"Bang!"
In a vast expanse of white, the ground suddenly trembled a few times, not much different from when the giant rock had fallen earlier.
Aether tumbled on the ground. He couldn't see anything and didn't know how many rocks he had smashed.
He only had one thought now: to quickly regain his balance.
"Hmph!"
Aether held his breath, activating the seven-colored element power flowing within his body, transforming it into vital energy that continuously repaired his injuries.
For someone of Aether's strength, regrowing a severed arm was not difficult, let alone a mere bone fracture.
Soon, the stinging pain in Aether's arm dissipated, and he adjusted his posture in mid-air.
"Whoosh—"
Aether plunged the Sword in his hand into the ground, stopping himself abruptly.
Although the light seemed to have dimmed slightly, Aether still didn't relax in the slightest. He raised his weapon, cautiously looking around.
Looking at the shallow fist mark on the Sword's blade, Aether couldn't help but be secretly alarmed.
This weapon had been with him since he awakened, undergoing countless enhancements and incorporating an unknown number of precious minerals.
Finally, it had been imbued with Abyss power for hundreds of years. Despite its unassuming appearance, Aether could confidently say that this Sword was one of Teyvat's top divine weapons.
Yet, such a tough weapon now bore an indentation. Although the mark was shallow and didn't affect the weapon's performance.
"What are you looking at?" Just as Aether was searching for Ember's trace, that spine-chilling voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Buzz—"
A wind vortex gathered in his hand, its powerful force directly lifting the surrounding shattered rocks.
Aether now tightly held a massive storm in his hand.
Without much hesitation, Aether directly sent the storm formed in his palm towards Ember behind him.
"Too slow."
Ember reached out and grabbed Aether's wrist, then squeezed it hard. The immense force directly obstructed the flow of element power within Aether's body.
"Bang!"
Deprived of power, the wind vortex weakly exploded and dissipated in Aether's palm.
"Stay put!"
Ember pulled Aether closer, narrowing the distance between them. He used both his hands and feet, his arms pinning Aether's upper body, and his legs simultaneously locking Aether's lower body.
Then, maintaining this posture, he flipped over with Aether, pressing him firmly beneath him.
Ember had Aether completely locked down now.
"Let go!"
"Go ask your sister if she'll let go!"
"If you don't let go, I'm going to get serious!"
"Come on! Try it. It's been a long time since I arm-wrestled, and my hands are itching."
"Hmph ah—"
Aether felt the weight and warmth behind him and let out a roar—he was going to use his full strength now!
And then, not a single sound was made.
"Where's your ultimate move?"
Ember craned his neck to look, but found nothing.
"It's gone." Aether replied, his face not red and his heart not pounding. He hadn't known until he tried, and when he did, he was shocked.
Ember had actually cut off the flow of power within his body. He had been charging for a long time, but the immense power within him hadn't moved an inch.
However, Aether didn't give up hope. He continued to struggle, hoping to break free from Ember's restraints with the strength of his physical body.
"Let go!"
"No!"
"Let go!"
"No!"
...The intermittent sounds of argument echoed in the Domain, lingering endlessly.
Even after the light dissipated, the arguing didn't stop.
"..."
Everyone fell silent as they watched Ember and Aether rolling back and forth on the ground.
"Lumine, what are you spacing out for? Aether is right here, come help!"
As they rolled, Ember even picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it at Lumine, who was still in a daze.
"Com... Coming!"
Lumine rubbed her head and snapped out of it. She and Paimon slowly walked over to Aether, seemingly unable to believe the scene before them.
"You let go!" Seeing Lumine approach, Aether struggled even more. He wasn't ready to face Lumine directly right now.
"Evasion is not how a man should act." Ember said earnestly, seeing Aether struggling desperately.
"Since you insist, you're forcing my hand!" Aether's struggle suddenly paused, as if he was brewing something big.
"Be careful!"
