I'm in the Teyvat running group

"I want to ask Your Majesty about my mother's situation..." Yunxiu pondered for a moment before speaking, "I haven't found any records about my mother, nor do I have many memories of her, but she must have existed... Of course, my family doesn't know either."

Zhongli gave Yunxiu a gentle look, handed him a small cube, and then continued, "Your mother has the bloodline of an ancient civilization, and happens to be one of the purest types, which is why her expression is different from others."

“Your father did not discriminate against her or do anything because of this. Instead, he married her and had children, which led to you and your sister…” Zhongli patted Yunxiu’s head and smiled. “But the purer her bloodline, the greater the rejection of her by heaven and earth became. Even I could not save her and could only seal her away in the end.”

"Is my mother here?" Yunxiu held the small cube in her hand, trying to see what was inside, but she couldn't penetrate it with her spiritual power. It seemed to be forcibly sealed by the Emperor's divine power. She could only say helplessly, "I'm still a long way from opening this... I guess so."

"When she returned with you, her physical body was on the verge of collapse, and her soul was almost shattered. Perhaps because I wanted to protect your soul, I forcibly froze the space-time in which she was at the last moment of her death. As for your current strength, it is naturally far from being able to solve all the problems."

Yunxiu held the cube in her hand; inside was her mother's soul in the last moments of time.

Solidified, it has no consciousness, but if released, it will immediately be annihilated in this world, and it is not even compatible with its own universe, because an incomplete soul cannot accept the impact of the laws of the new universe. On the contrary, it is temporarily safe here. The Emperor's actions are naturally justifiable, because even if it comes back to life, it will still have problems due to being rejected by the world.

Even a powerful young girl like Columbia would be like this. Of course, after her essence was partially restored by the core of the primordial womb, she would not be as weak as before, but she would still need to think of some solutions.

The reason why her sister and father were so secretive was now completely understandable. Their mother was neither dead nor alive, and without sufficient means, she could not be brought back to life. They could neither give Yunxiu a definitive answer nor bring themselves to completely sever this lingering attachment...

This is the suffering of humankind.

"Your Majesty, please keep this safe for me. I think... I should be able to find a solution." Yunxiu handed the small cube back to Zhongli, forcing a smile. "I'm not strong enough right now, but if I could take another step or even two, I should be able to find a way to save it. Right now, I don't have the ability to protect these properly."

Zhongli took the small cube, his hand trembled, and he somehow managed to put it away somewhere. He poured Yunxiu another cup of tea before continuing, "Many things that happened during the Demon God War cannot be explained. The moment they obtained the Heart of God and the power, they also signed a contract. Therefore, the Seven Gods rarely have much to say unless there is a change of godhood and the new god is not involved in that contract, in which case they can speak."

No wonder neither the three gods of wind, thunder, and rock in the original work said much to the traveler, but the grass god said quite a lot. This is because the grass god did not actually sign any contract with Tenri. Although it inherited the memories, it was not bound by many restrictions.

“Like now… isn’t someone coming looking for me too?” Zhongli chuckled casually, looking at the figure that suddenly appeared outside the space, and said to Yunxiu with a smile, “You see, this is the price I pay for speaking.”

With a sway, the entire barrier was retracted, and the two returned to Teyvat. At this moment, the entire world was completely different from before, and the surrounding area was plunged into a strange space. Yunxiu could not actually see the face of the female figure opposite him—it was not Asmodae, but a stranger.

"Morax...you have broken your contract with her." The voice of that figure was extremely eerie, carrying a strange sense of terror that even made Yunxiu herself feel extremely uncomfortable.

“In my world, of course it’s not a breach of contract. If your master is not satisfied…” Zhongli swayed and put on a completely different set of robes. With a wave of his hand, a long spear appeared in his palm. His cold and sharp voice seemed to have truly returned to the era of the Demon God War. This was the boundless killing power of the Rock King Emperor!

"Then let's do it again!"

bass--!

The figure transformed into a beam of light, heading straight for Yunxiu. The terrifying power even locked onto space and time. Before it could even reach Yunxiu, his shield was already reduced by two-thirds by the immense pressure. This shield was worth a full forty million points!

Yunxiu naturally wanted to instantly deepen the projection and escape, but her karma was almost completely locked. She forcibly activated the prayer spell to connect with the projection, and her physical body crossed space to leave. Just as the projection was about to materialize, she saw that the figure lightly point a finger, and the space around Yunxiu was completely sealed off again, leaving her with almost no chance of survival!

