Genshin Impact: The Beginning of the Wind

Perhaps it was hearing Wendy's heartfelt words that even Zhongli, who had been very composed until now, revealed a hint of pride.

"It is indeed a rare sight. There is probably no place in Teyvat more full of human life than this."

Su Feng also acknowledged that Liyue Harbor was indeed eye-catching. This gem, which the Geo Archon had been holding in his hand and polishing for thousands of years, was now shimmering with captivating colors.

"Old man, it seems you've made some preparations now?"

After a brief silence, Wendy carefully asked the question.

He didn't think that the Winter Queen would choose to directly seize Zhongli's Divine Heart—although her personality had changed drastically five hundred years ago, she wasn't so foolish as to be prepared to fight Zhongli, the oldest and most mysterious of the Seven Gods, to the death.

Even if she fights to the death, she can't win.

So, stealing is out of the question. What's left is to trade like he did. It's just unknown what conditions the Empress of Winter offered.

“Indeed, the Winter Queen made a pact with me to end all contracts. As payment for this deal, I promised to give her the Heart of God. Similarly, I hope to take this opportunity to see if Liyue can grow.”

After a moment of hesitation, Zhongli told Wendy about his agreement with the Winter Queen. Upon hearing this, Wendy's eyebrows twitched slightly—he seemed to have heard something extraordinary.

"A contract that ends all contracts?"

Wendy repeated Zhongli's words with a hint of doubt, but it seemed he wanted a negative answer from Zhongli.

"Yes, the contract that ends all contracts!"

Zhongli's words were filled with unwavering certainty, while Wendy, who was already frightened, simply waved and grabbed a bottle of wine from the wind, then downed it all without hesitation.

"I'm going to take a nap first. You guys chat yourselves. I didn't hear anything just now!"

After downing a bottle of liquor without hesitation, Wendy decisively lay down, even uttering a few words before collapsing. He then sprawled out onto the dew-covered bluestone, seemingly determined not to wake up until tomorrow.

"..."

"You really have no manners at all, saying such things in front of him. Look how scared this child is."

Seeing Wendy's expression, Su Feng teased her with a smile, but he understood why Wendy reacted that way.

Could the sacred covenant made between humanity and the heavens in the beginning be considered a kind of contract?

Of course it counts!

Zhongli's words now are blatantly an attempt to throw away the sacred plan established by the heavens and any original covenants.

How could Wendy, who was just one of the many winds, possibly withstand this? He had no choice but to get himself drunk and pretend it wasn't his problem.

“He has his choice, and I naturally have mine. After all, having power inevitably comes with responsibility. The sacred covenant that the heavens once made has long been forgotten in the mortal world, but I was fortunate enough to have seen that covenant.”

"In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that sacred contract. However, no one can stop the flow of time, and the once sacred contract has now developed many flaws."

"I don't have much to say about this sacred contract, but since someone wants to modify it to better suit the future, I naturally wouldn't mind signing a contract on this matter."

Zhongli was not surprised by Wendy's choice, or rather, he never thought that Wendy would unconditionally stand by his side at this time.

The seven gods each had their own origins and responsibilities, and it was only natural that conflicts would arise between them over the long years. He simply explained to Su Feng in detail why he made such a choice.

"Alright, this is your own business anyway, I won't interfere any further."

"I have neither witnessed the so-called sacred covenant nor am I subject to it, so what you are planning to do has little impact on me."

Su Feng wasn't particularly interested in the relationship between Zhongli and Wendy. Anyway, these two had known each other for thousands of years, so he figured they would handle this issue themselves.

As for how Teyvat's past and future will develop, it's not that important to Su Feng—he only needs to ensure that the world doesn't fall into the worst possible situation; everything else is irrelevant to him now.

Therefore, Su Feng is now more concerned about some things that happened after Zhong Li signed this contract that ended everything.

"So, you're also prepared to let go of Liyue, just as you're preparing to give up the Heart of God?"

"If it's true, what methods do you plan to use to make Liyue accept your departure?"

Su Feng asked Zhong Li with some curiosity how he planned to make Li Yue, who had become accustomed to receiving guidance from the Geo Archon, walk alone again on the path that belonged only to mortals.

"What do you think... that the abyss beneath the towering rock suddenly erupted, and the Rock God, leading the immortals, sealed off and guarded the gap in the world, thus preventing their escape?"

