Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

The entire Mount Aozang was quiet.

Every student who was paying attention stared so intently their eyes were almost dry, while those who hadn't initially noticed the situation realized what was happening through the gazes of others and remained silent, wondering what was going on.

Starting at ten meters, it takes 1.5 seconds, which is just a fleeting moment.

Alice lay on the grass, staring in disbelief at the little one riding on her neck, legs pressed against her shoulders, and a tiny bottom perched on her soft, high breasts. Shen Liang looked down at her, still wearing that cute but now irritating smile.

"I refuse to accept this!!!"

The fight was completely pointless. She barely saw Shen Liang's movements before being knocked down, and it wasn't a sneak attack, but a proper frontal takedown! Her physical strength, honed over thousands of years, was utterly useless against this ten-year-old child. Shen Liang even thoughtfully placed her around the neck when he knocked her down, so that the first thing to hit the ground was actually Shen Liang's calf behind her head. This meant that Shen Liang was worried that the sudden movement might cause her head to bump or hurt itself!

Alice felt extremely humiliated. To prevent her from getting hurt, Shen Liang seemed not to care that in this impactful posture, her face happened to hit a strange and annoying spot!

“Iron Shirt didn’t work, there’s no problem.” Liu Yun looked helplessly at Alice, who was pointing at Shen Liang’s nose and questioning him loudly. “He didn’t use physical abilities that exceeded the limits of ordinary people, Teacher Ai, I’ve been watching him closely.”

The previous chapter has been revised; the wrong manuscript was sent.

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Chapter 71 This is how the Shen family greets each other!

Probably no one would believe that Shen Liang, who is not even twenty years old, could defeat a great witch head-on based solely on martial arts skills.

Martial arts skills are something that really need to be learned. You can't ignore objective conditions just because you're of noble race. After Shen Liang knocked Alice down, his gaze still swept over the others.

Every student who was swept over quickly lowered their head, except for Rosalind, who looked over excitedly with eager eyes.

At least this should change the opinion of your bunch of idiot classmates.

[Sister Yu Tu, you mustn't swear.]

I always feel you should look around and then shout loudly, "Who else?!"

[...Are you using some kind of meme I've never heard of before?]

[Such a beautiful white-haired loli, just because she's Prince Inazuma and enjoys some special treatment, you've isolated her to this extent? Is there no justice? Is there no law? Even your Rock God has to give face to our Castle Keep, otherwise he wouldn't be the Emperor. Don't you even recognize me?]

How come you're still playing it?

【Hehe.】

When Mistelin is bored, she usually plays some lame jokes that Shen Liang doesn't understand, and then she'll go to the trouble of explaining which movie they're from. But to be honest, the most boring thing is that lame jokes need to be explained.

As for Alice's request for a rematch, Shen Liang wouldn't pay any attention to her. Anyway, she was still being ridden on his neck. As long as she didn't admit defeat, he would keep riding her and see who would lose face.

Then he pinched Alice's elf ears.

Alice's fair face instantly turned red. Shen Liang saw her expression, which turned shy almost instantly, and his lips twitched. "You're not going to say something like ears are erogenous zones or sacred parts with beautiful symbolic meanings for your race, and that touching them means taking responsibility, to trick me into joining your idol group, are you?"

"How do you know so much! You're infuriating!" Alice roared in anger.

"After all, I have plenty of experience dealing with older women who act cute and charming but are actually cunning and treacherous."

"He's been through countless battles."

"No, not at all, I've just seen it a lot."

While they were chatting, someone stepped into the training ground on the mountaintop and stood next to Liu Yun Jie Feng.

"It seems Your Highness has quite the leisure time," Fa Nan said casually.

Liu Yun glanced at her and noticed that she wasn't wearing the scaly swimsuit that tightly hugged her delicate body. Instead, she had changed into an outfit similar to a cheongsam, with dark blue stockings wrapped inside. Compared to her wartime attire, she looked much more demure.

"Is the matter of Mi Nu finished?" Liu Yun asked.

“Third Brother was a free spirit. He said that there was no need to erect a monument or statue after his death. His body should just be burned and thrown into the mountains.” Fanan said in a low voice, “Since I have executed him with my own hands, I have also fulfilled his wish with my own hands.”

"That's it."

"got used to."

Liu Yun opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. She was actually quite eloquent among the immortals, but she had personally discovered Mi Nu, and in a sense, she was the one directly responsible for Mi Nu's death. She wanted to comfort Fanan, but every immortal knew that the Yakshas would eventually meet their end. Since they had already disregarded life and death, why bother listening to her advice?

On the contrary, it will annoy the Yakshas.