It seems we'll have to resort to other methods to save our lives...

In the blink of an eye, Yunxiu pointed his finger, and the method of traversing the star realm was displayed on his body, with a series of afterimages appearing behind him.

This is a powerful spell combining astral projection and spatial traversal, a creation that only legendary archmages can truly unleash. Utilizing the essence of astral projection combined with the ability to traverse space, Yunxiu instantly pierced through countless layers of space, leaving behind numerous afterimages in different levels of space.

The power of this spell lies in the fact that Yunxiu can return to any projection and then immediately teleport away!

Even a demon god-level being could not stop such a powerful spell.

The figure seemed to forcibly determine cause and effect, and beams of energy appeared around Yunxiu, frantically impacting Yunxiu's body, as if it would destroy him at any moment.

"Elemental Magic Wall!" A rising elemental magic wall radiating seven-colored light appeared around Yunxiu. A large amount of energy was instantly filtered by the elemental magic wall, and then some of it was dissipated by the automatic counterattack of the spell. In the end, only some extremely pure ethereal power penetrated these barriers and impacted Yunxiu's body, shattering seven layers of arcane defense.

But in an instant, Yunxiu's protective spells completely replenished the stacks.

"Truly difficult to kill... No wonder you're Morax's son." The figure stood still, quietly looking at Yunxiu, and said, "Even among the demon gods, there are few who are more difficult to kill than you. So... what about this one!"

His body began to expand suddenly, as an endless power entered his body, expanding a hundredfold in an instant. The enormous energy stirred up a vortex, even causing cracks to appear in the "false heaven" above. The terror of the energy was comparable to that of a top-level demon god!

"Why bother... If you're going to get serious, you're going a bit too far." Zhongli, who had been quietly watching Yunxiu cast various spells, slowly spoke. Streams of rock elemental light flew into the air from his hands, forming arrays that forcibly suppressed the aura of that figure.

A phantom image also appeared on his body. This phantom image looked extremely similar to Zhongli, yet it was completely different. It seemed to not belong to this world itself, but its power was so great that even Yunxiu felt fear!

"For your child, you're going to use the 'Celestial Star' incarnation?" The figure was extremely surprised, as if Zhongli's actions were beyond his imagination.

"Since you know it's the incarnation of 'Celestial Star,' then get lost!" A powerful energy shot out from Zhongli's body, instantly blasting the figure and the surrounding gloom into nothingness!

Click—!

A crack suddenly appeared in the false sky, and a large eyeball emerged from the crack, staring intently at Zhongli below without uttering a word.

Zhongli smiled, as if none of this concerned him. He casually put away the tea set and even showed Yunxiu the design of his tea set, which was a product of the 840th year of the Liyue calendar, nearly three thousand years ago, just before the start of the Demon God War.

"Hmph..." The rift in the False Heaven closed, and the eyeball simply disappeared.

Ignoring the person's fate, Zhongli took care of everything and sent out a burst of spiritual light, which passed over Yunxiu before smiling and saying, "Your strength should be sufficient now... Go find Gan Lin and the others. There are some things I can't tell you, but they can. However, go in a few days. You'll need a few more days to get rid of the aura left behind by that person."

"That is... Nibelungen and his shadow?" Yunxiu asked in confusion, as this clearly had little to do with Asmodeus and Fanes!

“Of course I can’t tell you, but you’ll find out later.” Zhongli blinked and smiled, a rare occurrence, before continuing, “Go, rest well in Liyue for a few days, spend time with them, and then we’ll go to Nata together for that war.”

Chapter 302 Teaching and Passing on the Torch of Knowledge (Second update on Tuesday!)

If there are no objections, then it must be the right one...

This was not unexpected for Yunxiu. After all, even the laws of nature have four shadows, and it's impossible for Nibelungen to have nothing but the seven dragon kings.

Moreover, it's highly likely that not all of the seven dragon kings participated in the war. For example, the grass dragon and the fire dragon are obviously different. The second-generation dragons were also incorporated into the organization, and many of them even entered the Sky Island system, which is naturally very different from before.

"Your Majesty, aren't you going back?" Yunxiu asked, looking at Zhongli who was standing with his hands behind his back on the Lonely Cloud Pavilion. "Whether it's because of this incident that the laws of nature or the Nibelungen caused destruction to the world, or some other reason... we should always find a way to resolve it."

