He changed Tiwat

"They collaborated with Aqi to modify the 'Virtual Realm Tower,' creating the crises of 'Holy Land Transformation' and the Black Mist, all to get you to participate in this 'Triangle Road Sacrifice' and become the 'Hero'—from beginning to end, the 'Hero' is you, and only you."

"The reason the trial was made easier was because your brother was afraid you would get hurt during the trial. The timely prompts were because your brother was monitoring your trial progress and sending his subordinates to prepare for the trial ahead of us."

"It was your brother who wanted you to gradually come into contact with the historical truth of the White Night Kingdom and Teyvat, to let you know the 'brutality' of the Sky Isles, and ultimately, to make you stand on his side and become a 'hero' of the 'Abyss Order'."

After a long silence, Kong finally asked, "But how do you know that I am the 'mastermind'? Why couldn't it be Yuan Shang?"

The flaws Han Fulai just mentioned do point to Yuan Shang and the "Abyss Cult," but they don't narrow down the suspects to Kong.

But Han Fulai had clearly seen through Kong's existence long ago. Kong still didn't understand how he could have figured it out. Was it just because he was Ying's brother?

Han Fulai smiled and said, "'Black Serpent Knight'."

"When we first entered the Abyss Palace, we encountered the 'Black Serpent Knight' once in the black mist."

"The soldiers on Haiqi Island said that after the black mist spread, the metal armor caused them great damage. In fact, the 'Black Serpent Knights' are more powerful than the dragon lizards, and we have been on guard against them all the way—but strangely, they have never appeared again."

"'Black Serpent Knights' are the royal guard of the Kanria royal family. Only members of the Kanria royal family or someone with the status of regent can control them. And coincidentally, Kong, you are the 'Prince of the Abyss'."

"You were afraid the 'Black Serpent Knights' would harm your important sister, so you withdrew them, right, brother?"

Yingmei rolled her eyes in annoyance—"I'm very strong, you know!"

You think a mere "Black Serpent Knight" can hurt me? Who do you think you are!

Paimon, now curious, asked Yuan Shang and Kong, "By the way, what's the point of all this trouble? If you want to win over Ying, wouldn't it be simpler to just talk to her sometime?"

Yuan Shang stared at the "Intiwat" in Han Fulai's hand, hesitating to speak.

He really couldn't say this before the prince spoke.

He couldn't say, but Han Fulai could.

Han Fulai turned to Ying and Paimon and said bluntly, "In the Yuanxia Palace right now, only the two of you are here purely to help Haiqi Island reverse its 'holy land transformation'. Everyone else, including myself and the Divine Child, has other purposes for coming here."

“My goal, as I just told your brother, is to ‘ascend to godhood’—I need to possess the status of a demon god for the future. As you know, I possess the remnants of the ‘Salt Demon God’ and the ‘Seed of Time’ within me, and the Abyss Palace happens to have the power left behind by that ‘Time Ruler’. By absorbing the power she left behind, I can ascend to the throne of a demon god.”

"..."

Ying and Paimon exchanged a glance, their cheeks puffed out.

They knew that Han Fulai was now considered a "half-god, half-immortal," possessing the power of the Salt God and some of the power of "Time Ruler." However, they had never heard of him coming to Yuanxia Palace to become a demon god.

And he actually concealed his purpose so completely, not letting them know a word—doesn't he consider them friends anymore? He didn't even tell them something so important!

We've fought together, faced the "unthinkable blade" together—how could we not help you knowing this? Are you afraid we'll steal it from you?

I just realized my brother was a bad guy for lying, and now you've lied to us too!

I'm so angry!

However, Han Fulai's next sentence left them speechless: "As I just said, they originally had another plan, which they had to abandon because of me. ... The 'Abyss Order's' goal is the same as mine."

“Your brother sent Yuan Shang here to help another person ‘ascend to godhood’—that person is you, Ying.”

"He hopes you can become a god standing on the other side of the 'abyss'."

"Now I'll ask you a question on his behalf: Ying, do you want to become a god?"

Ying recalled what Sora had said to her the last time she saw him: "Before the 'Abyss' engulfs the throne, I have an unfinished war with 'Heavenly Principle'..."

She looked at the Intiwat flower in disbelief: "Brother, is what he said true?"

After a long silence, Kong replied, "It's true. I... truly hope you can stand with me and fight against Sky Island together."

"But...but..." Ying really didn't know what to say. Putting aside her personal wishes, the status of a demon god wasn't something one could simply have at will.

She had met Wendy and Zhongli, and knew a little about the special characteristics of the Daedric Lords on the continent of Teyvat, such as the Daedric Lords' "immortality," the Daedric Lords' "lovers," and the fact that they did not need "external magical organs" like the Eye of God. As a visitor from outside the world, her most special feature was that she could use elemental power without the Eye of God.

