"Not good!"
Su Ming watched Osial's condition and realized something was wrong.
Things had gone south. He had hit far too hard and accidentally turned the giant octopus into octopus sashimi!
As Osial's aura rapidly weakened, a powerful sense of crisis surged in Su Ming's heart.
"Damn! You're so fragile! And you call yourself a God?"
Heaven have mercy; if Osial still had a breath left in him, he would have crawled out to curse Su Ming's ancestors. He would have asked, Look at your strength and then look at mine!
Furthermore, Osial's power was mostly suppressed by the seal, and he couldn't even dodge. He could only sit there like a giant training dummy while Su Ming dumped a massive amount of damage into him until he was "dead."
Su Ming cursed under his breath, but his movements didn't slow down for a second.
Sensing that Osial was about to kick the bucket and trigger a Deathrattle, every cell in Su Ming's body surged with activity. To prevent any accidents, Su Ming first erupted with Golden Body Protection, then layered on two more shields using frost power and magic.
Having stacked three layers of shields, backed by his powerful physique and the elemental immunity provided by his Dragon Factor, Su Ming braced himself for the first wave of the explosion caused by the scattering Authority of a dying God.
The expected massive explosion didn't happen.
However, Su Ming still noticed a change in himself.
The ice armor covering his outermost layer instantly turned into a cloud of water vapor upon touching the dissipating Authority, melting away into nothingness.
His second layer of defensethe magical armor created with manaworked in tandem with the Golden Body Protection to successfully neutralize the subsequent damage.
Even so, Su Ming couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
The commotion caused by the scattering of a God's Authority wasn't massive; in fact, it was almost silent. But the crisis and eeriness hidden within were far more heart-pounding than a simple explosion.
If he hadn't possessed enough defensive measures, he might have been taken down with Osial in a one-for-one trade... though it was hard to say for sure. Who knew if the elemental resistance from his Dragon Factor would have worked against such a thing?
Of course, he had no desire to use his own body to test something so bizarre.
In that moment, Su Ming thought of Sal Terrae and the people who had been caught in the scattering Authority of Havria, the God of Salt. Every single one of them had been turned into salt statues without exceptiontransformed from living beings into cold, lifeless pillars of salt.
Just as Su Ming was pondering how to handle the aftermath, the person responsible for cleaning up the mess finally appeared.
A dark golden light radiated from the docks of Liyue Harbor, spreading across the distant sea in an instant. This spreading golden light blocked the scattering Authority of the dying Osial and forced it back down beneath the seal.
"Rex Lapis!"
Upon seeing this golden light and the power contained within, the Adepti atop the Jade Chamber cried out in shock.
"What!?" Keqing and Ningguang were also stunned.
Ningguang, in particular, hurriedly looked at Cloud Retainer, who was closest to her, and asked, "Adeptus, did you say this is the power of Rex Lapis? But isn't the Emperor..."
Madame Ping, who had long ago discerned part of the truth, stepped forward with a chuckle. "It seems the Emperor finally couldn't bear to keep watching."
"Though I do not know what he intended to achieve by faking his death, it is clear that this game is over."
Ganyu looked at Madame Ping in surprise. "Madame Ping, you knew?! Then why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"The old gentleman had his reasons for such a plan. Even if I saw through it, I could not expose it," Madame Ping smiled. "Of course, now that he has appeared personally, it no longer matters."
Moon Carver looked at the disintegrating form of Osial and sighed with emotion. "Who would have thought... who would have thought?"
"Osial couldn't force the Emperor out while he was alive, but his death actually drew him out." Xiao was in a great mood, even offering a rare bit of banter. However, since his injuries hadn't fully healed, he began to cough violently after speaking and was forced to step aside.
Cloud Retainer laughed as well. "If the Emperor hadn't been worried about the risk of the Authority scattering upon Osial's death back then, he would have slaughtered him on the spot. Why would he have left him until now?"
"Tell me, if Su Ming's move hadn't killed Osial but only suppressed him back into the seal, would the Emperor have come out?" Moon Carver asked.
Mountain Shaper chuckled. "Who knows? But I suspect the old gentleman wouldn't have jumped out quite so soon."
Cloud Retainer sighed with appreciation. "I never imagined... the disciple I took in years ago on a sudden whim would actually help Liyue survive such a disaster today."
"Though the conclusion wasn't quite perfect, Liyue's losses would have been far greater without him."
Knowing that Rex Lapis was still alive had clearly improved the moods of the Adepti. With the crisis resolved, the various Adepti began chatting warmly like ordinary people.
They looked just like...
Just like the old uncles and aunts at a village entrance.
Lumine was also very happy. If the Geo Archon wasn't dead, didn't that mean she could ask him some questions? However, she was still curious about when Madame Ping had guessed the truth.
Just as she was about to ask, she heard a sound behind her.
Whoosh!
While everyone was talking, Su Ming returned to the Jade Chamber. Because he had rushed to block Osial's scattering Authority, he looked a bit disheveled. The churning seawater had soaked his hair. His normally smooth, long hair now looked like a tangled mess of seaweed.
Su Ming lifted the damp hair plastered to his forehead and laughed. "Yo, everyone's chatting?"
"Perfect timing. Since everything is settled, let's head back to Liyue Harbor."
"By the way, let's see if Rex Lapis has any other arrangements."
Lumine heard this and asked, "You knew Rex Lapis wasn't dead too?"
Su Ming smiled. "Of course. Didn't I tell you? The Emperor and I get along quite well."
Then, Su Ming leaned in and whispered into Lumine's ear, "Besides... you've already met him many times. Don't you remember?"
...
"If you want to ask the Emperor questions, once the Jade Chamber returns to Liyue Harbor, head straight to Northland Bank. He's right there."
Lumine looked up in shock. By this point, she had already formed a theory about who the Emperor living among them was. It was just that the conclusion was so explosive that she found it a bit hard to accept.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course, as serious as it gets!"
Sensing Su Ming's reaction, the other Adepti began to crowd around and ask questions.
"Su Ming, did you know from the start that the Emperor faked his death?"
"Why on earth would he do such a thing?"
Facing the questions of the Adepti, Su Ming glanced at Ningguang and Keqing, beckoning them over.
"You two come over as well. I'll explain the Emperor's intentions."
Once the Qixing had approached, Su Ming began his explanation. "The reason he did this is very simple."
"He's tired."
"Six thousand years of time, three thousand seven hundred years of guardianship... even the hardest Bedrock occasionally feels weary."
"He did this only because he wanted to see if Liyue was ready to leave the side of the Gods."
"That's why he set up this faked death, throwing Liyue's stable situation into chaos to see if the Adepti could set aside their grievances and defend against foreign enemies alongside the Qixing at a critical moment."
"He also wanted to see if the people of Liyue still possessed the courage of their ancestorsthe courage to protect their home without fear of death, even without a God."
"I don't know how the Emperor sees it, but in my eyes, your actions have at least passed the test."
"Now that the Adepti and the Qixing have passed, the Emperor will step down from his divine throne and hand the governance of Liyue over to mortals."
"As for himself... he will likely choose to wander amidst the mountains and waters of Liyue, or perhaps linger in the marketplace, leisurely enjoying the life of a mortal."
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