“That’s not the case… For me, leaving this world is not difficult, but it’s not a matter of choice.” Zhongli didn’t turn around, but looked down at the Liyue landscape and sighed, “Eight thousand years ago, I had already severed my three corpses and cultivated into a super self. In that era, there were not many beings who could surpass me. I can leave this world at any time.”

"At that time, I foresaw Teyvat's destiny, and that 'Carving Knife' helped me advance further. Although it didn't greatly improve my strength, it taught me how to pass it on to others."

"So I found a cultivator with extraordinary talent and passed on to him immortal techniques and the art of 'severing the three corpses.' He quickly succeeded in cultivating it and became the first 'True Lord'..."

"Later, more and more powerful individuals attempted to sever their three corpses. Although most could only sever the lower corpse, thus achieving immortality, and only one or two occasionally managed to sever the middle corpse and see their true selves, none were able to sever the upper corpse. It wasn't until the War of Burial Fire broke out that I understood: after the Three Months Era, the laws changed, and the Eye of God locked down the limits of everything. Ascending to godhood required the Heart of God..."

"Under the system of natural law, no one can transcend fate through this path, and will naturally perish with the collapse of Teyvat."

“The sustainer is dying, and a new sustainer has not yet arrived. We initially thought that Ying might be able to do it, but you have given us new hope.”

“You are the variable, and you have been working hard to save everyone… This is the fundamental reason why I helped you.” Zhongli turned to look at Yunxiu and said, “I believe in you… just as you believe in me. You represent the true future of Liyue and even Teyvat.”

The methods for severing the three corpses, cutting off ego, and relinquishing self cannot be cultivated to their limit, right...?

This explains why René only managed to cultivate to the level of "half-step transcendent." After the era of the Three Months, the laws changed, and there was no longer a way to cultivate to the level of transcendent.

It's not that René lacks wisdom, nor that his methods are inadequate, but rather that this world is incomplete!

"Your Majesty..."

“Go… even if you fail, it doesn’t matter.” Zhongli waved his hand with his back to Yunxiu: “I will perish with the people of Liyue. I was once a god of humanity, and I should witness the rise and fall of mankind.”

"Yes."

With a flicker of light, Yunxiu transformed into a streak of light and left the area.

Zhongli remained standing there, a copy of "The Complete Book of Li Yue First-Class Mages," compiled by Yunxiu and other mages, had appeared in his hand at some point. Opening the book and looking at the dense annotations he had made, Zhongli couldn't help but smile: "There is still hope... much more hope than our generation."

-----------------

Yunxiu herself certainly understood Zhongli's mentality, or to put it another way, Zhongli was actually someone who didn't have the Secret Record of Ten Thousand Laws.

The two men's mindsets were strikingly similar at the beginning. Zhongli was initially just a Taoist priest, or perhaps a "Qi cultivator" in the cultivation world. He saw injustice in the world, went to Liyue, created the method of severing the three corpses, possessed great power and the status of a transcendent being, and guided humanity with contracts and precious gold, creating the Liyue civilization.

Yunxiu was actually doing the same thing, but with the foundation laid by Zhongli and the existence of the Myriad Laws Secret Record, he found it much easier and more enjoyable to sit down.

Does this mean he is much stronger than Zhongli? No, he is just standing on the shoulders of the Emperor. Without this ancestor of humanity who painstakingly developed magic and the path to immortality eight thousand years ago, guiding Liyue all the way to today, would these things have happened?

Of course not, they might even take a completely different path. Even if they do a slightly worse job, they will at most reach the level of Sumeru, which is a country with very few immortal beings. Liyue, on the other hand, has dozens of immortal beings due to its cultivation methods.

Therefore, Yunxiu fully understood everything Zhongli had done, and even fully understood the greatness of this emperor.

Similarly, I understood his pain.

If there is a fellow practitioner who can learn all of Yunxiu's spells and continue doing the same thing as him, then he will do his best to help that fellow practitioner, just like Zhongli.

Just like Hu Tao, even before they had a close relationship, he helped her forge several artifacts, making her the most powerful successor of the Hall of Rebirth—because doing this was to propel the entire Liyue civilization forward.

Of course, Hu Tao liking Yun Xiu is another matter entirely, since Yun Xiu is indeed a womanizer.

He briefly sensed the aura around him and found that it would take another three or four days for the light left by the Emperor to completely dispel the figure. So he didn't go to Mount Aozang to find Shen He, but returned to Wanmin Hall.

Xiangling was still working. After greeting her, Yunxiu casually found a table to sit down and slowly took out a few comics to read, waiting for Xiangling to finish her work for the day.