After much deliberation, Zhongli finally voiced his recent idea: he had originally planned to stage a simple and brutal fake death to completely sever the Rock King from the kingdom of Liyue.

However, recent events in Mondstadt and the snowy mountains have reminded Zhongli that this choice is definitely not a good one.

He could fake his death and escape, but Teyvat is not a safe world right now.

The pace of change throughout Teyvat has accelerated, and when the final moment arrives, he will once again appear as the Geo Archon to protect the people of Liyue from the great calamity.

Choosing to fake death now would naturally force the people of Liyue onto their own path in the simplest and most brutal way. However, when faced with a catastrophe that engulfs the entire world, even that small gap could cause everything to fall apart.

Zhongli did not want to face the consequences, nor did he want to watch the kingdom he had built with his own hands be completely destroyed.

Since that's the case, then let's just use the excuse of 'being unable to leave temporarily due to dealing with a crisis' to temporarily remove ourselves from the sight of the people of Liyue. This way, we can legitimately hand over the power of Liyue to the people of Liyue.

Moreover, there are indeed some problems beneath the abyss of layered rocks that need to be addressed. Otherwise, if problems arise again when the disaster strikes, it is very likely that one thing will be overlooked while another is dealt with. If that happens, even he may face a worse outcome.

Let's take this opportunity to resolve it completely, which will also help eliminate potential problems for the future.

"It's a very good choice; at least for now, there doesn't seem to be a better option."

After thinking for a moment, Su Feng nodded in approval of Zhong Li's choice.

"That's good, but I might need your help later. After all, even I can't guarantee the safety of those things beneath the Abyss of Layered Rocks. If you hadn't come with this drunkard this time, I really wouldn't have made this decision."

"Of course, I will pay the due compensation after everything is completed."

Chapter Six: The Dragon Lizard in Tianqiu Valley

In fact, the terrain of Tianqiu Valley is quite complex, and the various dragon lizards that live and breed here make the entire Tianqiu Valley not very suitable for human survival. Therefore, Liyue people generally do not appear in Tianqiu Valley unless necessary.

Or rather, this place has always been a better spot for dragon lizards to roam and play, and also an excellent location for resolving various conflicts.

That's why, after the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard was discovered to be in Tianqiu Valley, this place became even less frequented – after all, as the most powerful member of the dragon lizard family, even the holder of the Eye of God would probably not be able to take a bite out of it under normal circumstances.

The opponent's enormous body, comparable to a mountain, is a towering peak that humans would find impossible to traverse. Ordinary swords, spears, and arrows striking its body would probably be no better than a mosquito bite.

Of course, Liyue also has its share of fools who want to put on a show of being dragon slayers and win fame and fortune. However, most of the time, these idiots get a good lesson from the rock dragons, even the baby rock dragons, and leave in a sorry state with bumps all over their heads.

But for Tartaglia, the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard was also an excellent challenge—he had an extraordinary interest in hunting these giant monsters, and the fact that he could fight an unknown powerhouse in Tianqiu Valley made him even more excited.

After all, for a martial arts fanatic, being able to spar with a strong opponent is the ultimate enjoyment.

However, they encountered some minor problems before that.

"Oh? These dragon lizards don't seem to be very welcoming to us?"

As D'Artaglia entered Tianqiu Valley with Zhongli and the others, he was eager to try his luck when he saw the many dragon lizards that gradually appeared before him. Compared with ordinary monsters, these dragon lizards had stronger power and were naturally more challenging.

When the lizards looked at him with hostility, Dadalia became even more excited.

He didn't mind using these lizards as a warm-up.

"How about we start with these dragon lizards as an appetizer to warm us up?"

Tartaglia extended an invitation to Su Feng, but Su Feng could only shake his head helplessly at this excited martial arts fanatic.

However, before taking action, he glanced at Zhongli beside him with an inquiring look. After confirming that Zhongli had nodded silently, Su Feng casually reached out and conjured a longsword in the void, which was purely made of wind element and shimmered with green light.

"Let me clarify first, I do have some strength, but I'm not very familiar with martial arts. If you want to fight me, that shouldn't be a problem, but if you want to spar, you'd better not come to me."

Before the fight broke out, Su Feng solemnly gave a prior explanation.

If this could make Tartaglia quickly shift his focus away from him, that would be ideal, but unfortunately, Tartaglia isn't someone who gives up so easily.