The immortals of Liyue all feel guilty towards the Yaksha race. Because of their power, the Yaksha bore the most dangerous task among the immortals: exorcising evil spirits. And for this very reason, they are the only race still on the verge of extinction after the Demon God War. The Yaksha race may have made a pact with the Geo Archon without regret, but who could truly bear to watch them perish?

If you are powerless to do anything, you can only remain silent.

"When Third Brother was alive, he lived a life of debauchery and had many female companions. Although this made Yingda and me somewhat uncomfortable, Third Brother said that life is good, so we should enjoy it while we can. I think that when Third Brother gradually became unrestrained, it meant that he was gradually realizing that his karmic burdens were about to become unbearable. In fact, even Yakshas can sense their own death, and we should have realized Third Brother's changes long ago. He actually... wanted to leave something behind before he died. But in the end, he was the most reserved 'Yan'. He hid himself too well and didn't want us to feel grief and anger."

Liu Yun stood on the rock, watching the new students fighting in the training ground, but his mind was only on Fa Nan's words.

Did he want to leave behind... descendants?

"The Yaksha clan is declining in numbers, who wouldn't want more successors? But there's a universal truth: the stronger a life form, the lower its reproductive capacity," Vanan said softly. "The Philosophy Academy said so."

"Man is born weak and supple, but dies strong and hard. Grass and trees are born tender and fragile, but die withered and dry. Therefore, the strong and hard are companions of death." Liu Yun knew what she meant and repeated it, "Those professors believe that the more advanced and complex the life forms, the easier it is for them to perish; while the more primitive and simple the species, the longer they exist. Just like how a person needs a lot of utensils to eat a meal, such as lighting a fire, setting up a pot, making bowls, peeling skin, roasting meat, and pouring sauce, but the primitive humans of ten thousand years ago could kill wild animals, eat them raw, drink their blood, and devour them alive without any problem. Grass, trees, and insects existed on the continent of Teyvat before humans and gods even opened their eyes, and if one day the earth is wiped out and life is devastated, humans and gods will die, but grass, trees, and insects will surely survive."

“This is actually the punishment that Heaven and Earth give to those in high positions.” Fa Nan stared at Shen Liang’s adorable appearance as she swayed back and forth on the Great Witch. “Those in high positions are bound to commit murder and be entangled in karmic obstacles, so they will not die a good death and will not be able to enjoy family happiness.”

Liu Yun instinctively wanted to refute this statement. As a cultured person, she had probably read far more ancient texts than Fa Nan, so she naturally had a different understanding. In fact, the Ji Palace wasn't without theoretical speculation about the axiom that the stronger a life form is, the more difficult it is to maintain itself.

Liu Yun and Chen Zhi Mo Shen Gui Zhong debated this philosophical proposition, and their final conclusion was that the more powerful a life form is, the more resources it needs to sustain itself. For example, sheep only need grass, while tigers need to eat sheep. Therefore, tigers cannot reproduce indiscriminately because they cannot guarantee that they will always be able to catch sheep. Sheep, on the other hand, can reproduce indiscriminately because, in most cases, there is enough grass to eat.

This is a food chain where the strong devour the weak. Those who stand higher in the chain are naturally less able to withstand risks, since resources are limited. Life forms that require more resources are both stronger and more vulnerable.

But just as Liu Yun was about to speak, she suddenly realized that what Fa Nan said was just a different way of describing things; the essence of the matter was actually the same as what she wanted to say.

Those at the top of the food chain... are the ones who have committed countless atrocities. Tigers want to eat sheep, and humans want to conquer land and exterminate even more lives.

Those who live at the top of the food chain inevitably build their castles on piles of bones.

“But in the end, Third Brother never fulfilled even a fraction of his dreams. I visited several of Third Brother’s closest sisters-in-law in Liyue Harbor. Third Brother was always keeping relatives outside, but none of them were pregnant… Third Brother’s lineage has also been completely cut off.” Fanan said in a low voice, “The Yaksha clan has lost another pillar of its incense.”

Heaven intends to exterminate the Yaksha clan.

Liu Yun, being a celestial being with considerable medical skills, knew that karmic burdens entering the body could only prolong life and were utterly incurable. The fact that the Rock Yaksha, with the deepest connection to the earth, had passed away first foreshadowed the imminent demise of the other four celestial yakshas. She was powerless to help and knew nothing to say.

Fanan remained standing there quietly, her bare legs, encased only in dark blue stockings, resting on the mountainside. She kept her head down, silent for a long time, her long eyelashes trembling, her gaze fixed on the handsome white-haired boy, his slightly closed eyes seemingly overflowing with tenderness.

"He still seems like a playful child, but His Highness is already very well-developed."

The sentence was so abrupt and unrelated that Liu Yun had no idea what it meant.

