While I was in Mondstadt, I never imagined becoming a god.

Ying's long, golden hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her breathing was even.

Xu Chuan didn't sleep, partly to maintain the projected creation, and partly because a little alcohol wouldn't affect him.

He sat by the campfire, his legs crossed, holding the core in his hands. The golden mark on the light blue core had been completely integrated into it, and no trace of it could be seen from the surface.

Only when he activates his power will those golden patterns emerge from the depths.

The core and Skvornugg's soul have been completely refined and fused.

Xu Chuan looked at the core in his palm.

A pale blue light flowed within the core, warm and gentle, like a miniature sun.

"All that's missing is retrieving the cannon's puppet body," he muttered to himself.

The materials used to create the shadow puppets are of very high quality, and the items needed for their restoration must also be quite sophisticated.

I wonder if things went smoothly on Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun's side. I hope they didn't dismantle his cannon for spare parts.

At that moment, Xu Chuan stopped what he was doing.

He sensed someone approaching.

"Xu Chuan, is that you?"

A girl's voice came from outside the trial arena, clear and loud, with a hint of panting.

The sound startled the sleeping group.

Paimon sprang up from next to Sparkle, his head hitting Sparkle's chin.

Ying grunted and pressed Paimon's head down.

Wendy opened one eye, then closed it again.

"Amber?"

Xu Chuan stood up and looked in surprise at the girl running towards him from not far away.

Amber ran into the arena, her red headband fluttering in the morning breeze, sweat beading on her forehead, her cheeks flushed red from the wind.

Several knights' scouts followed behind her, fully armed and looking tense.

“It really is you!” Amber gasped, her gaze sweeping from Xu Chuan’s face to Ying, and then to Paimon.

"And Ying and Paimon! Long time no see!"

"Hey, Wendy, what are you doing here?" Amber's gaze fell on the boy in green.

“I’m a bard, after all,” Wendy said with a smile, opening her eyes. “It’s perfectly normal for me to appear anywhere in search of new legends.”

“No wonder you’re one of the best bards in Mondstadt.” Amber nodded thoughtfully. Then she suddenly came to her senses.

"No, that's not right. None of that matters. What happened in Wolf Territory is related to you?"

“That’s right.” Xu Chuan answered with practiced ease. “This matter is indeed related to us. To be precise, the incidents at Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain and Wolf Territory were all caused by me.”

"Ah!" Amber opened her mouth, looking at Xu Chuan in disbelief.

"Hmph—" Paimon flew to Amber's side and patted her shoulder like a little adult.

"Don't be so surprised, that's just how this guy is, he'll cause quite a commotion wherever he goes."

Thinking about it carefully, Xu Chuan is really like a walking natural disaster; even the Demon God isn't as capable of causing trouble as him.

Paimon couldn't help but wonder if this was how it would be when he traveled to Xu Chuan's country.

It probably won't be that exciting.

Flying beside Amber, Paimon recounted what had happened to her.

From subduing the demon dragon Dulin in Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain to the North Wind King Wolf in Wolf Run Territory.

Then, in a fierce battle between the two giant beasts, Xu Chuan subdued them both.

Paimon spoke with great enthusiasm, gesturing wildly, much like Tian Tiezui.

The North Wind King Wolf and the Demon Dragon Durin fought a great battle.

By the wind god above, am I really not just listening to a story?

Amber's face was filled with shock, and her mouth opened slightly.

Before she could process the information, a giant white wolf leaped out of the dense forest and landed in the arena.

"Wolves!" Amber instinctively gripped the bow on her back.

Behind her, the knights of the knightly order also tensed up instantly.

Its snow-white fur gleamed coldly in the morning light, and its wolf body, as large as a small mountain, exuded an invisible sense of oppression.

Those deep blue eyes looked down at everyone present, making the knights swallow hard.

It landed silently, its four paws treading on the gravel as if it were walking on cotton.

As a scout knight, this was the first time Amber had ever seen such a... large wolf in Wolfrune.

Andrius glanced at Amber, then looked away.

It walked up to Xu Chuan and lowered its head.

Following Dulin's example, it gradually shrunk to the height of a person.

The frost on the fur had subsided, and the chill around them had lessened considerably.

“The matter has been taken care of,” Andrius said in a low, calm voice. “I am ready to leave with you at any time.”

Xu Chuan nodded. "You've come at the right time; we should be setting off now."

He raised his hand, and the summoning of spirits and generals was activated.

