He changed Tiwat

"...The colors of sky and water flowed across the surface of the crystal once more, and the purplish-red stains faded away..."

"...The swordsman raised his greatsword, and a huge sword light, tens of meters long, emanated from it. This was the long-lost 'Ship-Slaying Blade,' capable of tearing apart massive ships with a single slash! The colossal construct in the ancient ruins was struck on the head by the swordsman's blow!"

"...The arrow that flew from the sky, like a bolt of lightning or a white ribbon, struck the blue crystal! The serpentine behemoth was now smashed to pieces by the crystal..."

Meanwhile, in a corner of the camp, Kritov, a part-time alchemist also from Mondstadt, was frantically trying to comfort the somewhat sullen Zhiqiang: "We're all people without special powers, it's normal that we can't be the protagonists of the story..."

"Those who are watched over by God, or those who are fortunate enough... are people who live for themselves, winged chosen ones of heaven. They see too high and too far. The places they cannot see, the lands their feet will never set foot on, are for us to build, care for, and protect..."

Zhiqiong downed a glass of wine in one gulp, and even let out a burp.

"...This doesn't sound like something you would say."

"Actually, it was Sister Jinwu who told me yesterday..." Kritov scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"...Hmph, I knew it." Zhiqiong pouted.

"But I think she's absolutely right. I only realized that after I joined the exploration team and started working... What we're doing now may seem ordinary, but it's not just about making a living, not just about ourselves... nor just about others. After all... after all, some things have to be done by someone, and we ordinary people just happen to be here."

“You know, I joined the treasure-hunting group because I didn’t want to live a mediocre life. But you know what? When I was configuring the ammunition for that ‘mountain-cracking cannon,’ I suddenly realized that I was actually quite useful. Without my efforts, even Master Han and the others wouldn’t have been able to get through the ‘rugged stone hall’ so quickly, right? And without you, they would have had to take many detours!”

Kritov's face was serious.

"Even as supporting actors, we are still contributing our light and warmth. In any case, ordinary work is not meaningless!"

Zhiqiong stared intently at Kritov.

Kritov scratched his cheek a little sheepishly and offered the drink in his hand: "Phew—okay, let's not talk about boring things anymore! Want another drink? I have plenty of 'Great Strength Potions' here!"

Zhiqiong suddenly nodded vigorously.

"Okay, I've made up my mind. I agree to help Master Han and his team with the land planning work! It's a commission! Who says you can't be a great adventurer just by drawing maps!"

Many years later, Zhiqiong became famous as the "first complete topographic map of Teyvat," and one of her famous achievements was drawing the planning map of the "Guili New Area" in Liyue.

Chapter 300 We are not the leftover residue after filtering out the chosen ones [4k5]

Three days later, Han Fulai and his party returned to Liyue Harbor.

They were greeted by a long queue.

Representatives from the Hall of Dew and the Hall of Glorious Dew were already waiting at the entrance of Liyue Harbor. As soon as they saw the carriage of Yuheng Star, they surrounded it. Even many well-informed newspaper reporters had already raised their cameras, just waiting to hear Keqing announce the big news.

Besides these two groups, a large number of miners who were unemployed in Liyue Harbor, including A-Kuan, the manager of the "Blackrock Factory" in the Layered Rock Abyss, also crowded the city gates, craning their necks to stare, literally "eagerly awaiting" the arrival of the miners.

Rumors of Keqing, the Star of Jade Balance, dispatching officers and soldiers from the General Affairs Department to the Lava Abyss had already circulated in Liyue Harbor, and those who were interested were already on high alert.

It is worth noting that Keqing first dispatched her most capable personal secretary, Han Fu, to the Layered Rock Abyss on her behalf, and then personally led a team to the scene. Everyone suspected that something earth-shattering had happened in the Layered Rock Abyss.

When Han Fulai heard that Ke Qing had obtained the information from a letter in Gan Yu's office, he understood Gan Yu's intention.

