Genshin Impact: I, the Winter Prince, reign supreme.

Gan Yu still seemed confused.

"You'll find the answer. Alright, Ms. Gan Yu, you should go back to work now."

Before sunrise, she had to rush back to Yuehaiting for her shift, a routine she had maintained for over a thousand years.

"Then I'll be going now. Thank you again, Your Highness, for working overtime with me last night."

Gan Yu finally mustered a bit of courage and looked up at Prince Zhidong's face, only to find that he had already turned his back and was gazing at the distant sea.

Whether it was an illusion or something else, she seemed to see a huge dragon claw emerging from the void behind Prince Zhidong, with dragon scales faintly visible.

With such enormous dragon claws, one can only imagine how massive the dragon's body must be.

Gan Yu rubbed her eyes, and everything in front of her disappeared.

Prince Zhidong has also disappeared without a trace.

In the legends of Liyue, there are people who are born with the aura of a true dragon and are called the Chosen Ones, born with great fortune.

Perhaps this Prince Zhidong is the true Son of Heaven.

……

The sun is rising.

On the streets of Liyue, vendors selling breakfast, making morning tea, performing arts, and telling stories opened one after another, and the streets suddenly became lively.

However, the entrance to a building on the street remained deserted.

Occasionally, a few pedestrians would pass by, but they would hurriedly avoid the area, afraid of being tainted by bad luck.

At this time, the girl with twin ponytails and plum blossom eyes would shout at those people: "Hey, hey, hey, you definitely don't understand the rules of our Hall of Rebirth. If you disrespect this hall master, don't come looking for me if there's a funeral in your family. However, if you pay a little more Mora, we can discuss it."

When pedestrians heard her words, they would often rush back and apologize to her politely.

"Haha, I'm a very generous person. How about I invite you to sit in the Rebirth Hall?"

"No, no, Master Hu Tao."

As soon as she finished speaking, the pedestrians ran away as if their lives depended on it.

Everyone knows that the living never enter the Hall of Rebirth; apart from the guest elders of the Hall of Rebirth, only the dead are allowed to enter.

"Mr. Zhongli, you've arrived very early today."

When Hu Tao saw Zhong Li walking over from not far away, she greeted him warmly.

Zhongli asked, "Is there any important religious ceremony today?"

"Yes, yes. Last night, a merchant from Fontaine died, and the deep-sea dragon lizard he bought at the Wanwenjishe auction also disappeared. Qianyan Army is investigating the case, but our ritual can be carried out at the same time."

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhongli's eyes.

He recalled that at yesterday's auction, Prince Zhidong was certain that the Abyss Order would stop at nothing to reclaim the Deep Sea Dragon Lizard.

The death of the Fontaine merchant undoubtedly proves that Prince Zhidong's speculation was correct, and that his own judgment was wrong.

This Prince Winter is very powerful. If Liyue can get his help, it will surely develop rapidly.

Unfortunately, he refused the position of regent and even threatened to wage a business war against the Liyue Sept.

Ningguang and her team cannot possibly lose!

Chapter 81 The Blacksmith Shop

In business, each of the "Liyue Seven Stars" is a true elite, a great businessman in their respective fields, and the most successful and experienced businessmen in Liyue.

To be fair, from Prince Zhidong's perspective, Zhongli has almost no chance of defeating Ningguang and the others in the business world.

He created almost all of Liyue's business contracts himself. He knew very well that unless he cheated or violated the contracts, he could not defeat the "Liyue Seven Stars" fairly and justly.

“Mr. Zhongli, I heard that you went to the auction at Wanwenjishe yesterday, and that Fontaine merchant was also there.”

"This man was very generous and took the corpse of the deep-sea dragon lizard in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, he died in Liyue City just one night later. How did the Abyss Order manage to enter Liyue without being discovered?"

Although murders occasionally occur in Liyue, the incident involving the Fontaine merchant will inevitably provoke strong protests from the Fontaine court and will also damage the reputation of Wanwen Collection.

Hu Tao said mysteriously, "Hehe, I heard that the Fontaine merchants captured a group of female Hilichurls from the wild to satisfy their desires. The Abyss Order members disguised themselves as Hilichurls and infiltrated the group beforehand, which gave them the opportunity to kill him and steal the corpse of the Deep Sea Dragon Lizard."

"You just said that Qianyan Army is still investigating, so how do you know so much about the case?"

“Mr. Zhongli, have you forgotten? I have a pair of yin-yang eyes, which can see the souls of the dead that you cannot. Let me tell you a secret, this is what the spirit of the Fontaine merchant told me last night. He also entrusted us to perform a grand ritual for him to send him to the Pure Land.”

Zhongli shook his head and said, "They're just playing tricks again."

Hu Tao is a person with peculiar abilities. At times, he seems to be able to communicate between the Yin and Yang realms, but even he doesn't fully understand the underlying principles.

But to say anything about "the ability to see ghosts" or similar claims is just a wild and unrealistic joke from Hu Tao.

"Hmph, this person abuses Hilichurls, he should go to hell."

Zhongli sighed softly, "Those Qiuqiu people are a pitiful bunch. But every pitiful person has something hateful about them..."

the other side.

After saying goodbye to Gan Yu, Su Yu went to the blacksmith shop.

Liyue is rich in iron ore resources, so its forging industry is extremely developed, and the weapons it produces are very popular in the other six countries.