The regulars who frequented the place were quite familiar with him. Occasionally, a few would come to chat with Yunxiu for a few minutes, which was a rare moment of leisure in his life. He even took the time to teach a magic apprentice a new spell and assessed the apprentice's intelligence at 16 points, which was quite good among magic apprentices.

In a rare good mood, Yunxiu even gifted the apprentice a relic that increased Intelligence by 1, for which the young apprentice was extremely grateful.

I also learned about the current promotion of the Liyue magic system from him.

Every student in Liyue now learns magic and spell theory from the start of their schooling. This stage of learning lasts for about three years, during which most students go through a process of being streamed.

Generally speaking, many zero-ring spells such as Elemental Barrier and Mage Hand are required to be learned. After learning them, students will transfer to different academies for five to six years of further study, depending on their individual aptitude. Most students will advance to the third ring, and about one-fifth of them will reach the fourth ring.

The third ring represents the average level of the Teyvats. Of course, with the addition of a spell system, most of them are much more powerful than before, at least they can cast spells within the grand array of the Sealed Spirit Cave.

Students at the fourth ring or above will enter the Imperial Academy and formally enter the professional system. The graduation standard is the sixth ring, of course, there is an age limit, generally thirty years old. At least before the age of thirty, one must reach the sixth ring, otherwise only a certificate of completion will be given. But even a certificate of completion from the Imperial Academy means that he has enough level to become an adventurer.

After all, being able to enter the Imperial Academy was already considered elite status, and the graduation rate was extremely low.

Only about one in ten to one in fifteen students graduate from the Imperial Academy, thus embarking on the path to "Genshin Impact".

In other words, out of two hundred students, only three or four will eventually be able to embark on the path to becoming a Genshin Impact user... This ratio was not unexpected for Yunxiu.

Moreover, retrieving one's constellation is a major selection process. It would be good if only one out of these three or four people could complete the path to becoming a Genshin Impact and become one, which is a success rate of 200 to 1.

Of course, Liyue has over a billion people, with tens of millions of students every year. Even at a ratio of 200 to 1, there would still be 50,000 to 60,000 Genshin Impacts. It wouldn't be a problem for dozens of Legends to emerge in the end. This also means that if Liyue can continue to exist smoothly, it will usher in a period of explosive growth of Legendary powerhouses in ten years...

After all, there are still some former elemental power experts who can now completely transition to the magic system.

After the death aura incident was resolved, Liyue gained two or three more Legends. One of them was the old master of the Lan family who had previously consulted Yunxiu. Under Ganlin's guidance, he successfully advanced to the Legendary realm and was subsequently summoned by the Emperor, who taught him true immortal arts and the "Severing the Three Corpses" method. Of course, whether he could master it was another matter.

They chatted until closing time in the evening, and Yunxiu finally waited for Xiangling to close the shop.

"Xiuxiu, how did your chat with the Emperor go? Hu Tao came over for dinner today and told me you went to see the Emperor." Xiangling came over with two bowls of dragon beard noodles, handed one to Yunxiu, and said, "Eat up, eat up. Speaking of which, the Emperor has been coming to Wanmin Hall to eat more often lately. Last time I chatted with him, he told me it's because he's been liking spicy food lately..."

"That's just how the Emperor is. You don't need to care what he says. Just give him the good food." Yunxiu smiled and began to eat heartily. Xiangling's dragon beard noodles were getting better and better. This bowl of dragon beard noodles even had the quality of a single noodle, with only one noodle!

Yunxiu was full of praise for this amazing skill. In terms of cooking skills alone, it wouldn't be surprising if Xiangling was a superior one...

The two finished their meal quickly and, unusually, stayed at the restaurant. The second floor had been expanded to include living quarters, which were originally intended for employees. However, most of the employees had other commitments recently, and the restaurant also needed one or two people to stay there to deal with emergencies.

When Yunxiu got up in the morning, she also began to help Xiangling open the shop herself.

Chapter 303 Old Eaves, New Rain, and Cloud Courtyard (Third Update on Tuesday!)

Simply put, Yunxiu had actually done this quite a few times before, because he and Xiangling grew up together and they usually ate at Wanmintang. It was something he was very familiar with.

Master Mao had long regarded him as half a son, which is why their marriage was not unexpected by anyone... After all, they grew up together and were together almost every day even in their adolescence. Could Xiangling possibly marry someone else? Although Yunxiu had never confessed her feelings or, as she said, her feelings had changed.