This was not merely to have Keqing provide support in case of emergency; it was also a carefully planned "momentum-building" strategy by Gan Yu.

The so-called "suppression before praise" technique, which creates some commotion and makes people feel uneasy, is much more effective than simply stating things in a straightforward manner.

This will raise the level of attention to the Layered Rock Abyss issue in Liyue Harbor to a new level, essentially giving the Layered Rock Abyss incident a "trending topic" in Liyue Harbor.

So when Keqing stepped out of the carriage and announced to everyone present that "the anomaly of the Layered Rock Abyss has been resolved, and we will discuss the details of opening the Layered Rock Abyss with the representatives of the Eight Gates," she received an unprecedentedly enthusiastic response. Not only did she receive enthusiastic applause from the representatives of Shenglu Hall and Huishan Hall, but the miners also cheered and wept with joy.

A look of joy, as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through, appeared on everyone's face, and many unemployed miners even wept with joy.

Han Fulai had been watching this scene with a sense of satisfaction from inside the carriage. He could tell that Ke Qing was much better at dealing with the media than before, which was clearly a huge improvement. But to his surprise, Ke Qing suddenly turned her head and pulled Han Fulai out of the carriage.

"Everyone, I want to introduce you to the true hero who quelled the anomaly in the Layered Rock Abyss—Han Fulai." Ke Qing said, reaching out to put her arm around Han Fulai's and pulling him to her side, sharing the spotlight with everyone.

"When I arrived at the Laminaria, Mr. Han was single-handedly suppressing the anomalies within the Laminaria, fighting desperately against the legendary giant serpent and the filth within the ley lines, even at the cost of his own life! We were so close... so close to losing him forever. Thanks to his selfless struggle, the Laminaria was able to open successfully. I believe he deserves the title of 'hero,' and I hope everyone will remember this hero who sacrificed himself for Liyue!"

Han Fulai's reputation had spread throughout Liyue Harbor after the previous major events, and Keqing's words had further propelled his prestige to its peak.

In fact, Keqing's words were completely unplanned. Announcing the resolution of the anomaly in the Layered Rock Abyss and gaining prestige and public support was Han Fulai's way of giving Keqing a promotion to "Yuheng as the most honored," since Keqing and he shared a common destiny.

But Keqing is not the type of person who would steal credit from her subordinates.

Rather, what Keqing can't stand the most is putting in effort but not getting any reward.

Especially since Han Fulai is her man, a comrade-in-arms who will witness the changes in Liyue with her.

She would never allow Han Fulai to be merely a behind-the-scenes contributor.

With such a good boss, Han Fulai felt a warm current in his heart.

"Thank you," Han Fulai whispered in Ke Qing's ear.

Ke Qing and Han Fulai exchanged a glance and smiled.

—The photo of the two holding hands and gazing at each other appeared on the front page of the Liyue Daily a day later.

Soon, most of Liyue Harbor knew about Han Fulai's heroic deeds. The news from the exploration team miners and those who experienced the incident firsthand further elevated Han Fulai to the status of "Liyue miners' savior," making him the most talked-about figure in Liyue Harbor for a time.

That same evening, upon returning to Liyue Harbor, Han Fulai met Gan Yu in his office.

Gan Yu was still struggling with endless meetings and paperwork at her desk, but when she saw Han Fulai return, she surprisingly got up and personally brewed him a pot of flower tea, and even thoughtfully served him her favorite "rice pudding".

Gan Yu's words of comfort left Han Fulai feeling quite flattered.

However, Gan Yu's next sentence truly startled Han Fulai—

"You can now use 'Word Magic' freely?"

Han Fulai stared blankly at Gan Yu for a moment before asking, somewhat bewildered, "Gan Yu, you... know?"

Gan Yu glanced at him with some curiosity and replied, "If I didn't know, why would I have signed a contract with you?"