It enveloped Andrius's massive body, then transformed into a wisp of dark light and entered Xu Chuan's body.

Xu Chuan closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the second demon god's soul within his body.

The north wind howls deep within the soul, and the ice field stretches out at the edge of consciousness.

That ancient and powerful force was more composed and restrained than that of Dulin.

He opened his eyes and turned to Wendy and Amber.

"Goodbye, everyone. We have to go."

“Wendy is a firsthand witness; Amber can ask him anything she wants.”

Wendy raised the bottle and waved it at Amber.

"You are welcome to come and hear our stories anytime."

Amber opened her mouth, feeling a bit unreliable, but ultimately swallowed her words.

Paimon's description is already quite fantastical, and it's not much better than the bard's.

Xu Chuan turned his head and looked at Du Lin on his shoulder.

"Come on, go."

A small black dragon, about the size of a pheasant, flew up from the shoulder and landed in the center of the arena.

Its body began to swell, growing from the size of a fist to surpass the enormous size of Andrius in an instant.

Its enormous wings spread out, obscuring half the sky.

Its jet-black body gleamed with a metallic sheen in the morning light, its scales layered upon each other, each scale the size of a palm.

A dark red flame surged deep within his throat, and a wave of heat washed over him.

The dragon lowered its body, its head bowed, and its back stretched out.

Xu Chuan leaped onto the dragon's back, found a foothold in the gaps between the scales, and stood firmly.

Ying pulled Paimon along and sat behind Xu Chuan.

"Let's go," Xu Chuan said.

Dulin flapped his wings.

A sudden gust of wind swept up pebbles and dust, lifting the stone slabs of the arena and blowing them away like pieces of paper.

The dragon lifted off the ground, its wings propelling it upwards with each flap.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, falling on the dragon's back, on Xu Chuan's shoulders, and on Ying's golden hair.

Just as he was riding the giant dragon away from Wolf Territory, Xu Chuan looked down.

On the hillside, a group of people were hurrying towards the direction of Benlangling.

It's probably because Andrius and Durin caused such a big commotion.

He recognized the blue figure at the very front.

Yura.

While he and Abedo were engrossed in their research, Yura led her guerrilla squad away from Dragon Ridge Snow Mountain. He never expected to see her here again.

Is this fate between the two?

Almost at the same time, she looked up and saw Xu Chuan and the other two on the giant dragon.

After their eyes met, the two smiled at each other and waved goodbye.

Chapter 170 Creation, Deepening Karmic Obstacles

Yura stood there, watching the black figure grow smaller and smaller as it went further and further away.

Until finally it became a black dot on the horizon and disappeared behind the clouds.

She lowered her hand, turned around, and gave orders to the members of the guerrilla squad.

"Target: Wolf Territory, continue forward."

Yura's voice regained its captain's coldness.

She didn't linger too long, because she knew that Xu Chuan had always loved Yura, who had her own ideas and was proud and independent.

Although they are separated now, he will return one day.

In the azure sky, a jet-black dragon spreads its wings and soars high.

With each flap of Dulin's wings, his massive body glided forward, the air currents sweeping past his wingtips and leaving two long white trails behind him.

The trial arena gradually shrank beneath our feet, eventually disappearing completely among the undulating mountains.

Ying sat on the dragon's back, but her gaze did not fall on the scenery below.

She stared at her empty fingers, the scene from just moments ago replaying in her mind.

Yura stood on the hillside and waved goodbye to them.

This is a perfectly normal gesture between friends, and it shouldn't have attracted too much attention from me.

The snow-white ring in Yura's hand was like a ray of light, piercing into the depths of Ying's memory.

She remembered the ring, but didn't seem to have seen it before.

A sense of familiarity lingered in Ying's mind.

It remained embedded in a corner of her memory, subtly reminding her and proclaiming its presence.

Ying frowned slightly, searching through her memories, but she just couldn't remember where she had seen it before.

Strange, when did I become so forgetful?

"It feels great not having to fly by myself."

Paimon sat next to Ying, his little hands resting on the dragon's back, his legs swinging back and forth, thoroughly enjoying the benefits of the flying mount.

She turned her head and saw Ying's stunned expression.

"Ying, why are you frowning? Is something on your mind?"

Xu Chuan also turned his gaze towards them.

Ying shook her head, no longer dwelling on the origin of that sense of familiarity.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about something. Don't keep it bottled up inside."