"That's enough. All I crave is to challenge the strong. Martial arts are certainly part of strength, but they are not the only thing. Whether you are good at martial arts or not, just give me a brutal battle."

As Tartaglia gradually entered battle mode, he seemed to be going crazy. He stared at the longsword in Su Feng's hand, which was made of pure elemental force, with a ferocious look in his eyes. Although he could also do that, water was easier to shape than the invisible and scattered wind, and the water element he condensed was far less pure and powerful than Su Feng's wind.

The mere fact that he could casually unleash such elemental power already spoke volumes, yet it only fueled Tartaglia's fervor.

This was definitely a tough and even dangerous battle, but as a warrior, Tartaglia would never choose to retreat, much less give up.

"But let's use these dragon lizards as warm-up props for now, and we can also clear the area while we're at it."

After taking a deep breath, Tartaglia lunged at the many dragon lizards in front of him. His twin blades, formed from water elemental energy, flashed across the dragon lizards like brilliant light, and the sharp water blades easily sliced ​​through the lizards' thick, sturdy scales.

Hot dragon blood dripped from the wound, and the dragon lizards, who hadn't expected this little person to be so powerful, seemed to panic in an instant. Su Feng even noticed that after Tartaglia cut off the head of a certain young rock dragon lizard, a large number of young rock dragon lizards instantly panicked.

Although the dragons lost their former nobility and became mindless and ignorant dragon lizards after the great changes in the world, this does not mean that the dragon lizards became fearless of death.

They still retain the instinctive fear of death, and it is precisely because of this that they still retreat and are afraid when faced with death.

Now that Tartaglia has unleashed his power, it's not surprising that the weak young rock dragon lizards want to retreat.

"Roar!"

Perhaps sensing the fear of the young rock dragons, the tall and mighty rock dragons standing behind them roared. Upon hearing this roar, the previously panicked young rock dragons instantly calmed down, then lay down on the ground and dug one hole after another, disappearing from the group's sight.

It seems the rock dragon lizards realized that the little guys alone couldn't possibly deal with these tiny people in front of them, so there was no need to cause unnecessary casualties to the cubs.

"Oh? Looks like an even fiercer battle is about to begin?"

Tartaglia himself didn't take the juvenile rock dragon lizard, which wasn't very strong, seriously. Compared to bullying a weakling, he preferred a more exciting challenge. So after the juvenile rock dragon lizard started to retreat, he didn't choose to chase after it. Instead, he stood there excitedly waiting for the rock dragon lizard to come forward.

"Roar!"

Tartaglia's appearance was naturally noticed by the rock dragon lizards. After the young rock dragon lizards completely disappeared from the field, the rock dragon lizards became slightly agitated. Then, the rock dragon lizard that looked the strongest and tallest moved its huge body forward.

The size difference between the two was enormous. This rock dragon lizard was over ten meters tall, not to mention its massive size. When Dadalia stood in front of this rock dragon lizard, he was almost like a small pebble. It even gave people the illusion that the rock dragon lizard could crush him into powder with the slightest movement of its body.

However, when faced with the towering rock dragon lizard, Dadalia did not back down at all. When the opponent stepped forward, he immediately combined the two blades in his hands into a double-headed spear and charged directly at it.

So the next moment, when facing the charging Tartaglia, the Rock Dragon Lizard, which was already prepared, suddenly raised its forepaws.

Then, the earth shook violently!

Chapter Seven: Tartaglia: Where are my other two bloodstains?

In a sense, dragon lizards cannot be considered dragons, a fact that even the Dragon King Ratna had to admit, no matter how unwilling he was.

Compared to the dragons who truly stand at the pinnacle of the elements, the dragon lizards are far inferior to the true dragons in terms of strength, intelligence, and even control over the elements.

Although Rota was known as the Dragon King, tragically, he didn't have a single real dragon under his command.

In the past, dragons roamed freely on the wild land of Teyvat, living a carefree life as the masters of the world. But now, the dragon race has dwindled to almost nothing, with only a handful of true giants remaining. The disparity and hardship they endured are unimaginable.

However, the dragon lizard's weakness is relative to that of a real dragon. When facing humans, the dragon lizard's enormous size, stronger adaptability and control over the elements, and even its stronger vitality are unimaginable advantages.

After all, humans need to rely on external objects like the Eye of God to control elemental forces that are poisonous to them. This kind of indirect control acquired later in life is no match for the elemental control that dragon lizards are born with.

Just like now.