He changed Tiwat

He had lost count of how many times he had collapsed from exhaustion, only to silently get back up on his own.

This is a trial. If a heir of the Xing clan has reached the age of sixteen and has not yet met "that condition," his father will bring him to this training ground deep in the mountains. He must fetch his own food and water, and take care of everything himself, whether it's hunting or fishing. All he is left with is a greatsword for practice and self-defense.

The trial has no time limit, but based on past records, it generally does not last longer than a year.

Only those who complete the trials will be recognized by the Xing clan, while those who fail to complete the trials will not be considered as Xing clan successors.

The trial has only one objective: to obtain the "Eye of God".

Armed as guardians of Liyue, they quell demons and evil. Thousands of years ago, the Thousand Rock Army followed the Geo Archon in his campaigns; five hundred years ago, they fought against the monsters ravaging the Abyss of Rocks; now, they too must contend with the monsters surrounding Liyue Harbor. To serve as the bulwark of Liyue, the ability to vanquish evil is essential.

To become the hereditary commander of the Thousand Rocks Army, the "Star of Destruction" of Liyue, possessing a Vision is merely the bare minimum requirement.

All the descendants of the Xing family throughout history have possessed the Eye of God—at least that's what the family genealogy records.

Of course, Xinghan knew that the names that were blacked out on the family tree were failures.

Those who fail cannot inherit the Xing family.

Legend has it that the strong desires of mortals will attract the attention of the gods, and when the gods cast their gaze upon mortals, the Eye of God will descend.

Xinghan thought the legend was probably false.

He felt that his desire to obtain the Eye of God was strong enough, but the gods still did not cast their gaze upon him.

Xinghan's father didn't go through this trial, yet he still obtained the Eye of God. Of course, this was because his father was a martial arts genius. His father obtained the Eye of God at the age of fourteen, which was a recognition of his talent by the heavens.

Unfortunately, as the son of a genius, Xinghan does not seem to have inherited his father's talent.

His father was very strict with his upbringing, and he trained from childhood to become a qualified commander of the Chiyan Army.

Xinghan started wielding a sword when the greatsword was taller than him. By the age of ten, he had mastered the "Stepping on the Stars and Seizing the Battle" technique passed down by the immortals. By the age of twelve, he could use the Thousand Rocks Technique to slay demons. By the age of fourteen, he could fight his father, who did not use the power of the Eye of God, to a draw... But at the age of sixteen, he still did not have the Eye of God.

The family trial was his last chance.

Xinghan has been in this mountain forest for two months. He has been practicing swordsmanship every day without fail, slaying demons and wild beasts... but the Eye of God has not descended.

However, things weren't entirely unchanged. When Xinghan woke up after collapsing from exhaustion, there was an unfamiliar man in front of her.

The man looked to be around thirty years old, with a handsome face, long hair, and a traditional Chinese topknot. He was dressed in a long, cross-collared, right-fastening robe with a distinctly ancient style from Liyue... In short, he looked like someone who had stepped out of an ancient painting.

The first thing he heard when he woke up was, "Xiao Xinghan, my name is Ye Mingxiang. From today onwards, you will call me 'Senior Brother'."

This was Xinghan's first meeting with her senior brother Ye Mingxiang.

He didn't know why this senior brother knew him, nor did he know where this senior brother came from, nor did he know why this senior brother inexplicably asked him to call him senior brother. In short, the senior brother became his senior brother.

It is said that his senior brother had been secretly watching him since he entered the mountain, but he had never noticed. This shows that his senior brother was at least more capable than him.

Later, his senior brother wielded his practice sword with one hand and used invisible sword energy to chop a lot of firewood for him. Only then did Xinghan realize that his senior brother was much, much stronger than him.

Later, his senior brother explained that the Thousand Rock Technique was for people with the Divine Eye. Since he didn't have the Divine Eye, no matter how much he practiced, he wouldn't be able to develop its power. He suggested that he learn a set of "Wind-Slaying Sword" from his senior brother, which would be just as powerful even without the Divine Eye. So, Xinghan followed his senior brother and practiced a set of "Wind-Slaying Sword" without really understanding what was going on.