Han Fulai and Gan Yu's first meeting took place in a small grove of trees on the outskirts of Lisha.

At that moment, Gan Yu used frost and cold to create an ice lotus to separate the two of them, then pointed an arrow at Han Fulai's head and asked him, "Who are you?"

The first thing Han Fulai said to Gan Yu was, "Secretary, Han Fulai has come as summoned. Tell me, are you my superior?"

At the time, Han Fulai guessed that it was Gan Yu who summoned him based entirely on limited information, but what truly made Gan Yu believe in him was the "power" he displayed at that time.

Although Han Fulai was merely using a famous line from "Fate/stay night" to try and make himself seem impressive... if he had looked back then, he would have found a hazy full moon behind him.

They met in the afternoon.

As he uttered those words, he also imagined Saber and Emiya Shirou meeting in his mind, only replacing the characters with Gan Yu and himself—and a part of that scene was thus materialized.

Of course, even if Han Fulai had seen this scene six months ago, he wouldn't have understood what it meant, but Gan Yu knew very well.

—Two of the three closely guarded secrets of the Liyue Celestials represent the two unique skills of "talismans" and "external landscapes," using "words of power" to drive the "inner landscape to manifest externally."

Although the phenomenon only appeared for a moment, it was enough for Gan Yu to confirm that he had summoned the right person.

As a disciple of the Immortal Beast Bloodline and the True Lord of Liuyun Jiefeng, who had experienced the war between demons and gods, Gan Yu naturally inherited the secret arts of the immortals. However, she was unable to learn all three secret arts. She only specialized in "Dan Ding" and had a rudimentary understanding of "Talismans". She had never even entered the realm of "External Scenery".

Gan Yu primarily served as a logistics personnel during the Demon God War. In addition to healing the wounded with her bloodline power, she also used alchemy to refine elixirs and create alloys that granted weapons superhuman power—in short, these abilities were mainly used for logistics.

Before a bard who came to Liyue for a drink gifted her the Bow of Amos, Gan Yu used a longbow she crafted herself. The bow arms were made of century-old mulberry wood, wrapped with gold thread, and inlaid with alchemical alloy fittings. The string was made from silvery-white tree branches that were intertwined deep within the earth in the Rocky Abyss. It was as soft as a feather, yet unbreakable.

The longbow crafted by Gan Yu possesses a bow arc as graceful as a waning moon in the sky, serene and elegant. When the arrow pierces the air, the gleam of the bowstring is thin yet sharp, unforgettable like the flowing light of a waning moon, and captivating like the beauty of a woman.

Therefore, the bow was named "Dan Yue".

Later, the "Prototype Series" passed down by the Liyue Yun clan included the longbow blueprint "Prototype Dan Yue," which was modified based on the "Dan Yue" used by the senior Gan Yu of the Moonlit Pavilion. Of course, since mortals cannot obtain the materials of the immortals, the "Prototype Dan Yue" they forged was not as powerful as Gan Yu's original version.

Gan Yu's talismanic arts are mostly used to enhance the power of her moves in battle. For example, when she uses "Descent of Heavenly Splendor" to strike enemies, she uses talismanic arts to form a "Heaven and Earth Intercourse Domain" to enhance the power of the frost within it.

As for why Gan Yu didn't learn the art of external vision—actually, what Liu Yun Borrows the Wind True Lord is most proud of are talismans and alchemy cauldrons. The reason she had to ask Granny Ping for help to make a Dust Song Pot is because Liu Yun True Lord herself didn't learn the art of external vision very well...

Her junior sister, Shen He, seemed to have an easy grasp of talismans due to her lineage as a Taoist priest, but she had never practiced alchemy or external cultivation.

However, as far as Gan Yu knew, even the Liyue Immortals had no ability to manipulate their inner visions to manifest through words.

