Leaving behind the cave where Haypasia trained, Tighnari finally finished his investigation report.
The only problem?
His wording was far too concise.
Despite investigating a mountain of material… the final word count still came up short.
Unable to cheat with punctuation marks to inflate his length, Tighnari sat upright at his desk, racking his brain to pad out the final missing bit.
"Done!"
After polishing the last paragraph, Tighnari exhaled in relief. He looked fondly at the report in his hands—just barely over twenty thousand words—and stretched so hard his back cracked before getting up from his seat.
One last careful check…
Everything looked fine.
Satisfied, he stepped outside to find a nearby courier, and entrusted the stack of hard-earned papers to be delivered to his mentor, Master Nafis.
With business finally off his shoulders, everything around him seemed brighter—
even the sunlight near his door felt more radiant than usual.
"At last… I'm done. I should finally get a few days of peace, right?"
With the report sent off, Tighnari's mood soared.
He decided, on the spot, that he would treat himself to a hearty pot of mixed-mushroom stew tonight.
—
Meanwhile, inside the ley-line space, Lin Feng—already two-thirds of the way through the process—continued to work tirelessly. The more energy he accumulated, the closer his consciousness drifted toward that of a true god.
Curious about his current state, he opened his status panel for the first time in a while:
[Individual Information: @￥%& — Lin Feng]
Level: 71 → 75 +15 (Requirements unmet)
(Possesses one complete Authority. The chasm between mortal and god no longer applies to you.)
Element: Dendro
Traits:
[#%*&]
Dendro Mastery (Linked to Ley Lines, temporarily unlocked)
Dream's Blessing • Lv.7 (Unmet conditions)
Elemental Resistance • Lv.7 (Unmet conditions)
Elemental Affinity • Lv.7 (Unmet conditions)
Robust Physique • Lv.7 (Unmet conditions)
Dexterity • Lv.7 (Unmet conditions)
The earlier +4 levels were from the ley-line rewards he'd received after clearing multiple Withering Zones.
As for the +15 bonus levels—
that was the result of everything he'd done in the past two weeks.
The more he worked, the more convinced Lin Feng became that Teyvat's ley-line system was truly an extraordinary existence.
For most living beings, the energy that flowed within the ley lines was untouchable, even dangerous. If leaked, it could poison an entire ecosystem.
But once a lifeform completed a Petrified Tree's challenge or purified the corruption of a Withering Zone, the ley lines behaved as if they possessed a will of their own—
converting that violent power into a reward worthy of the challenger.
And what Lin Feng was doing now…
could be summarized in one phrase:
"Abusing a glitch."
If a god = complete Authority + abundant divine power,
then by reversing the logic—
If he possessed a complete Authority and enough divine power,
then calling himself a "god" wouldn't be wrong at all.
In theory, Authorities were innate.
No non-god could ever wield a complete one, let alone imprint their will onto elemental energy to refine actual divinity.
But Lin Feng… somehow did have a full Authority.
He didn't know how he obtained it, but that didn't stop him from using it.
His low level and limited energy storage had previously kept the Dendro Authority locked.
But now that he was connected to the ley lines and had access to nearly unlimited energy—
the Authority had temporarily unlocked.
That unlocked Authority could then refine more elemental power into divine energy, storing it inside him.
That divine energy triggered greater Authority resonance…
allowing him to refine even more…
Left foot stepping on right foot—
a self-sustaining loop.
And once he converted every scrap of power in his body—
he would be a full-fledged Archon.
…Temporarily.
As for the system leveling?
Even simpler:
"I've got an Authority and divine power.
If you don't give me Level 100, you're disrespecting the title."
After confirming that his plan was feasible, Lin Feng continued his glitch-abuse operation.
He gained power.
The rainforest received blessings.
A perfect win-win.
As for poor Tighnari…
who had shed an unknown number of tails and hairs to cover for him—
well, buried inside the ley lines, Lin Feng had absolutely no idea.
—
Liyue — Guili Plains
On the endless grasslands, wild weeds swayed in the breeze. Sparse shrubs dotted the fields.
Aside from a few hilichurls dancing around a cooking pot, the only regular residents of this plain were the massive boars roaming freely.
But today—
the once-quiet land was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with several dozen young men of varying sizes and shapes.
"Big bro… you think we can actually beat this Earth Vein Blossom?"
A small rookie looked nervously at the veteran beside him.
"Sigh. Relax. When I first joined, I was scared of everything too."
"This problem is easy to fix. Just stay in the group for two days, and you'll get over it."
The bearded Treasure Hoarder veteran let out a melancholy sigh while comforting the newcomer.
"Oh? So our boss… is really strong?"
The rookie turned hopefully toward the burly leader in front, eyes shining with admiration.
"No. Aside from being dumb and rich, our boss is average."
The veteran crushed his fantasy without hesitation.
"Then… is someone else a hidden expert?"
The rookie looked toward the skinny men beside the boss, imagining secret masters in disguise.
"No. Everyone in the Treasure Hoarders is mediocre—
except when it comes to bragging."
Another dream shattered.
"Then why're we not dead yet?" The rookie was bewildered.
The veteran was silent for a moment.
He stared up at the empty sky with a pained expression.
"You'll find out eventually…
when everyone's as clueless as you, there's nothing to be afraid of."
The rookie: "…"
Seeing he had crushed the boy's last shred of enthusiasm, the veteran sighed again and patted his shoulder:
"Look—most of the Raven Crew are useless trash, but even a rotten ship has a few nails left. With this many beating up one Earth Vein Blossom, we probably won't die."
He glanced around to make sure no one else was listening, then whispered:
"But if things go south, run. Don't listen to the boss's nonsense about loyalty. When I joined, half my batch either got buried or thrown into jail. Me? I survived by being good at one thing—
running early."
The rookie: "…"
He suddenly realized this life was nothing like the glorious "eating meat and drinking wine" he'd imagined.
Could he still withdraw his membership?
The rookie, moments ago full of excitement, now stared emptily at the sky beside the grizzled veteran, the two of them sighing in perfect harmony.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786