Logically, he should have called his senior brother "Master" in this situation, but his senior brother insisted that he was only teaching on behalf of the master and could not be considered Master, only Senior Brother. But when asked who his Master was, his senior brother refused to say. Judging from his senior brother's words, it seemed that their sect had to keep a low profile, and if they were too high-profile and showed off their sect everywhere, they would be struck by lightning. So Xing Han entered the sect in a daze without even formally becoming a disciple.

Xinghan didn't really care about the sect issue. As long as he became stronger, he should be able to obtain the Eye of God, right?

Tragically, despite practicing the "Wind-Slaying Sword" with his senior brother for over a month, Xinghan still failed to obtain the Eye of God.

Later still, his senior asked him why he wanted the "Eye of God".

This time, he finally understood!

Xinghan solemnly replied according to his father's teachings over the years: "Heaven has mercy on mankind. The 'Eye of God' is a gift from the heavens to the outstanding among mortals, helping them to subdue demons and protect the world. But how easy is it to protect the world without the help of the Eye of God? As the heir of the Liyue Xing Clan, I was born with the responsibility of eliminating demons and protecting the world, so I should pursue the Eye of God."

The senior brother then asked him, "Since you say that the Eye of God is a gift from Heaven, do you know what standard Heaven uses to bestow the Eye of God upon mortals?"

Recalling his doubts about that legend, Xinghan could only shake his head: "If I had known, I would have obtained the Eye of God long ago..."

He shook his head, and his senior brother followed suit.

Then his senior brother asked him, "Why do you want to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path?"

Xing Han immediately replied, "Demons wreak havoc on the world, harming the innocent and committing heinous acts. They are inherently evil. It is our duty to practice martial arts and eliminate demons to protect the righteous path."

In the end, my senior brother still shook his head.

Then his senior asked him three questions in one go—

Are the demons of this world born evil?

Are mortals and immortals born inherently good?

"Does upholding morality in the world merely mean judging right and wrong by one's own standards?"

Clearly, Xiao Xinghan couldn't answer any of these three questions.

So his senior brother said he would take him to find the answer.

Chapter 228 A Lost Traveler in a Foreign Land (Part 1)

When Jiang Xue woke up, she saw Han Fulai sitting in the tent, smiling at her.

Jiang Xue asked him what he was laughing at, and Han Fu said, "Senior Jiang Xue, you were just talking in your sleep."

Jiang Xue asked him what he was talking about in his sleep, and Han Fu said, "Senior Jiang Xue, you just said, 'I don't want it anymore, I really don't want it anymore,' so it seems you can't eat anymore."

Jiang Xue could only awkwardly force a smile and say that she dreamt of the kitchen of Wangshu Inn, where she secretly ate a plate of lion's head meatballs and a stewed fish. However, the head chef, Yan Xiao, discovered her and forced her to eat all the leftovers from the day's meals with a cleaver, which scared her so much that she ran around everywhere.

Han Fulai laughed and said that it seemed that eating dry rations every day during this period had made Senior Jiang Xue miss the delicious food at Wangshu Inn. After this trip to the Layered Rock Abyss is over, he will treat Jiang Xue to all the delicacies in Liyue.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Han Fulai went out of the tent first to call Ye Lan to set off.

Jiang Xue silently touched the Eye of God in her arms.

Only he knew that he had just dreamt of himself collapsing in a pool of blood, and in the dream he shouted to the heavens, "I don't want the Eye of God anymore!"

Following the map provided by the Fools, Han Fulai, Jiang Xue, and Ye Lan set off for the depths of the Layered Rock Abyss. Their goal was to examine the "Master Fragment" recorded in the Captain's log and, incidentally, to try and find the Fools' lost "Mokosh Device".

