He changed Tiwat

"I don't have much time left."

Ye Mingxiang raised his greatsword again, his power continuously condensing and gathering on the blade.

Me too.

Han Fulai also raised his spear, and the blood-red color began to spread from the tip of the fake Calamity-Suppressing Spear to the entire spear.

To wield the power of a demon god while in human form is, of course, an exceptional case among exceptional cases. Ye Mingxiang possesses the uniqueness of her bloodline and the blessing of "Glazed Frost Crystal," while Han Fulai relies on his "authority" combined with the advantageous terrain of the Layered Rock Abyss.

For him, a swift resolution was also necessary.

"One move. It will determine who is superior and who will live or die," Ye Mingxiang said.

"Okay," Han Fulai replied.

Above their heads, the "Pikes of the Rock" hung high, like a most faithful spectator recording this battle that the world would never witness.

Ye Mingxiang raised her greatsword high and slashed down from above in a simple and unadorned manner.

This sword strike has no fancy moves; it is a sword strike that abandons all techniques and returns to simplicity.

A heavy sword has no edge; great skill appears effortless. It is through its utmost clumsiness that it achieves utmost skill, and thus its overwhelming power cannot be resisted.

This sword is named "Wind Slayer".

The six techniques of Wind Slashing are combined into one at this moment. Even the invisible wind can be cleaved by this sword, because what this sword cleaves is space itself.

A black spatial rift suddenly appeared, tearing apart everything tangible and intangible in its path, heading straight for Han Fulai.

Han Fulai's face was expressionless, like a rock that hadn't moved for a thousand years, but his eyes suddenly burst forth with boundless killing intent.

He thrust his spear forward smoothly.

A blood-red spear.

“Wailing cries and blood-soaked cities, all for the sake of saving the common people.”

Chapter 297 In every hero's story, who is the most important person? [4k]

If Gan Yu were here, she would recognize Han Fulai's current state—the murderous aura of the Rock King during the Demon God War, and the Liyue War God form that Han Fulai had been unable to simulate before—"The Immovable Mystic Stone Aura".

In the fierce battles among the gods, gentleness never belonged to the Lord of Rocky Mountains. The Rock King of that legendary era, whose face was as cold as a cliff, never showed any emotion.

Han Fulai once thought that he could not simulate the "immovable black stone appearance" because he could not be "ruthless"—but the Rock King Emperor himself was by no means "ruthless".

A heartless man is not necessarily a hero, and a man who loves his child is no less a man.

Do you know that the one who stirs up the wind and howls wildly, when he turns around, sees only a small tiger cub?

How could a heartless demon god have any pity for the suffering of the common people?

The martial spirit of Liyue is to stop war – stopping war is true martial arts.

The ancient Chinese ancestors once said that martial prowess possesses seven virtues: prohibiting violence, restraining war, protecting the people, establishing merit, pacifying the people, harmonizing the masses, and enriching the treasury. Only an emperor who uses force to protect all living beings deserves the title of "God of War."

This is what is meant by "the land is filled with sorrow and the city is covered in blood, all for the sake of saving the common people."

Before today, Han Fulai had used force several times, but the opponents he faced, such as the "Ruins Guardian", "Abyss Mage", "Hill Crawler", "Beast Hound", and even Ba Che and the remnants of the Sea God, were basically all classified as monsters.

Humans don't need any reason to slay monsters.

But Han Fulai could not see Ye Mingxiang as a demon.

Even though his appearance is now far removed from that of a human, and even though he has now abandoned his human identity, Han Fulai still regards him as a human.

Ye Mingxiang's actions, thoughts, experiences, and aspirations... all together constitute his life as a human being.

Even his reason for transforming into the "God of the Abyss" was to stand on the side of humanity and demand justice from the heavens.

If their positions were reversed, the two might become like-minded allies, but in this day and age, they must face each other with swords drawn.

In Ye Mingxiang's eyes, Han Fulai was a high-ranking official in Liyue, a successor of the gods, a lackey of Sky Island, and an out-and-out "court henchman".

The two men were clearly divided into "official" and "thief," with no possibility of reconciliation.

—That's how it is, under the gaze of the "Layered Rock Nail" and the gaze of Sky Island.

In the ruins of the Salt God, Zhongli asked Han Fulai three questions.