For example, talismans are essentially "spiritual magic." Talismans use mysterious written symbols passed down by the emperor to allow the immortal power of immortals to remain in a special carrier, or to call upon the power of heaven and earth, but the process of drawing talismans and chanting incantations is indispensable.

In Liyue today, only Zhongli, the "Ancestor of All Immortals," truly possesses the ability to make his words "become law."

As for the inner vision manifesting outwards, which can be achieved with a mere thought, that is the exclusive domain of demons and gods.

However, Han Fulai displayed such power in front of Gan Yu. His "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun" performance in the "Three Bowls and You Can't Cross the Harbor" storytelling made Gan Yu look at him in a different light.

Although Han Fulai's "Word of Power" seemed to work sometimes and sometimes not, which annoyed Gan Yu, she always believed that this contractor from another world would definitely show his true strength.

Because she knew that another visitor from another world had exhibited the same behavior.

This kind of incantation technique is a special ability that Gu Hua, a swordsman from four thousand years ago who had a deep connection with Gan Yu and was from the same hometown as Han Fulai, once displayed.

If there is any difference, it is mainly that Han Fulai mostly displays his supernatural abilities in the form of poetry and prose, while Gu Hua uses "laws and decrees" which are similar to legal articles.

Gan Yu was unaware that this was because the two had different majors.

Gan Yu will guide Han Fu to the Abyss of Layered Rocks, not only to help him perfect the Salt God's powers, but also to stimulate his power of words—real combat is of course the most effective training.

Now that Gan Yu has made things clear, Han Fulai has no need to hide anything.

"In the ancient ruins of the Layered Rock Abyss, I encountered Dainesreb, the former captain of the Kanria Royal Guard, the 'Sword of the End'..."

After recounting his experiences to Gan Yu, Han Fulai then shared his insights gained from being in the deep abyss.

“He told me that humanity inherently possesses the power to create history and weave destiny… Daines Reeb gave me a final piece of advice: ‘Humanity has its own essence; we are not the residue left after the selection of the chosen ones has been filtered out. This is the power of words I give you.’ It was his reminder that made me realize the ‘power’ I possess, which is the ‘secret art of words.’”

"Then I remembered something about the 'Eye of God.' Because it's common knowledge for people on the continent of Teyvat, most people wouldn't even think about it, and I naturally overlooked it too—just like people naturally overlook the air they breathe. But anyone who's been down in the mines knows that the air can actually be poisonous."

Han Fulai patted the blank Eye of God on his waist. Gan Yu knew that it was just a storage space created by the Emperor using the power of the outer realm, and it did not help him use elemental power. However, Han Fulai did not need the Eye of God to use power.

...Moreover, as a participant in the war between demons and gods, Gan Yu knows that humans don't actually need the Eye of God.

"After the Great War of the Demon Gods, the Seven Kingdoms' governing system was established, and the 'Eye of God' appeared on the continent of Teyvat for the first time. In the end, the function of the Eye of God is merely an external organ of magic, assisting humans in manipulating elemental forces. So, what about before that...?"

Han Fulai looked at Gan Yu, who had a faint smile on her face, as if to say to him, "Congratulations on discovering the truth."

The immortals existed before the war between the demons and gods, and what power did they use?

The Thousand Rocks Guild fought alongside the Emperor when Liyue was first established, daring to confront the Demon God. What power did they rely on?

To put it another way... what did humans breathe before they discovered oxygen?

Gan Yu once told him that the "Thousand Rocks Series" was the standard equipment of the ancient Thousand Rocks Army, crafted from the divinely forged bedrock that forms Liyue Harbor, and jointly forged by the Star Clan and the Han Clan, the earliest forging families in Liyue. The "Thousand Rocks Series" weapons come with the "Thousand Rocks Technique" effect, which can enhance the wielder's attack power for a short period of time as long as the wielder is motivated by the will to protect their homeland. The more people involved, the stronger the effect.

This is essentially the application of "willpower".