As for finding the missing lightning mage Katarina, it's like a lottery. If you happen to run into her, it's fate, and lending a hand isn't out of the question. If you don't, then it's simply not meant to be, and Katarina will have to fend for herself.

All three were venturing into the deepest part of the Lava Abyss for the first time. If it weren't for the Fools' map, it would have taken them several more days to find their way.

Timor's maps, though rudimentary, were highly practical and exhibited a standard military style. Unlike Zhiqiong, he didn't depict iconic landmarks or terrain features, but his control over directions and distances was remarkably precise. The simple diagrams were paired with detailed and accurate descriptions, using language similar to navigation software instructions: "Go straight for five kilometers at the southwest fork, then go straight for one kilometer at the three-way intersection, then turn left..."

Of course, the Fools weren't there to explore, nor did they care about the safety of the route. So they ignored all the dangers that might exist along the way, such as monsters and black mud. After all, soldiers don't ask how easy the road is when they're marching; they only think about how to get to the meeting point designated by their superiors on time.

This results in some obstacles in the route drawn by Timor that are normally insurmountable. For example, the proliferating black mud has formed a swamp, and Han Fu can only use the Jade Shield to wade through it; or the underground torrents that the Fatui used to build a pontoon bridge to cross, but the pontoon bridge has long been destroyed; and in some places, you will encounter monsters attracted by the black mud...

In short, the route was precise, but the difficulty of the journey was completely overlooked. However, this cannot be blamed on Timor. The Fools had the "Mokosh Device" and an entire company of Fools leading the way, so naturally they didn't consider these issues. The route map provided by Timor was based on the route the company had taken. Several months had passed, so changes were to be expected.

Having lost the "Lumen Stone" catalyst, the three now only have headlamps for lighting, reducing their field of vision by more than half. Furthermore, they can no longer immediately remove the black mud, making movement far more difficult than before. Fortunately, Jiang Xue's "Aksha Chaos Probe" proved invaluable, providing early warnings of numerous locations where black mud had grown and of monsters tainted by it, at least preventing them from encountering sudden attacks.

After traveling for most of the day, the three finally arrived at the entrance of a narrow passage, which was the "Fluorescent Passage" marked by the Fools.

As the name suggests, this is a long, narrow tunnel illuminated by fluorescent light. The source of the fluorescence is a type of fungus growing by the roadside. This fungus is over half a person's height, not a star fungus, but it still glows. According to Ye Lan's analysis, the phenomenon of the fungus glowing seems to be related to the accumulation of elemental energy in the underground water veins of this place. However, she is not a professional biologist, and the specific reason for this ecosystem can only be investigated by the proper Sumeru scholar, Hai Difu, in the future.

Just as they were analyzing the cause of the mushroom fluorescence, a "beep beep" sound suddenly came from not far away, along with a woman's angry shout.

Jiang Xue, with a touch of empathy, mimicked Jin Wu's tone and asked Han Fulai, "Did you come to the Layered Rock Abyss to explore, or to find someone?"

Han Fulai could only smile helplessly. Since entering the Abyss of Layered Rocks, it was as if he had a "find people" buff. First, there was Qi Ding, then Lao He, then the Treasure Thieves, then the hidden Ye Lan, then the Abyss Order and Daines Reeb in the ancient ruins, then the 9th Company of the Fools, and now even the missing lightning mage Katarina has come to him on her own...

He also wanted to ask, what happened to the sealed-off Abyss of Layered Rocks? What happened to the sparsely populated Abyss of Layered Rocks? Why does this place feel so lively, and why do I keep running into people everywhere I go?

The three followed the sound and soon spotted the Fools' Thunderfire Sorcerers in a clearing a little further away.

The lightning mage was petite, dressed in the Fatui's standard purple robe, and carrying a purple elemental lantern. During the battle, her rabbit-ear hood fell off, revealing a head of playful green curly hair. Judging from her appearance, she was indeed the Katalina that Anton had mentioned.

