities and now lies grievously injured, unable to awaken—"
The moment her words fell, many Liyue citizens lowered their heads, some already weeping.
"People of Liyue, remember this: this was not the Emperor's failing. This was a trial imposed by Celestia."
At the mention of Celestia so openly and frankly, Tartaglia and Rosalyne were utterly shocked.
They had never expected Ningguang to directly name Celestia.
"What are they trying to do?!" Tartaglia suddenly felt a sense of dread. Liyue's current path was completely outside anything he could have predicted.
Even within the Fatui, only the top brass were aware of Celestia's existence—let alone the fact that the Cryo Archon was opposing it.
The ordinary Fatui members had no clue about these deeper truths.
But look at Liyue…
They didn't just want to know it themselves—they wanted the entire civilian population of Liyue to know too?
And this was all happening in the context of the Geo Archon being gravely injured. What kind of attitude would Liyue's people have toward Celestia? No need to guess.
"They want to ignite hatred toward Celestia among ordinary people!"
Tartaglia was stunned, staring at Rosalyne in disbelief. She furrowed her brow tightly and nodded.
"The Geo Archon suffering a heavenly calamity may seem like a facade to us, but the people of Liyue don't know that." "Yesterday, Ningguang and her side returned in triumph after suppressing Osial. Right now, trust in them inside Liyue Harbor is at an all-time high." "If Ningguang says this, it's obvious everyone in Liyue will believe it. And if the entire city comes to believe that the Geo Archon was harmed by Celestia…"
Rosalyne's gaze turned complex as she looked at Ningguang.
"This is their plan. They want to turn the entire world against Celestia. They're mobilizing Liyue's spirit of rebellion—to walk the path of defying Celestia!"
"That's impossible!" Tartaglia shook his head firmly.
"Celestia is far too powerful. Even Zhongli couldn't withstand it—how could he allow Ningguang and the others to drag all of Liyue into this?" "Back when the Tsaritsa negotiated with Zhongli, he firmly rejected her offer to join the rebellion against Celestia."
Rosalyne suddenly seemed to understand something and let out a soft sigh.
"That was then. This is now. What Ningguang just said… must have the Geo Archon's own approval behind it." "And if Zhongli himself has acknowledged this course of action… then there's only one possibility—they must have a trump card that makes them unafraid of Celestia!"
Seeing Tartaglia's stunned expression, Rosalyne added calmly:
"It seems our suspicions were correct. In just two months, Liyue has achieved such incredible progress. Those unusual resources... their alien nature..." "They must have made contact with another world—and all of it traces back to that man, Ryen."
"Perhaps… his identity is even more terrifying than we imagined."
"If we're bold enough to speculate—Ryen is the very reason they dare to challenge Celestia. In other words, he has the power to seriously injure—or even kill—Celestia!"
It was a bold theory, but the more they thought about it, the more it seemed like the only possible explanation.
Sure, Tartaglia was willing to admit that Liyue's current strength was not something they could afford to provoke.
But defeating a Demon God didn't necessarily mean they could threaten Celestia.
Yet Ningguang and the others were now acting completely unrestrained—so the only logical conclusion was…
Ryen holds the power to kill Celestia!
Realizing this, the two looked at each other—and both could see the excitement in the other's eyes.
Truth be told, after working under the Cryo Archon for so long, they knew her ultimate vision and supported her wholeheartedly.
They had faith in eventual success—But that faith was mostly for self-encouragement.
If they were being honest, they had never believed they had a true chance of victory.
But now, with what they saw in Liyue…
There was a real possibility—a surefire path to victory.
That was the greatest reward of all.
As long as the upcoming negotiations went smoothly, they would be stepping onto a bright, unstoppable path toward the heavens.
Ningguang glanced toward Tartaglia and Rosalyne but didn't bother acknowledging them. They weren't worth the attention.
If she was curious about anything, it was simply what Zhongli had instructed them to do.
Meanwhile, the citizens of Liyue—having heard Ningguang's announcement—were already burning with righteous fury.
Even though they didn't fully understand what Celestia was, they only needed to know one thing:
Celestia harmed their Geo Archon.
That was more than enough.
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(Note: Since the chapters have been quite short lately, I'll be posting 2Chps/day. Enjoy ;)
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