Lu Bu, the Thunder General, is my adoptive father in Genshin Impact.

Gan Yu said solemnly, "The so-called Celestial Venerable, according to his own values, has turned the peaceful Liyue into this state, which is simply unforgivable."

They walked from one hilltop to another, getting closer and closer to their target without encountering any obstacles along the way. Perhaps this was due to the immense pressure exerted by the Thousand Rock Army on the front lines, which effectively contained them.

However, the unexpected still happened.

Before a suspension bridge, a bald figure in a black robe stood motionless, as if he had been waiting for them for a long time.

"If you want to get to the Dragon Tree, you'll have to step over my dead body," Tieqi said slyly. "But unfortunately, no one in Liyue can kill me now."

Xiao Yi felt helpless. He didn't expect that this person would not lead the troops to defend the main battlefield properly, but instead went to the side road to intercept them. It seems that Tie Qi is also very familiar with the terrain around the base.

The enemy is an immortal foe. If they try to block their way and stall for time, they really won't be able to do anything. Besides, Xiao Yi's only chance to unleash his power should be used to deal with the mastermind behind the scenes, not here.

Surrounded by towering mountains and only a few suspension bridges, the path forward is extremely limited, and finding a way around it is not an easy task.

towering mountains and lofty peaks?

Just then, Xiao Yi had a sudden inspiration and came up with a solution by observing the terrain.

There's no need to defeat him; just throw him off the cliff. Even if he doesn't die, he won't be able to climb back up anytime soon.

"Lu Renjia, throw the potion in his face, try to choose a bright color." Xiao Yi said as he slowly approached Tie Qi. "As for how to kill him, leave that to me."

He deliberately didn't mention the reason for the brilliant colors, which was to obscure Ironclad's vision with the light of the elemental burst, then use the words "kill him" to provoke him and divert the bald man's attention, thereby concealing his plan to obscure the enemy's vision and push him off the cliff with the wind.

"Roar?" Tie Qi's expression gradually turned to pleasure. "Instead of retreating or taking a detour, you're walking straight towards me? Those fools you deceived think your power is so great that it breaks the rules. Have you become arrogant because of their flattery?"

"Do you remember? When we first met, you unleashed your full power, and you didn't even manage to scratch a hair on my head. You were completely unable to break through the rules of the Celestial Venerable!"

Suddenly, the purple bottle flew to the top of Tieqi's bald head and, at an unexpected angle, burst into dazzling lightning.

The moment the bald man's vision was obstructed, Xiao Yi suddenly drew his sword and activated his wind element to blow the opponent away.

Unexpectedly, things didn't go as planned. The gust of wind from the katana swept by only raised a large amount of white mist that looked like frost. Xiao Yi hurriedly retreated to get out of the range of the mist.

As the icy mist dissipated, Ironclad, covered in ice elemental armor, stood firmly on the ground. His ice boots extended outwards, freezing the nearby ground and securing him firmly, thus preventing him from being blown to the bottom of the cliff by the hurricane summoned by Xiao Yi.

Tieqi boasted gleefully, "Thunder, fire, water, ice—these are the four elemental powers that the Celestial Venerable bestowed upon me along with my immortal body. I can manipulate up to two elements at the same time, which means I can handle most unexpected events!"

"Trying to outdo me in terms of versatility? Naruto, you're far too inexperienced. Now, I'm going to unleash fire to destroy this suspension bridge and let you experience the despair of utter helplessness!"

Ironclad, covered in ice armor, launched a fireball at the suspension bridge. At the same time, Gan Yu drew her bow and aimed at the fireball, trying to hit it before the suspension bridge was destroyed. However, she hesitated and dared not launch for fear of causing an elemental reaction that would damage the suspension bridge.

At the critical moment, Lu Renjia took out a water elemental potion bottle, gritting his teeth.

"Mr. Xiao Yi, I have only one request." Lu Renjia suddenly sprinted towards Tie Qi at full speed, "Tell my daughter that her father died protecting Li Yue!"

The moment the fireball struck the suspension bridge, Lu Renjia threw himself onto Tie Qi, who was covered in ice armor. The guy, who couldn't be shaken even by the gale, naturally wouldn't fall off the cliff due to the impact.

Lu Renjia suddenly slammed a potion bottle, made from water slime and filled with concentrated water element, onto the top of Ironclad's smooth ice armor.

In an instant, the water mist dispersed, extinguishing the fire on the suspension bridge. Due to the low temperature of the surrounding environment, the water element quickly froze into ice.

As the icy fog gradually dissipated, Tieqi and Lu Renjia were frozen into a giant ice sculpture. Many icicles extended from their bodies to the ground, fixing them even more firmly in front of the bridge.

Ironclad, who was already covered in ice armor, was almost completely stuck inside the ice. Lu Renjia had only his head and one hand exposed, so he couldn't do anything at all.

In a trembling voice, he shouted, "Mr. Xiao Yi, hurry across the suspension bridge while he's frozen!"