The first question: "If Tianji Star were to threaten Liyue, and you had the opportunity to kill it, would you do it?"

The second question: "If the descendants of the Salt God in Ginhara Prefecture were to rebel now, would you order their immediate suppression?"

The third question: "If you replaced the object in the first question with Ningguang, would you still attempt to create it?"

Han Fulai's answer to all three questions was the same—he would do it.

The contract he made required him to seek the greatest well-being for the majority of life in Liyue. If the survival of the majority required the sacrifice of the minority, Han Fulai had no other choice.

This is the awareness of a "successor of the Emperor" who bears the responsibility for the lives of the people of Liyue.

Being in this position means you have to take responsibility.

Now is the time for him to fulfill his promise.

The moment Ye Mingxiang raised the flag of rebellion in front of the "Layered Rock Nail," everything was already destined.

Han Fulai had no other choice but to do this.

He couldn't let Ye Mingxiang awaken Tianli, he couldn't let Zhongli's plan be ruined, and he couldn't let Liyue fall into the danger of world destruction.

Having been in Teyvat for nearly half a year, this was the first time Han Fulai had made up his mind to kill someone.

Perhaps there should have been a better way... Han Fulai even believed there should have been a better way, one that could have resolved the issue without harming each other, without a life-or-death struggle, and without leaving any regrets...

But he couldn't have imagined it.

If you can't think of a solution, then there's no solution.

The Bible tells a story about how, in ancient times, humanity united to build a tower that would lead to heaven. To thwart their plan, God caused them to speak different languages, making communication impossible. As a result, their plan failed, and humanity scattered to the four winds.

This is the legend of the Tower of Babel.

Are the humans on the continent of Teyvat not also under the watchful eye of "God"? The "Six Root Sins" established by the Sumeru Church are the best illustration of this.

Therefore, Han Fulai could only act as the "court's henchman" of Sky Island, blocking Ye Mingxiang's way.

Perhaps Zhongli was unwilling to fight that war between demons and gods back then, perhaps Zhongli was unwilling to turn his sword against his old friend, but as the Rock King Emperor, he chose to cleanse the world with the "unmovable black stone form".

This is what is meant by "killing to protect life, cutting off karma, not killing people".

He who bears the nation's disgrace is called the master of the state; he who bears the nation's misfortune is called the king of the world.

Ultimately, his hands would still be stained with blood.

At the moment of this realization, the "Immovable Mystic Stone Appearance" of the Liyue War God manifested on Han Fulai's body.

His shot was a strike from the Liyue War God!

The red gunshots charged forward relentlessly.

The sword that cut through the wind cleaved through space itself.

The spear that quelled disaster extinguished the calamity.

The black greatsword clashed with the fiery red spear; the pitch-black resentment met the fiery red willpower. The two powerful forces collided directly, causing ripples to spread through the space, as if the waves were spreading outwards, and even time itself seemed to freeze.

Both of them poured their entire being into the attack, channeling their energy and consciousness into it.

Han Fulai saw that space of consciousness once again.

In the spacious hall, on the stone throne, sat a white-haired, red-eyed king.

Han Fulai stood right in front of him, the two of them within arm's reach.

Ye Mingxiang spoke first.

“I guessed someone would come to stop me, but I didn’t expect it to be you,” Ye Mingxiang said.

"Who do you think will come?" Han Fulai asked.

“I thought it would be Morax who came,” Ye Mingxiang replied.

In the battle in front of the ancient ruins, Ye Mingxiang spared Jiang Xue and Han Fulai.

He spared Jiang Xue because of his friendship with an old friend, but he spared Han Fulai not just to thwart the Abyss Order's plan to kill Daines Reeb.

Just as Han Fulai had predicted, even without him and Jiang Xue, these two "outsiders," Ye Mingxiang would have actively steered the situation to its current state. The only difference would have been that she would have replaced Jiang Xue with Daines Reeb as the ally against the "Apostle of Fate."

By letting them go, Ye Mingxiang would have to take a risk—that the two of them would actually obey and return to Liyue Harbor, and then bring reinforcements to resolve the Stranded Rock Abyss anomaly.

Those capable of resolving the anomalies in the Layered Rock Abyss are naturally not ordinary people; the most likely candidates are the Liyue Clan and the Geo Archon.

