Starsnatch Cliff.
Venti took out the Holy Lyre, a small amount of Anemo energy flowing gently across it.
This tiny amount of Anemo energy was clearly insufficient to call Dvalin.
At this moment, it was time for Jun Bai — who had gone ahead to collect the Tear Crystals — to make his entrance.
Jun Bai took out three Tear Crystals and looked at Lumine.
"Traveler, I'll leave the rest to you."
Lumine nodded, took the Tear Crystals, and began purifying them.
While Lumine was purifying the tears, Venti glanced at Jun Bai and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. This level of erosion isn't enough for me to worry about." Jun Bai crossed his arms — and gloves that hadn't been there before now appeared on his hands.
—This was for the players to see.
Guinaifen immediately stopped autoplay and discussed the plot with her viewers, who were zooming in like investigators.
"I clearly remember that in both the illustration and the previous model, Jun Bai wasn't wearing gloves."
[But now Jun Bai is wearing gloves. Something must have happened while he was collecting the Tear Crystals.]
[From what Venti said, the corrupted Tear Crystals are harmful to humans. But Jun Bai is pretending he's fine so no one worries.]
[These gloves are probably to hide his injury.]
[He hides his wounds just so his friends won't worry. Jun Bai, you're too gentle.]
"As expected of my husband. miHoYo, hurry up and release his banner. My wallet is itching," Guinaifen continued screaming.
—Back in Teyvat—
Lumine finished purifying the Tear Crystals and infused the three purified tears into the Holy Lyre.
The Holy Lyre shone brightly, its power completely restored.
Venti took the lyre and praised, "Excellent. With this, the preparations to call Dvalin are complete. We may begin the performance."
"Please listen closely— the best bard in the world is about to begin."
With that, Venti gently plucked the strings, playing the Melody of the Sky.
Notes danced with the rhythm. The sound of the lyre flowed with the wind, and a beautiful movement unfolded in the moment.
A feeling of ease, freedom, and comfort flooded the minds of the five people present.
The gentle wind guided the wounded dragon home.
Roar!
Everyone waited for the familiar roar within the melody.
Dvalin appeared above Starsnatch Cliff, locking eyes with Venti—who was playing—and Jun Bai, who stood behind him.
A hopeful look appeared on Venti's face as he quietly watched Dvalin lower its head, its heavy breath sweeping across him.
Dvalin growled: "It's you? At this point, there's nothing left to say!"
"Is that so? Then I was mistaken?"
Venti's expression deepened. "Looking at your eyes, it seems you are also reminiscing about this melody."
Dvalin: "…"
Jun Bai stepped forward.
"Dvalin, you know you are sick right now."
"Venti and I are here to cure your illness."
Before his words faded, a sharp light flashed in Jun Bai's eyes. He summoned the White Tassel, took three rapid steps, and swung the flaming spear—shattering the sudden ice spikes.
If Jun Bai hadn't acted, the spikes would have hit the Holy Lyre in Venti's hands.
Jun Bai's cold gaze fell on the Cryo Abyss Mage that had suddenly appeared beside Dvalin.
"So you're the one ambushing us from the shadows. A minor pawn of the Abyss Order."
"With your strength, you shouldn't be able to control an elemental being on Dvalin's level. That means someone much higher in the Order is behind you."
"For example, that so-called 'Prince.'"
A crack split the sky, and a Hydro Abyss Herald burst forth, slashing a water blade at Jun Bai.
Jun Bai remained calm as his spear carved a fiery arc.
Hydro and Pyro reacted violently, producing a thick wave of steam.
The Hydro Abyss Herald stood in front of the Cryo Mage, staring at Jun Bai with indescribable wariness.
"Phoenix…! You still exist in this world!"
"Liyue hasn't reached the point where it no longer needs me. Naturally, I haven't left." Jun Bai raised his hand, the spear tip aimed at the Herald. "Since you recognize me, it's time to settle the blood debt from the Chasm five hundred years ago."
"Your sins— I will settle every last one of them."
Jun Bai lunged forward, the spear thrusting straight toward the Herald's heart. His red eyes carried solemn killing intent.
"Assemble the troops! Don't let a single one escape!"
The Herald ordered, swinging the blades on its arms.
"As you command."
The Cryo Abyss Mage acknowledged and began performing a ritual-like dance.
One after another, monsters controlled by the Abyss appeared, launching a full encirclement against Venti, Lumine, Paimon, and Diluc.
"Venti! Calm Dvalin down—don't let him cause trouble!"
"Diluc! Take that Abyss Mage!"
"Traveler! Deal with the monsters!"
"This one—leave him to me!"
Jun Bai split the Herald's body with a spear strike, Pyro energy condensing around him, forming a crimson phoenix behind him.
This was the first time Jun Bai had used his full strength since crossing into Teyvat.
"Do not think that just because you are an Archon, you can look down on us, followers of the Abyss!"
The blazing heat of the phoenix and the overwhelming pressure of an Archon— even from dozens of meters away — made the Herald feel fear.
Yet it refused to admit that a follower of the Abyss feared an Archon.
Massive amounts of Hydro energy gathered into a torrent. A water-blue radiance lit up its jet-black armor.
This was the Hydro Abyss Herald's final trump card—a sign it was going all out.
Facing the Phoenix, an Archon feared during the Archon War, even if Jun Bai now wielded less than one percent of his former power, a mortal Abyss follower had only one option:
Burn everything, or die.
Fire and Water—like two colliding meteors—crashed in the sky once again.
—Real World—
Silver Wolf twisted open a new bottle of cola, eyes glued to the screen.
The usually lively stream chat was silent—because everyone was fully absorbed in the cutscene.
Silver Wolf, who usually called herself a meta-player and rarely paid attention to story, didn't dare blink—afraid of missing something.
Lumine moved through the horde, her wind-wrapped blade harvesting monster lives, her movements elegant and fiercely cool.
Diluc wielded his greatsword with one hand, striking down the Cryo Mage with fiery power, the flames illuminating his face.
But the focus was the battle between Fire and Water in the sky.
Crimson and water-blue light split the heavens.
The clash of spear and blade echoed through the battlefield.
The Melody of the Sky served as their accompaniment, the music adding a solemn killing intent.
It didn't feel like a game cutscene—
It felt like a high-quality battle scene from an anime movie.
The screen finally froze on Jun Bai and the Herald clashing mid-air, waiting for a click to continue.
Long after the animation ended, Silver Wolf picked up the cola, took a calm sip, and asked:
"…Did anyone record that just now? DM me a copy. I was so engrossed I forgot to record."
[…I forgot too. I feel like I missed out on a billion.]
[Guess I'm downloading it now.]
[Was I really watching a game storyline? Not a big-budget movie?]
[Every frame is movie-quality. Every second burns money.]
[Hiss—why is Wolfie taking out a calculator?]
Silver Wolf looked at chat and replied:
"Calculating how much a C6 R5 would cost.
My plan for Jun Bai C0 + signature weapon may… need to change."
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
Please support the original author: 失渝光
Raw:宝可梦:我的冠军老婆沙奈朵