Venti beamed at Zhongli, who nodded slightly in return.
"You may take ten bottles of my finest wine," Zhongli said.
"Ten bottles, huh…"
Venti pouted playfully, but didn't refuse.
"Fine, fine, ten bottles it is! Even a mosquito is still meat, after all!"
The adepti gradually lowered their defensive barriers and stepped forward to look at Azhdaha.
It was clear from their expressions—they were all genuinely pleased.
"Azhdaha, you've finally returned… Back when we had to seal you, I was injured pretty badly. You owe me a proper compensation!"
Moon Carver couldn't hide a joyful smile.
Azhdaha, however, looked slightly embarrassed.
"Apologies…"
As he spoke, his attention was drawn to Skybracer and Yingda (Indarias) standing nearby.
He froze for a moment. His memories from before the seal were hazy due to the erosion, but he still remembered Skybracer and Yingda, even though they had passed.
And now…
Why were they standing here, unharmed?
Noticing his confusion, Zhongli spoke softly:
"Skybracer and the others were just revived."
"Revived? Like me?"
Azhdaha looked thoughtfully at Skybracer.
Skybracer shook his head.
"No. You were revived by the Totem of Undying, we were revived by the Resurrection Totem. In short, a lot has happened. It's hard to explain everything now—we'll go over it slowly later."
Azhdaha didn't dwell on it and smiled gently.
"So, other old friends can return as well… What a blessing!"
Zhongli's lips curved slightly, his voice quiet:
"All thanks to the opportunity brought by Ryen."
"Ryen…"
Following Zhongli's gaze, Azhdaha noticed Ryen looking displeased.
Even with his memories fuzzy, the impression Ryen left was unforgettable.
One casual slap, and he had sent Azhdaha flying into a wall.
Not even Zhongli could do that.
What kind of absurd existence was this?
Still, if it were him, Azhdaha thought, resurrection wouldn't be all that unimaginable.
He nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice:
"Thank you, Mr. Ryen. If anything is required of me, I will not refuse."
Ryen waved his hand half-heartedly, showing little interest.
Azhdaha, still puzzled by Ryen, carefully nudged Zhongli and asked softly:
"Mr. Ryen… you have no objection to my attacks on them just now?"
Zhongli was silent for a moment, then spoke calmly:
"You couldn't control yourself back then. It's not your fault."
"Ryen?"
Not sure if it was just Zhongli's imagination, but he felt that Ryen seemed to have some issue with him.
Ningguang, standing nearby, covered her mouth to suppress a laugh and shook her head:
"Don't worry. He's just throwing a childish tantrum."
"Ryen feels that your battle was too ordinary—it ruined the dramatic reunion scene he imagined in a shōnen-style battle story."
Zhongli blinked in confusion, staring at Ningguang.
Ningguang smiled and linked arms with Ryen.
"Ryen thinks that you wasted your divine energy. You should have used all sorts of flashy skills to subdue Azhdaha."
"And then, Azhdaha, using the last remnants of his goodwill, would talk with you about the past, and then calmly meet his death."
"Afterwards, you'd revive him with the Totem. Upon reunion, everyone would be happy, you'd cry a few tears, Azhdaha would cry a few tears, and then it would be over, going home with satisfaction."
"But just now, you used your divine energy so crudely. There was no verbal banter, no recollection of the past."
"Ryen thinks that such a perfect battle scene between friends was completely wasted."
Zhongli fell silent, and so did Azhdaha.
Azhdaha couldn't understand it at all, but Zhongli…
Even considering that Ryen's thought process was abnormal, he hadn't imagined it could be this absurd.
Could it be…
That gaining unmatched power makes someone like this?
He didn't understand. He really didn't understand.
"So…"
Zhongli pursed his lips, his mood complicated:
"This is the full reason why you're upset?"
"Not nearly enough!"
Ryen declared righteously:
"Do you know? In my old world, a perfect, flawless battle scene between friends like this could fill a dozen episodes of anime!"
"Flamboyant, full of flashy effects, disputes and verbal banter between friends, and finally memories of past friendships!"
"This is a flawless depiction of battle!"
"You've shattered all my fantasies! Isn't that enough?"
"And besides, don't you have plenty of flashy skills? Even just throwing a 'Planet Befall,' or Venti doing a 'Wind's Grand Ode'?"
"The Holy Judgement I just came up with looks cooler than all of your abilities combined! What a waste! Why isn't divine power used for me?!"
Listening to Ryen's angry tirade, Zhongli pressed his lips together and tried to keep his own thought process 'abnormal' to match, before speaking calmly:
"Against Azhdaha, using flashy skills serves no purpose. Pure collisions of divine power are the only way."
"Moreover, your power… doesn't need such tricks."
Azhdaha wholeheartedly agreed.
One slap had sent him flying effortlessly—seemingly at random. This kind of power…
What need was there for divine energy after that?
~~----------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters:
[email protected] / Dreamer20