When Han Fulai asked Gan Yu why the modern Qianyan Army no longer equipped itself with equipment such as the Qianyan Ancient Sword, Gan Yu said that there were economic factors and factors related to the quality of the soldiers—which were certainly very realistic reasons, but not the truth.

The truth, of course, is that the Rock King has decided to stop equipping soldiers with the Thousand Rock series weapons on a large scale. This is because the war is over, and more importantly, because Sky Island will not allow it.

After the war ends, private armed forces will be banned by the government.

While civilians may possess privately held weapons, and while some places may allow people to carry relatively outdated firearms, the truly lethal weapons that threaten the government's rule are those that no government would allow civilians to possess.

Han Fulai paused, then said, "To use the history of my hometown as an analogy—'Therefore, they abolished the ways of the former kings, burned the books of the hundred schools of thought to keep the common people ignorant; they destroyed famous cities, killed heroes; they collected all the weapons in the land, gathered them in Xianyang, melted down the blades and arrowheads, and cast them into twelve bronze statues to weaken the people of the land.'"

Although Gan Yu had not read "On the Faults of Qin", she could fully understand Han Fulai's meaning—the two words "weak people" were enough to reveal everything.

Heaven has sealed away history and seized power to keep the people ignorant and weak, ensuring its eternal rule.

The seven rulers of the mortal realm are, in essence, nothing more than "patriarchs" who "shepherd the people on behalf of the emperor," much like state and county officials who help the emperor suppress local territories. The reason why those who obtain the Eye of God are regarded as lackeys of the Sky Isles is because they actually play the role of "recommendation."

This leads people to think of "the eye of God" as the only way to obtain extraordinary power, and they only recognize this "orthodox" method, namely, that only those chosen by the gods can possess power.

In this way, humans will not consider whether there are methods other than those recognized by Sky Island, or whether humans should inherently possess greater power.

But humanity's dreams will not end.

The people of Kanria, Dainesreb, Ye Mingxiang, and Zhiqiong, an ordinary person with dreams... they tell their story through their actions—

Humans have their own inherent qualities; we are not the leftover residue after the chosen ones have been filtered out!

Humans are the primates of all things, beings with intelligence, will, and the ability to create their own future!

We should never become pets kept by the laws of nature!

Chapter 301 Literature as a Vehicle for Morality, Unity of Knowledge and Action [4k]

The power that humanity inherently possessed became the exclusive domain of the gods and a taboo for humanity after the great battle between the principles of nature and her "political enemies."

Haidifu and his group had previously told Han Fulai about the history of the ancient snow mountain kingdom of Shar Fendnir, as they knew it.

This history contains more than just a poignant love story, and it also demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between ancient civilizations and the "silver-white ancient tree." It also illustrates one thing: the power of ancient humankind!

The heavens hurled the "Frost Nail" at Fendnir, severing the earth's veins and causing the "Silver Ancient Tree" to wither. Considering the anomalies in the Layered Rock Abyss, one can understand that this would be an absolutely devastating catastrophe for humanity.

But the princess of the ancient snow mountain kingdom at that time was not only able to actively save herself and try to revive the "silver-white ancient tree" herself, but also asked the warrior Imroka to find a new "silver-white ancient tree" and bring it back to save their homeland. In other words, even though the people of the ancient snow mountain kingdom lost the protection of the ancient tree and had their earth veins cut off, they survived for a long time and even had the ability to resist the punishment from heaven.

Moreover, that warrior actually found a new silvery-white branch, and it was even a living branch! The branch that Imroka brought back back then has now become the "Honeysuckle Tree" on the snow mountain.

If Imroca had returned sooner, the ancient kingdom of the snowy mountains might not have perished.

The White Night Kingdom, which wrote "The Past of the Sun and Moon," was even more extravagant. First, they were an ancient kingdom with a very long history, so ancient that they could record the story of the great war about the principles of heaven. Second, they had very powerful technology, even capable of creating an "artificial sun" underground.