Four hundred years ago, the Geo Archon released him from Liyue Harbor. If he heard that he might have been involved in the anomalies of the Laminariat and brought disaster to Liyue, this Geo Archon would very likely come to the Laminariat himself to end this "deserving but not dead man".

This is a risk... but also an expectation.

At least that's what Ye Mingxiang hoped for.

Because he still had questions he wanted to ask that Rock God.

"Why... why wasn't it Morax who came?" Ye Mingxiang asked in a low voice.

In response to Ye Mingxiang's question, Han Fulai asked another question: "Why does it have to be him who comes?"

“Because Liyue is the Liyue of Morax,” Ye Mingxiang said, giving his answer.

For 3,700 years, Liyue has been under the rule of the Geo Archon.

Everything in Liyue is decided by the word of this god.

Ye Mingxiang still wanted to ask him: why didn't he come to the Layered Rock Abyss two years ago? Why did he allow his people to live in misery all these years? Why didn't he kill her back then?

Han Fulai shook his head.

"No, the Geo Archon has abdicated. From now on, Liyue belongs to the people of Liyue."

This was an answer Ye Mingxiang hadn't expected.

So he stared at Han Fulai for a long time without saying a word.

In fact, when Han Fulai first traveled to Liyue, he also had similar questions to Ye Mingxiang.

Why is there so much injustice and suffering in Liyue, a land ruled by gods?

—Because Liyue is not the Liyue of the people of Liyue.

Why didn't the King of Rocks take action to rectify these injustices?

—Because the fairness brought about by the power of a wise ruler can only be maintained for a time, but not for a lifetime.

Chinese history records many dynasties, each with its own wise and virtuous emperors, capable and upright officials, and also corrupt officials. Even the cruelest torture, such as skinning people alive, could not stop the greed in people's hearts.

This is the cyclical pattern of history.

The saying goes, "Its rise is sudden, and its fall is swift." No one—whether an individual, a family, a group, a region, or even a nation—has been able to escape the dominance of this cyclical pattern.

The history of Liyue's development has also failed to escape this cyclical pattern.

In the early days of Liyue, the war between demons and gods created a harsh environment where human life was as cheap as grass. Although resources and manpower were scarce, the people of Liyue were united in their efforts, disregarding the hardships and vowing to defend their homeland and build Liyue into a peaceful and prosperous nation.

Later, as the environment gradually improved, that initial spirit disappeared. Over time, this inertia took hold, and the selfishness of a few turned into the scheming of the majority. Everyone was only concerned with their own interests. Once this trend took hold, even divine intervention could not reverse or remedy it.

Not only Liyue, but all seven kingdoms of Teyvat are trapped in this cyclical pattern of history.

"Do you know why I came to the Abyss of Layered Rocks?" Han Fulai asked.

Ye Mingxiang awaited his answer.

"To resolve the anomalies in the Laminar Stream, for the future development of Liyue, and to ensure that the workers and farmers of Liyue can live a better life," Han Fulai said.

Ye Mingxiang's eyes flickered.

"Are all your words sincere?"

Han Fulai pointed to his chest. "The reason I can stand against you as a demon god is because I speak from the heart. I am now the representative of the wishes of the Liyue miners for thousands of years."

Han Fulai conducted an experiment on absorbing "willpower" in the "inverted pool".

Demons receive the wishes of their people and must also respond to their desires. Conversely, the one who receives and responds to the wishes of their people is the demon.

The "Wishing Stone" has certified him as a candidate civil servant for Sky Island, filling the vacancy naturally held by the Salt Goddess Heuria. Although he may currently only be in the "public announcement period" according to procedure, he already has the authority to absorb wishes.

Daines Reeb had told him that the Abyss of Laminaria was a special space containing three powers—the power of the heavens, the power of the abyss, and the power of man.

What Han Fulai absorbed from the land of the Layered Rock Abyss just now included not only the energy left behind by "Celestial Star," but also the power of wishes left by the Liyue miners in the Layered Rock Abyss.

They hoped for more mineral deposits in the Layered Rock Abyss, for the abyss to be free of earthquakes, for their work to proceed safely and smoothly, and for the monsters in the Layered Rock Abyss to be eradicated...