"Sir, would you like to have a weapon forged? Our shop can forge the sharpest weapons in the world."

The weapon shop owner noticed the young man standing outside the shop for over half an hour and asked him what was wrong.

"My fist is the sharpest weapon."

Su Yu possessed an extraordinary demeanor, standing out like a crane among chickens in the crowd.

The shop owner, recognizing the wealthy and powerful man before him, immediately asked respectfully, "Young hero, what you say makes sense. However, weapons forged from steel can be sharpened with a whetstone and quenched to remove impurities. But how can a person be tempered like a weapon?"

"It needs no tempering; from the moment it is born, it is the sharpest thing. If I had to say what can temper it, I would say it is the greatest suffering, the most difficult journey, and the most desperate situation in the world."

"Young hero, your insights are extraordinary."

The blacksmith looked down at a sword hilt glowing crimson from being heated in coal.

"For us craftsmen, the best tool for honing our skills is Mora. Even the most ordinary swords and knives will be transformed into top-tier weapons once enough Mora is added."

Mora is both the currency circulating in Teyvat and a catalyst used to forge weapons.

Su Yu commented, "This is quite different from Inazuma's national treasure-level forging technique, 'Raiden Goden'."

"Raiden Goden" is a forging technique developed by Raiden Film. Over hundreds of years, it has been innovated and reformed by later generations, surpassing its predecessor and eventually giving rise to five major forging schools, thus establishing Inazuma Forging as a unique industry.

Liyue's forging techniques developed a method of adding Mora to the casting process, which, along with Inazuma's "Lightning Five Transmissions," made them each a leader in the weapon forging industry.

"Young hero, you actually know about the 'Five Transmissions of Lightning'? Could you tell me about it? Inazuma is in seclusion, otherwise I would definitely go and see it for myself. Combining it with Liyue's forging techniques might create entirely new technology. Please come in!"

The blacksmith shop owner invited Su Yu into the house, treating him as an honored guest.

The tea in the blacksmith's shop seemed to have a burnt coal smell, but that didn't affect Su Yu's purpose for coming today.

He didn't come here specifically for tea.

He had already mastered the knowledge of "Five Transmissions of Thunder and Lightning" three years ago through system check-ins.

"Inazuma's 'Raiden Goden' is divided into five major schools: Tenmoku, Keitsu, Isshin, Hyakume, and Senju..."

It took a whole day of explanation before the blacksmith shop owner finally finished listening.

The blacksmith exclaimed, "'Lightning Five Transmissions' is truly profound, but its basic principles are similar to our Liyue forging techniques. The two forging techniques each have their own merits."

Su Yu nodded.

The "Five Transmissions of Thunder and Lightning" has been passed down for four or five hundred years. The knowledge involved is extensive and complex. Unless one is a true master forging expert, one will not gain any insight from listening to him explain it in a single day.

"Since you can understand 'The Five Transmissions of Thunder and Lightning,' let's talk about our future collaboration. I'd like to have a beautiful longsword crafted as a gift."

The blacksmith readily agreed: "Young hero, you have explained the secret of 'Five Transmissions of Lightning' to me free of charge, fulfilling my long-cherished wish. In return, our shop will forge a weapon for you free of charge."

"Free of charge? I'm afraid your shop can't afford that."

"Young master has very high standards for the quality of swords?"

Su Yu nodded and said, "I request that 10 billion Mora be added to the longsword."

"Ten billion?"

The blacksmith's smile froze on his lips.

The most valuable weapon they forged in their shop only cost three billion Mora.

That weapon was crafted by an ancestor. According to family history, the day it was forged, the weather changed dramatically, and it later became one of the ten most famous swords of Liyue.

If he combines the "Lightning Five Transmissions" technique with 10 billion Mora forging, he is confident that he can surpass his ancestors and forge an even more famous of the Ten Great Swords.

“Your Highness, 10 billion Mora is indeed a considerable sum for our shop. You have taught me the craft of ‘Lightning Five Transmissions’, so how about this: you only need to pay a deposit of 5 billion Mora, and then pay the remaining 5 billion when the longsword is forged.”

Just as he was saying this, he suddenly noticed the Supreme Gold Card of the Northern Bank in Su Yu's hand.

Yesterday, news came from Wanwenjishe that Prince Zhidong, holding a Supreme Gold Card, bought some items at the auction.

Doesn't that mean the person in front of us is Prince Zhidong?

The blacksmith shop owner immediately said with trepidation, "Your Highness, I was unaware of your identity earlier and was very disrespectful. How about this, I will only accept a deposit of ten billion Mora from you."

Chapter 82 Currency Wars

They will first collect a deposit of one billion Mora, and the remaining nine billion Mora will be advanced by their blacksmith shop.

The blacksmith shop owner thought it was very profitable, and since it would enhance Prince Dong's reputation, he naturally wouldn't breach the contract, and it would also boost the shop's reputation.

But nine billion Mora is not something a blacksmith shop like theirs can come up with.

“I need to cooperate with the ‘Liyue Seven Stars’ on this matter. Only the Seven Stars have enough Mora. Your Highness may have to wait for a while.”

"can."

Su Yu took a sip of tea, left the blacksmith shop, and returned to the mission's residence.

[The Rich] Pantalone is waiting inside the house.

"How did the talks go?"

"As Your Highness said, my brother Bai Shu has his reasons."