Cross through Teyvat, and you'll become stronger by taking the hits!

Upon entering the Wind Dragon Ruins, Lu Li immediately pulled out a massive ice shield and used it as a weapon, blasting away the Hilichurls blocking his path with a few powerful blows.

After dealing with the Hilichurls along the way, Lu Li soon arrived near the tower.

To reach the tower, the normal route is blocked by small storm barriers; one can only ascend by relying on the surrounding wind currents.

Fortunately, although Lu Li does not have the Wings of Wind, he can still jump very fast by using the airflow of the wind field, so climbing the tower is not a problem.

And so, Lu Li made his way to the top of the tower, where he could even see a teleportation anchor point.

"I remember that here we should... deactivate the light guide mechanism first?"

Lu Li thought for a moment, then looked around.

Soon, he spotted a pillar not far away, which should be the main body of the light-guiding mechanism.

Thinking of this, Lu Li immediately moved closer, wanting to see if he could unlock the light guide mechanism.

He remembered that this thing was quite simple...

The moment Lu Li touched the light-guiding mechanism, the pillar lit up, and mysterious symbols floated in mid-air, connecting to the surroundings.

Subsequently, Lu Li saw many different transparent parts in several different directions around him, about a dozen in total.

"?"

Lu Li looked at the transparent parts scattered around him in a daze, then looked back at the light-guiding mechanism in front of him.

"That's not how it is in Genshin Impact! I remember there were only three at most?!"

Nevertheless, Lu Li took action, attempting to bring back these scattered transparent parts and place them on the main body of the light guide mechanism.

However, Lu Li discovered that if the sequence was wrong, the light guide mechanism would reset, and all the parts would return to their original positions.

He counted them carefully and found there were twelve transparent parts in total...

"I...I'll wait for the travelers here..."

Using simple math to calculate how many possible arrangements of the twelve parts there are, Lu Li abandoned his idea of ​​breaking the seal himself and going to see Dvalin first.

Perhaps solving the light-guiding mechanism requires combining other clues, but Lu Li won't.

Just as Lu Li gave up on unlocking the light-guiding mechanism, at the entrance to the Wind Dragon Ruins...

"What...what is this thing?"

Flying in mid-air, the little girl with white hair and wearing a crown stared in astonishment at the ice wall standing to her side, which seemed to reach straight to the sky.

"It looks somewhat like an elemental creation, but it's a bit too solid."

Among the group, the red-haired man named Diluc was the first to notice this.

"Hmm, normally, elemental creations would quickly show signs of melting without a continuous supply of elemental energy, but this ice wall..."

"Just like being in an extremely cold environment like the Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain, the surface is smooth with no signs of melting, and your hands won't get wet when you touch it."

Next to Diluc, a blonde woman with a single ponytail named Jean leaned forward to observe and explained Diluc's statement to the others.

"Could it have been left behind by the Abyss Cult?"

A little girl with white hair quickly backed away from the tall ice wall.

"But there is no trace of abyssal power above."

"However, we still need to be careful; it might be someone else outside of the Abyss Order."

Qin, who was closest to the ice wall, shook her head and then gave this advice.

Next, as planned, a black-haired bard in the group plucked the strings of his xylophone and broke the storm barrier that sealed off the entire Wind Dragon Ruins.

Then everyone entered the Wind Dragon Ruins through the entrance.

"These monsters... uh, were they all taken care of?"

After entering the Wind Dragon Ruins, Jean and her companions discovered that they could see many monsters along the way, but they had all been defeated.

"Could it have been done by the Abyss Cult?"

The little girl with white hair couldn't help but ask.

"It shouldn't be. These monsters are mostly Hilichurls, and Hilichurls should stay away from places with abundant elemental energy. Their appearance here is more likely the work of the Abyss Order."

The black-haired bard shook his head and began to explain.

"It's probably the person who created that ice wall before."

Just then, the silent, blonde foreign girl with flower decorations in her hair, standing next to the white-haired little girl, spoke up about this possibility.

"It's very possible that the other party used the ice wall to climb over the Storm Barrier from a high place."

Qin also considered this possibility and nodded in agreement after hearing the blonde girl's words.

"Oh, that explains it! No wonder there were such tall ice blocks there!"

"But wouldn't this mean we have one more helper?"

The white-haired little girl nodded knowingly, realizing the situation.

After all, the other side had dealt with all the monsters deployed by the Abyss Order, which could be considered a favor to them.

"It's impossible to determine whether they are friend or foe; it's best to be cautious."

Diluc offered a reminder.

The white-haired little girl could only respond, and then the group continued towards the tower, seeing more monsters being defeated along the way.

These monsters appeared to have been struck by a blunt object and sent flying, so there were no blade wounds on their bodies.

Continuing deeper into the tower, the group soon used the wind to enter through a gap on the top floor and reach the top of the tower.

"Hey, you're finally up here! I've been waiting for you for ages!"

"Uh, no, no, this feels a bit too familiar..."

"Ahem, you guys are really slow. I'm getting impatient waiting."

"That won't work either, it feels a bit like a villain..."

After they landed, they were surprised to find that there were people on the tower.

The other person was standing at another gap in the tower, gazing at the entrance to the Wind Dragon Ruins, clearly noticing that the Storm Barrier had been broken.

But he didn't notice them and was talking to himself.

"Could he be waiting for us?"

Hearing the other person talking to themselves, the white-haired little girl scratched her head, somewhat puzzled.

"Could it be an ambush by the Abyss Order? Or perhaps it's that person who broke into the Wind Dragon Ruins before us..."

Qin lowered her voice and guessed as she realized that the person not far away hadn't noticed them.

"Should we launch a sneak attack? Or should I go over and say hello first?"

Beside her, the blonde foreign girl couldn't help but make a suggestion.

The other party didn't look like a monster from the Abyss Order, so she naturally didn't think it was a good idea to launch a sneak attack. What if it was just a passerby?

"Okay, then please say hello to them, Traveler. We'll follow behind and keep an eye on things for you."

"good……"

After a brief discussion, the blonde girl slowly stepped forward, followed closely by the others.

"Um?"

As the blonde girl approached, Lu Li, who was pondering what to say to the traveler, heard the noise and turned around in confusion.

"..."

"Uh... hello."

The blonde girl stopped when she saw Lu Li turn around, hesitated for a moment, and then raised her hand to greet him.

Lu Li stared blankly at the familiar blonde girl in front of him.

Then, he immediately glanced at Jean and Diluc behind the blonde girl to confirm whether the person standing in front of him was the "protagonist" or the "antagonist".

When Lu Li finally met the protagonist for the first time, his feelings were far more special than he had imagined. After all, before he transmigrated, he played games and learned about this world from the protagonist's perspective.

"Outsiders, you..."

For a moment, Lu Li forgot the lines he had been thinking about for a long time and blurted them out subconsciously.

"?"

……