One day ago, inside a dim room.
"Have you… prepared yourself?" Jun Bai stood at the doorway of the room with his hands behind his back and said.
Cyan light appeared, illuminating the entire room.
The dim room was spotless, filled with all kinds of artifacts that had been tempered by time.
There were Visions emitting faint light, weapons that were only half remaining after being stained with blood, and seemingly extremely plain accessories…
This place was called the Hall of Heroes.
Storm's phantom condensed within the Hall of Heroes. He respectfully bowed toward Jun Bai's back. His aged face was full of reverence for the Sky Phoenix Marshal:
"Reporting to the Marshal, your subordinate is ready."
"Have you been informed of the current situation?" Jun Bai did not turn around and asked.
"Yes. The current Ziwei Star has informed me of all the difficulties Liyue is currently facing." Storm replied.
Jun Bai slightly raised his head and said, "All of it?"
"All of it." Storm nodded. "Including the matter of the Archon…"
"Speak carefully." Jun Bai reminded him. "This matter cannot be known to outsiders yet."
"Understood." Storm nodded.
Jun Bai turned around and looked at the old man who had followed him since the Archon War:
"Since you know, do you still choose to go?"
"With the final safeguard in place, Liyue will be fine."
Storm raised his head and met Jun Bai's gaze. He said softly, "But is that what you and the Archon wish to see?"
"If so, then why can't this matter be known to outsiders?"
"Marshal, what you and the Archon wish to see is not merely Liyue remaining safe and sound, is it?"
Jun Bai: "…"
"Your subordinate is also a member of Liyue and naturally wishes to fight for this era's Liyue." Storm cupped his hands and bowed as he spoke.
"The method of the heroic soul can reduce the wear caused by the passage of time, but it ultimately cannot make one immune to it."
"After thousands of years of wear, plus the injuries left from the black beast invasion five hundred years ago…"
"After this battle, you may not be able to condense your primordial spirit again like now. In more serious cases, it is not impossible for your soul to return to the ley lines."
"Even so, you still wish to go?" Jun Bai's sharp gaze locked onto Storm's illusory body.
Storm's gaze was firm as he met Jun Bai's eyes: "This body should have entered the world after death thousands of years ago."
"Even during the black beast invasion five hundred years ago, if you and the adepti had not arrived in time, your subordinate would have already become a corpse under the black beasts' claws alongside the Thunder Sword."
"I am already a dead body. Why should I fear burning once more?"
Sensing Storm's resolve, Jun Bai walked in front of him, clenched his fist, and struck Storm's shoulder.
"Then go!"
Storm transformed into his youthful appearance, stood up, then knelt on one knee, cupped his hands, and accepted the order:
"Cyan Feather General, Storm! Order received!"
——Real World
The memory ended here.
There was no longer anyone in front of the Golden House doors.
[Knowing there's a knife, why not dodge? Because there is no fear! So no dodging. (sunglasses.jpg)]
[Ridiculous. A character who only appeared for this little bit of plot wants to knife me? miHoYo, your knife skills have regressed. (sunglasses.jpg)]
[Today's wind is really noisy, and sand got into my eyes again. (sunglasses.jpg)]
March 7th pulled out a tissue, her tone sorrowful: "Even though his screen time could be counted frame by frame, seeing old man Storm's departure still makes me a little sad."
"Stelle, are you okay?" Flowing Firefly brought the tissue box over to Stelle and asked.
Stelle's expression remained normal as she said, "Maybe because I've always been heartless, I don't feel much."
"Your eyes are wet. Let me wipe them for you."
Stelle lay back in the gaming chair and let Flowing Firefly do as she pleased.
Only after her emotions returned to normal did Stelle pull herself together and continue playing the story and livestreaming.
Life is hard, but it must go on.
[Switching to Jun Bai's perspective…]
——Teyvat
Not long ago, Guili Assembly, the Yakshas' training ground.
The iron chains binding Bosacius snapped one after another. The Yaksha, emitting an ominous aura all over his body, roared toward the sky.
A dark purple bolt of lightning descended from the heavens.
The lightning shattered all the restraints on Bosacius. The burly man stood up. A bright purple Noh mask had unknowingly been placed on his face, revealing scarlet eyes.
Four powerful arms stretched out. Dark purple lightning coiled around his body as he faced the young god surrounded by blazing flames.
Jun Bai held Phoenix Perches on Demon Subjugation. Flaming wings slowly spread behind him.
Rainwater poured into the training ground through the ceiling shattered by the lightning. The moment the first raindrop hit the ground, the two figures in the training ground moved simultaneously.
Scarlet and dark purple crossed each other across the training ground.
The two were like meteors, clashing rapidly over a hundred times on the training ground. Every time the fire and lightning elements met, the resulting Overload explosions bloomed like fireworks across the Guili Assembly.
Jun Bai wielded his spear while Bosacius swung his fists. Both attacked without defending, constantly leaving wounds on each other.
[Oh my god, the intensity of this duel is even greater than when we fought Childe in his Delusion of the Demon King form.]
[Both of them start at the god level. How can you expect a half-crippled girl and the lowest-ranked Fatui Harbinger to be comparable?]
[Before Lumine lost her power, she was very strong, but that's already in the past. If the current Lumine participated in a duel of this level…]
[No doubt, she would be instantly eliminated.]
Jun Bai raised Phoenix Perches on Demon Subjugation and took Bosacius's direct heavy strike head-on.
Lightning scattered. Bosacius's fist landed squarely on Jun Bai's chest.
Jun Bai showed no reaction. The flaming Phoenix Perches on Demon Subjugation slashed downward, its spear tip cutting across Bosacius's chest.
Bosacius had no chance to resist and fell straight toward the ground of the training ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
Jun Bai landed, calmly watching the dust disperse. He had no intention of pressing the advantage.
Because it was meaningless.
The dust dispersed, but Bosacius, who should have been lying in the crater, was nowhere to be seen.
A palm condensed from Electro energy instantly formed and attacked Jun Bai.
The young man gripped Phoenix Perches on Demon Subjugation tightly. Flames instantly formed a phoenix that swung toward the giant Electro palm.
Elemental Skill · Howling Heavens (no charge)
The fire phoenix and the giant palm canceled each other out, producing a massive explosion. Smoke enveloped the entire training ground.
Bosacius's location had already been lost. Now with the smoke blocking vision, ordinary people would find it even harder to track him.
Moreover, Bosacius clearly had no intention of giving Jun Bai time to react. Countless Electro palms condensed from all directions attacked the smoke, leaving Jun Bai no room to dodge.
Explosions rang out continuously. The glow of fire elemental energy flickered nonstop within the smoke.
[Hmm… Bosacius's sneak attack feels very skilled.]
[So the outwardly muscle-brained Bosacius is actually someone who likes to hide and ambush…]
[This contrast is a bit too much.]
[Bosacius probably doesn't realize this is the only chance he has in this duel to deal effective damage. Because someone hasn't even used a fully charged skill yet, let alone their burst.]
[The key point is, during the preview livestream, everyone already knew that Jun Bai would activate his burst at this moment.]