Several lightning fireflies surrounded her; these were the "little cuties" summoned by lightning firefly sorcerers in battle. The "beep beep" sound that Han Fulai and the others had heard earlier came from these lightning fireflies as they discharged electricity. However, she was clearly exhausted, and the lightning fireflies also looked somewhat sickly, their purple lightning not very powerful enough to repel the enemies surrounding her.

Surrounding Katarina were a group of mushroom beasts that had absorbed the black mud and gone berserk. Although the mushroom beasts looked like mushrooms and were somewhat cute, their attacks were quite threatening.

Unlike the mushroom beasts Old He had encountered, these mushroom beasts didn't leisurely blow bubbles; instead, they hovered in the air and unleashed a barrage of water cannon fire at Katarina like machine guns. Some mushroom beasts spun wildly on the ground like tops, creating blade-like water slashes that scraped towards the enemy, a truly terrifying sight.

Katarina was clearly struggling against the onslaught of the fungus beasts, and unlike other lightning mages, she seemed unable to use teleportation to escape, putting her in a rather dangerous situation.

“She overused her ‘Evil Eye’ power and is now very weak,” Ye Lan concluded after a few glances.

On Katharina's bare back, dark purple stripes, as dense as veins, were a sign of the "Evil Eye" overuse eroding her body. It seemed she had encountered several crises during her solitary search for her brother Nikolai, forcing her to overexert herself.

"Since we've encountered this, it's not right to sit idly by... so please, both of you, lend a hand," Han Fulai said to Jiang Xue and Ye Lan.

Chapter 229 A Lost Traveler in a Foreign Land (Part Two)

Katarina never dreamed that she would suddenly encounter three strangers deep within this abyss of rock.

When Katarina was attacked by monsters while she was injured and exhausted, she was mentally prepared to be injured or even killed. She never expected anyone to come to her rescue. When Anton parted ways with her, he made it clear that "anyone among us carrying unnecessary burdens will only drag the whole team down."

Putting the group down for personal reasons is something the Fools cannot tolerate, so Katarina chose to voluntarily leave the group.

Everyone must be prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the masses, or to sacrifice important people for the sake of the masses; this is the awareness of the foolish masses.

Logically speaking, apart from her missing comrades, there should be no other human activity in this "fluorescent passage" area.

She had been separated from Sergeant Anton and his men for more than half a month. She had seen many monsters, black mud that suddenly appeared, and even the body of a missing comrade, but this was the first time she had seen a living person.

Moreover, these three strangers were far stronger than her comrades.

Katarina only saw one of the women draw her bow and nock an arrow when a blue arrow flashed past, instantly blasting away the mushroom beasts that were attacking her. Meanwhile, another man dressed in warrior's attire swung his longsword in mid-air, causing the mushroom beasts to suddenly freeze in mid-air, as if sliced ​​by a sharp blade, and instantly shatter into pieces.

Just a few seconds later, the horde of fungus that had attacked her had all turned into fungus meat... though it certainly didn't look edible.

The young man, the only one of the three who hadn't made a move, walked up to her and extended his hand: "Hello, Miss Katarina."

"How do you know my name?" Katarina didn't shake hands with Han Fulai; instead, she warily crossed her arms over her chest. Her voice was equally cold and sharp, like the wind from the north.

While these people did indeed save her, it's impossible for a rigorously trained group of Fools to simply let their guard down. According to the training manual, there are also instances where they feign heroism to gain your trust and extract information.

For the Fatui, a name is merely a code, the least important piece of information. They have many ways to learn a Fatui soldier's name. Knowing her name implies that some preliminary investigation has been conducted, increasing the likelihood that someone with ulterior motives has deliberately approached her.

After all, this is a deep abyss of rock, and there won't be any "righteous heroes who just happen to be passing by".

Her reaction did not surprise Han Fulai. Han Fulai once again put on his business smile: "Don't be nervous, Miss Katarina, we mean no harm. My surname is Han, and I am an investigator dispatched by Liyue Yujingtai. The two who just saved you are both captains of our Liyue Thousand Rock Army. We have been in contact with Sergeant Anton Melnikov, the acting company commander of the Ninth Company, and it was he who informed us of your situation."