"It's not a matter of whether Princess Liang is developing well or not. Considering the lifespan of a demon god, he hasn't even started developing at this age. Look at him, he's so flat you can't see any lines. If you cover his face and say this is the back, there's no problem at all."

Fa Nan smiled faintly, "True Lord Liu Yun is right. I've heard that Sister Gan Yu is currently sharing a room with His Highness? By the way, it seems that Sister Gan Yu has known His Highness for a long time. It's said that she held him when he was an infant?"

"Yes."

"Is that so?" Fa Nan said, changing the subject. "If my death is not far off, I hope Sister Gan Yu can turn a blind eye. I have never loved anyone in my life, but if I can exchange this broken body for the noblest offspring, it would be much better than just settling for someone before I die."

She suddenly smiled slightly, "After all, my daughter would be even more radiant and lovely than me. I don't pursue a love that is earth-shattering; as long as it is like that, I will have no regrets."

Liu Yun was stunned, pondering the meaning behind her words. Normally, Fa Nan wouldn't be a riddle teller; she doesn't mince words. She didn't know what was wrong with her today.

"Is it strange? If Fanan is ultimately beyond saving, shouldn't she do something she won't regret? I don't want to end up like Third Brother Mi Nu, having lived a meaningless life." Fanan, her feet clad only in long socks, lightly leaped across the grass to Shen Liang, casually drawing a sword and staring at him. "Your Highness, bullying women is no skill. Would you like to see if Fanan's swordsmanship is sharp?"

Shen Liang was overjoyed when he saw the familiar figure. "Sister Fanan!" he exclaimed. He immediately got up and went to greet Fanan. He then hugged Xiaoyuer's waist, looked up, and gave her a smile that suited his age. The smile was pure and without any evil intentions.

A sense of joy welled up in his heart as he faced the difficulties.

Although I often secretly curse this little rascal for being willful and eccentric, Shen Liang is indeed likable most of the time precisely because even his willfulness is incredibly endearing. With that bright and clean smile, no one could possibly get angry in front of him. Even if you know his naiveté stems from his completely abnormal social concepts, even if he's holding you with the thought of taking you to bed in his mind, he can still smile innocently and carefree.

Because in his mind, he just wants you to enjoy a happy lifestyle with him, without any malice, naturally clean and lovely.

"Does your Inazuma social etiquette dictate that people who like each other can greet each other with a kiss?" Watanabe asked with a smile.

She deliberately confused the definitions of "romantic liking" with "ordinary liking".

Shen Liang hummed in agreement, then looked somewhat puzzled. "However, it seems that the customs in Liyue are different from ours. Sister Fanan seems quite angry."

Of course, it's different from what I've said. Inazuma doesn't actually have a custom of "just liking each other as friends and kissing"! What an outrageous custom that is! You were just fooled by those great demons, okay? How else would they make you willingly or even actively be with them if they didn't deceive you like that!

“It’s not that I’m angry, it’s just that we weren’t 'friends' yet back then,” Fanan said gently.

Shen Liang tilted his head. "Have we arrived yet?"

"Well, we've known each other for a long time now. I quite like Your Highness, I wonder if Your Highness likes Fanan in return?"

It's still a misleading definition, and it's hard to know what Shen Liang's answer will be.

"I like it." Shen Liang has always been an honest child.

Fanan's gaze softened further, and she barely realized that her tone had begun to become somewhat... seductive.

She bit her lip, still speaking in a very low voice, a voice that others couldn't hear.

“Then, Fanan can also respect Inazuma’s customs. Since we are all good friends who like each other, Princess, please treat me the way Inazuma likes you would…” Fanan couldn’t believe she dared to say such a thing. Her face was burning hot, but she still suppressed her shame and smiled faintly. “I also want to experience… exotic customs.”

[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, baby, don't go near her! She's so good at this, she's trying to lead you astray! Baby, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?! I don't believe you can't sense something's wrong!]

[Shut up, Feather Rabbit! You're not allowed to speak ill of such a wonderful girl as Fa Nan! She's my friend, my first friend in Liyue. What's wrong with that?]

[Any woman who would condone your twisted social habits is already extremely suspicious!]

But Mistelin knew she couldn't make Shen Liang realize something was wrong, because he probably thought this was normal. That's how the friendships that the great demons like Inazuma had instilled in him were! How can you call someone a good friend if they're not stuffed with so much stuff they can't even utter a word?

Shen Liang stood on tiptoe.

Fa Nan bent down slightly to cooperate, even though Fa Nan wasn't much taller than Shen Liang; their heights were actually quite well-matched. If it were a tall beauty like Ling Shan Fang, who was over two meters tall, she would have had to lift him up to kiss him.

Shen Liang tentatively pecked the corner of her lips.