While Gan Yu was still hesitating, Xiao Yi grabbed her hand and ran towards the suspension bridge, bypassing the large ice block formed by his companions and enemies, and sprinted across the suspension bridge to the other side.

"Aren't you going to save him?" Gan Yu shouted.

"The bigger picture is what matters, and there's no saving him anyway." Xiao Yi didn't elaborate. "He's a real man."

Xiao Yi did not explain the specific reason, but Gan Yu trusted his words completely and did not look back until she ran to the top of the mountain on the other side of the suspension bridge.

On the other side, the bald man was still yelling, "You think this can stop me? I can unleash flames that merge with frost, burn you to ashes, and then catch up with them..."

Tie Qi suddenly stopped talking. He clearly saw that Lu Renjia's right hand, which was not frozen, was holding up his middle finger with a metal pull ring stuck on it.

This was Xiao Yi's evidence that he concluded "there's no hope."

The self-destruct device wrapped in clothing on Lu Renjia's chest, the fire element potion thawed the other potions, and the buckles had been removed, with various elements mixed in the empty bottle.

"A coward my whole life, finally I've become a hero." He smiled contentedly. "Little Zhen, this is a story that your old man is playing the lead role in, personally acting out for you."

Rumble!!!

The explosion caused a landslide, breaking the suspension bridge and sending rubble and debris, including the iron stake, crashing to the bottom of the cliff.

Xiao Yi and Gan Yu didn't have time to think much and continued running towards their destination with abandon.

After running for two whole hours, with only a few tens of minutes left before the destruction of Liyue, Xiao Yi and Gan Yu were about to reach their target location, and the light of the giant nail was already very clear.

They reached the spacious mountaintop, and only needed to follow the path downhill and walk a few more steps to reach the nail.

However, the persistent ghost reappeared.

Tie Qi actually stood at the entrance to the mountain road, blocking Xiao Yi and Gan Yu's way forward.

"You didn't expect that, did you? A pair of idiots, a male and a female!" the bald man in black robes scoffed gleefully. "Back then, to make me protect the nail, the Celestial Venerable granted me the ability to teleport to the vicinity of the nail. Your companions died like fools!"

Xiao Yi clenched the purple gem on his chest. He couldn't stand this fly-like nuisance anymore. Even if he couldn't kill it, he would knock it away so it couldn't block his way anymore.

Gan Yu placed her hand on Xiao Yi's chest, pressing down on his hand that was tightly gripping the amethyst.

"Even if I knock him away, he'll teleport back. Leave it to me; I've thought of a way to eliminate him."

Having said that, Gan Yu, with a calm expression but lifeless eyes, stepped forward a few steps, deftly drew the bowstring taut, and aimed the arrow at Tie Qi, who was more than ten meters away.

The next moment, Xiao Yi saw an unfamiliar side of the usually docile Qilin: its angry side.

"My name is Gan Yu. To appease my dear friend Xiao Yizhi's anger and to allow my comrade Lu Renjia to rest in peace, I must make you atone with your death!"

"I challenge you to a duel before the Emperor!"

Chapter 150 The invincible Xiao Yi is back!

Xiao Yi understood. Gan Yu had asked him earlier if he could act as the God of Thunder because she wanted to be able to do so now.

The answer is obvious: he can, and therefore, he can also rightfully eliminate Tieqi.

The rituals concerning life and death do not necessarily have to adhere to the word "sacrifice." "Duel" also conforms to the rules of breaking the ironclad contract: Inazuma's duels in front of the emperor have a long history and are based on the Raiden General as the arbiter, so there is no need to specifically specify the location of the battle.

In other words, under the premise that Xiao Yi is acting as general, a duel can be held in front of the emperor anytime and anywhere. The outcome of the battle does not require the challenger to kill the opponent; as long as the condition of "defeating" is met, the winner can be determined.

If Gan Yu wins the duel, Xiao Yi has countless ways to punish the bald man.

However, according to the rules of the royal duel, as the referee, he cannot intervene in the battle midway, otherwise the "ritual" will not be considered to have met the conditions.

He thought to himself: What if Gan Yu loses...

Gan Yu was worried about this. If Xiao Yi considered her safety and refused to use the method of a duel in front of the emperor, then the two of them would be stuck here by the iron contract. After midnight, Ning Guang would be forced to launch a carpet bombing from behind.

The desperate act of detonating the ley lines would cause immeasurable damage to Liyue. If the seal of the Dragon King Rhodo were to be loosened inadvertently, the crisis would be far greater than that of ten Righteous Societies.

The choice is in Xiao Yi's hands: whether to take the safe, long-term route or the radical, risky, and shortcut.

Looking at Gan Yu's back in front of him, the high ponytail he had tied for her with his own hands fluttered in the wind, the pendant used to shape the ponytail wrapped around the corner, swaying gently.