After emphasizing their official status as Liyue and their stated mission, Han Fulai repeated what he had told Anton to Katarina, adding that Anton had informed them that Katarina was searching for her missing brother Nikolai and had asked them to help bring Katarina back.

Clearly, this information is different from names; it is something only Sergeant Anton and his men know. In other words, these people's identities have been approved by Sergeant Anton.

Katarina finally lowered her guard, and once she relaxed, the injuries she had been holding together with her willpower could no longer be concealed. The old wounds from the battle and the backlash from the Evil Eye's power all assaulted Katarina.

Katarina swayed and fell forward, and Han Fulai quickly caught her.

She weighs even less than she looks.

"Sorry... It was supposed to be a romantic scene, but unfortunately it's in a place like this, ha..." Katarina forced a smile as she lay in Han Fulai's arms. Her voice was surprisingly soft and sweet, like a little girl's. Beneath the warrior's strong exterior, she was actually just a young girl in the throes of first love, barely twenty years old. "Please help me take me back to the nearby hideout. I need to rest for a bit..."

Following Katarina's directions, the three of them walked along a winding underground water vein for less than a kilometer before arriving at a natural cave.

Inside the cave was a half-tent supported by wooden sticks, some cloth bags filled with supplies, and a pile of hay—that was clearly Katarina's bed.

Han Fulai then put Katarina down from his arms. Katarina knelt on the haystack with some difficulty, rummaging through her supply bag.

"I have some here, um... black tea, but I'm out... sugar, also out... um, milk, ugh—it's gone sour, I'll throw it away later... I'm so sorry."

It was clear that Katarina wanted to offer some supplies as a token of gratitude for their rescue, but even though Anton and the others had given her all the previous supplies, she still didn't have much left.

“But there’s plenty of ‘fire water’!” Katarina said happily as she pulled two bottles from the bag and two can-like boxes. “There are also hard biscuits for tea snacks, and some sour jam… Hmm, enough for a tea party.”

"...Do you Fools all hold tea parties using 'fire and water'?" Han Fulai couldn't help but complain.

"Oh yeah? Is it that strange?" Katarina tilted her head and offered the "fire water". "Hehe, don't be shy! Have some, the 'fire water' tastes best after a battle."

However, none of the three accepted her drink.

“Alright, alright, I know you’re not here for a tea party. Drinking is prohibited on official business, so I’ll drink as I please… Cheers!” Katarina made up an excuse, opened the bottle, and took a swig of “fire water.” “Ha…! You really should try the wine and jam from the Winter Solstice Kingdom.”

“Miss Katarina, you don’t need to follow the training manual’s instructions to share food first to put the other person at a loss.”

Standing to the side, Yelan crossed her arms and coldly exposed Katarina's plan. In her opinion, Katarina's previous display of her vulnerability and her sharing of food with them to express gratitude and goodwill were merely entries in the "Fools' Vanguard Training Manual".

"Furthermore, we have no obligation to help members of the Fools."

Han Fulai then chimed in, "Well. Let me be frank, finding people isn't part of our mission. Rescuing Miss Katharina was just a coincidence. If you're willing, we can indeed take you back to meet up with Sergeant Anton later, but as for finding your brother, Corporal Nikolai, we're afraid we can't help you."

Katarina's expression froze, and the bottle fell from her hand.

Chapter 230 Lost Traveler in a Foreign Land (Part 3) There's no one I can't find in the towering abyss of rock!

Han Fulai reacted quickly and caught the bottle that Katarina was about to drop, preventing it from shattering on the ground.

Katarina didn't give up, and said in a trembling voice, "I know... I know your mission doesn't include finding people for me, but since you were willing to save me, you should at least help me! We... we're allies..."

There was still hope on her face.

But Ye Lan ruthlessly shattered her hopes.

"We have no allies left; we are actually enemies now."