Dain immediately warned him, seeing Aether's resolute expression. The power of the Abyss was strong and eerie; no one knew what Aether would do next.
Affected by this, Lumine's once confident strides forward also faltered.
Lumine didn't believe her brother would hurt her, but that was her former brother. The current Aether was somewhat unfamiliar to Lumine.
"Boom!"
"Splat!"
"You scoundrel, you don't wash your armor, do you?!"
Aether's body suddenly twisted like air under the scorching sun, and then with a "Boom!", it directly exploded.
"Hiss—"
Ember stood up from the ground, emitting intense heat that scorched the surrounding earth into molten lava.
The reason was simple: Aether didn't explode into flesh and blood, but a wriggling mass of sludge. If one had to describe it, it was somewhat similar to the Deep, but slightly better-looking than the Deep.
Because of this, Ember was so angry. If it had been real flesh and blood, it would have been easier to deal with, but it wasn't.
"Crunch!"
"Don't let me catch you next time. If I do, I'll make you taste what it's like to be covered in stinky mud."
Ember said, while also putting the "stinky mud" into his mouth. The crunching sounds were quite crisp.
"He left through the Ley Lines and the Abyss Passage."
Dain squatted on the ground, closed his eyes, and sensed Aether's aura for a moment before speaking.
"It seems his spirit, tempered by the Abyss, is now capable of detaching from his physical body." He stood up, a slight frown on his brow.
He hadn't expected Aether's strength to reach such a level, which made Dain feel that the road ahead would be even more difficult.
"Detaching from the physical body? Next time, I'll make him experience a soul-on-soul clash!"
In a trance, Dain seemed to see countless blue and white lasers erupting from Ember's hands.
Soul Torrent—a magic taught by the initial sage when Lothric and the Grand Archives were founded. It can shoot out a large amount of soul Torrent.
The initial sage was not only a doubter of the Kindling, but was also rumored to be the prince's private tutor.
Blinking, Dain found that the pillar of light he had just seen had disappeared again; everything seemed to be an illusion.
Of course, it wasn't an illusion; Ember was just having a fit. He used to enjoy playing around with Soul Torrent when he had nothing to do.
This phenomenon became even more pronounced after he learned Comet Azur.
Soul Torrent in his left hand, Comet Azur in his right; both mental and physical attacks were necessary, both hands had to be strong!
However, Ember rarely had such fits after coming here. After all, this wasn't Lordran or The Lands Between, where there were vast dead lands for him to unleash himself.
After having a fit for a while, Ember stopped. He turned and ran to Chongyun's side. As one of the few people who had tasted his cooking, Ember felt that Chongyun could definitely give him some advice.
"Uh..."
Chongyun was currently slumped on the ground, his eyes already spiraling like mosquito coils.
"Hmm..."
Shenhe looked at her nephew, who was still out of it, and poked his cheek.
It was very hot, probably due to the intense burst of Yang energy just now.
Chongyun's head tilted, then began to sway unconsciously again.
"This won't do; you need strong medicine." Ember shook his head, seeing Chongyun's dazed state.
It seems that the cooking of a god is still difficult for ordinary people to accept. Although he had only put a tiny bit into Chongyun's mouth.
"Strong medicine?" Shenhe held a Plaustrite in one hand and stroked her chin with the other, deep in thought.
"By divine decree, hasten to this place. Seize!"
"Slap!"
Accompanying Shenhe's incantation, her large palm landed on Chongyun's crown.
Strands of cold air emanated from Shenhe's palm, and gradually, icicles began to form on Chongyun's eyebrows and hair.
"#&★!"
After a few strange cries, Chongyun woke up with a shiver. Rubbing his temples, he only felt a chaotic mess in his mind.
"Senior, and Auntie. Did anything happen just now?" Opening his eyes, Chongyun saw Ember and Shenhe staring at him.
"Hmm..., nothing happened, you don't need to worry about it." Ember patted Chongyun's shoulder. Was this a protective mechanism of the brain?
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