"I believe in you, Gan Yu. I believe you can win this life-or-death battle." Xiao Yi took a few steps back, leaving the battlefield, and said with a relaxed expression, "The wrath of the Qilin can cover a thousand miles of snow. A half-immortal will not lose to an arrogant mortal!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl with the unicorn-like appearance smiled faintly, feeling a warmth in her heart: Thank you for your unconditional trust in me, Mr. Xiao.

She released her grip and fired the arrow, now imbued with ice element, at Ironclad.

Although the bald man in black robes had never heard of a duel before the emperor, he subconsciously felt a sense of crisis, as if a steel knife was held to his neck.

Tie Qi secretly deduced that if he lost this battle, his immortality would be broken, and he would have to defeat this blue-haired girl in a spectacular way.

The bald man followed suit, gathering a large amount of ice elements on his body to form a pure white armor.

Since elements of the same type cannot react, Gan Yu's ice arrows struck the armor, shattering into countless ice shards, unable to penetrate the thick ice armor.

The rain, which can only be controlled by ice, is used to fight against the iron bond of the four elements. There are almost no shortcuts; one can only rely on sheer strength to overwhelm the opponent.

"You seem to have made up your minds, which is a great pity. Today I am going to kill an immortal!" Tie Qi's voice pierced through the ice armor. "In that lord's ideal world, there should be no such boring things as immortals and gods. Humans should rely on their own hands and efforts to maintain 'justice'!"

Tieqi clasped his hands together and sprayed out a large amount of water, wetting the path between him and Ganyu. Then, he used the low temperature to freeze the water element and slid rapidly toward Ganyu like an ice skater.

Baldy had witnessed firsthand the "fighting between husband and wife" that was just stalling for time. He didn't think Gan Yu was physically weak. However, as long as he could get close, he would have a chance to take her down in one fell swoop. After all, his body was covered with sturdy armor, which gave him a much higher margin for error than a girl in plain clothes.

An ice spirit pearl appeared in Gan Yu's palm. She held it high in the sky, and the small pearl immediately shone like a full moon. In an instant, the area within a radius of several hundred meters was covered by falling hail.

Sharp icicles were embedded in the skating rink built by the bald man, hindering his plan to approach Gan Yu, while Gan Yu had already charged up his second arrow.

Her actions were very simple: fire straight at him, one arrow after another until she pierced through the armor made of ice elements and drove the arrows into Ironclad's head!

Although Xianlin does not kill, his opponent is an immortal, and the final judgment is not made by him, but by Xiao Yi, who presided over and judged the duel before the emperor.

Therefore, Gan Yu can fight without restraint.

The field is now covered with icicles, which has blocked Tieqi's trick of trying to win by speed. He can only endure the arrows and rush to Gan Yu to kill him.

He began to sprint forward, each time his foot touched the ground, creating water that froze the soles of his shoes to the ground, ensuring he wouldn't slip or be knocked back by the impact of arrows, maintaining stability and taking the next step forward. Once the second step froze on the ground, Iron Will would use fire to thaw the next foot, thus slowly moving forward.

The bald man can release two elemental forces at the same time. The key to repeating the previous action is to maintain the release of the ice element while alternating between water and fire at a high frequency. In this way, he can approach Gan Yu step by step without retreating.

As the enemy closed the distance, Gan Yu was not idle either. The Qilin girl remained calm and fired arrows like a light machine gun. When she ran out of arrows, she used ice to create crystal-like arrows as a substitute.

If it weren't for the Ice Spirit Orb causing the surrounding temperature to plummet, Gan Yu's hand, which was drawing the bow, would probably have been smoking from the excessive speed.

She kept aiming at the same spot, the arrowheads constantly striking Tieqi's brow, only to be deflected again and again by subsequent arrows, trying to create tiny cracks and break through.

The reason for targeting that area is simple: to maintain a good field of vision, the enemy's armor's face wasn't covered by a thick layer of pure white ice, but rather by a semi-transparent layer resembling light blue crystal. Although its defensive capabilities were still formidable, it was still more vulnerable than other parts of the armor.

Despite the hail and ice spikes raining down from above, and arrows constantly aimed at his face, Tie Qi slowly approached the Qilin girl who was firing at high speed. He envisioned the cruel scene that would unfold once he got close, determined to make her pay the price for those hundreds of arrows.

Click!

The moment an arrow was deflected, dents and cracks appeared on Ironclad's mask. These insignificant scratches brought him immense pressure.

Unlike metal, ice-constructed armor is more like glass, and cracks in it can easily become a point of attack to shatter the entire suit of armor.

He has to take them out before that happens!

Six meters, five meters, four meters...

Even as the enemy closed in like death itself, Gan Yu remained unmoved. At this moment, she was like a merciless archery machine, determined to pierce through the enemy's armor. Moreover, she had no other way out; behind her lay a bottomless abyss.

The crack gradually widened, spreading like a spider web from its center point to cover the entire mask, even obscuring Ironclad's vision.

The two sides are three meters apart.

They won! Both sides thought to themselves at the same time.