To date, she has visited the local Statue of the Seven in every country she goes to, obtaining the elemental power controlled by the deity from the statue. She has already collected the elemental powers of wind, rock, and lightning.

With the power of the three elements, she is now able to go toe-to-toe with the Shadow, one of the "Seven Rulers of the Mortal World".

While victory is impossible, they at least have the strength to put up a fight, and might even be able to injure the Shadow. Such strength should be considered demigod level.

If she continues her travels and absorbs more elemental powers, it's not impossible that she could one day possess power equal to or even surpass that of a demon god.

However, even if her power reaches the level of a demon god, it does not mean that she can possess the status of a demon god.

The Book of the Sun and Moon also explains that the demons were summoned from beyond the world by the laws of nature, and were not native to Teyvat.

The position of Demon God is not only determined by power; it is, in essence, a position of "Sky Island civil servant" who helps the heavens manage the continent of Teyvat.

In other words, this thing is a "fixed position," with one demon god occupying one spot. All the positions are pre-determined, and there is no recruitment from outside the organization.

There's simply no way for someone outside the Sky Island system to get in.

Currently, the only exception in the entire continent is Vanessa from Mondstadt, and no one knows Vanessa's final fate... Whether she really ascended to the Sky Isle and became a god is still up in the air.

Of course, the demon god system is not without its "loopholes." The position of a demon god can be "inherited," just like how a shadow god can pass on the position of the real Thor.

Han Fulai's "ascension to godhood" was actually a formal inheritance of the divine status of Heuria, the "Salt Demon God".

If Ying also possesses remnants of a demon god and is recognized by Sky Island as the successor of a demon god, then there is still hope of ascending to the throne of a demon god.

The problem is, there are no remnants of a demon god within Ying's body, so this path of "inheritance" is not feasible...

……and many more.

Ying suddenly realized something and looked at the fragment in Han Fulai's hand with astonishment: "This fragment, could it be...?"

Han Fulai nodded silently.

“It is a ‘relic’ left by Orobas. According to Xin Hai, there are three pieces in total: one from the Coral Palace, one from the ‘Sea God Envoy’, and one from the noble ruler of the White Night Kingdom… that is, the Earth Official.”

"The real reason why the Abyss Order sought to cooperate with Aqi was to obtain the fragment in her possession."

"When these three fragments are put together, they can be pieced together into a complete artifact, which can then be used to inherit the 'legacy' left by Orobas in the Abyss Palace."

Before Xin Hai handed him this piece of jewelry, she had said something like this—

"...Haiqi Island no longer needs this. Moreover, the other two fragments are in Yuanxia Palace. If fate allows, we can take this opportunity to reunite them."

Xin Hai knew that Han Fulai had come here to "ascend to godhood".

That's why she entrusted this fragment to Han Fulai before leaving.

...In other words, there is indeed another "divine status" that can be inherited in the Abyss Palace, the divine status of the Sea Serpent God, Orobas.

Sora and the "Abyss Order" are secretly manipulating the "Triangle Road Sacrifice," their true purpose being to usurp Orobas's "legacy" and use it to elevate her to the throne of godhood!?

Chapter 333 Would you be willing to give it to me?

To become a god...?

For the first time since arriving on the continent of Teyvat, Luminous was seriously considering this question.

In her past adventures, she had occasionally thought that it would be great if she could return to her prime—if she still possessed her former power, she wouldn't have been forced to lie on the ground in front of Favonius Cathedral watching Wendy have the Heart of God stolen by the "Lady," nor would she have been defeated by the Thousand-Armed Statue in a single blow...

Unfortunately, the seal set by the guardians of justice is not so easy to break.

Because of this seal, she has lost more than one-tenth of her original power, and her memories of traversing the starry sea are also mostly blurred... But she will never forget her experience of fighting against the maintainers of the laws of nature.

"The upholders of natural justice here end the usurpation of the 'sons of man'."

The white-haired, golden-eyed, unfamiliar deity made this announcement to the brother and sister who wanted to leave this world.

Then, the traveler siblings fought against the maintainers of justice.

The result of the battle was defeat.

The brother and sister were sealed away by the Keepers of Heaven and trapped in a world called Teyvat.

What impressed Ying the most were those red and black "cubes" controlled by the maintainers of the natural order... They were not simply matter or energy, but the manifestation of "space," a "law" of a higher level than the "thoughtless slash" that could cleave through space.

God-level beings can manipulate the "laws" of the world—this is common knowledge for Sora and Luminous, as the brother and sister who just arrived in Teyvat are also such beings.

In the previous world, both Kong and Ying had mastered the rules of the world, or rather, the "principles of the world".

They once represented a world to challenge the universal law of "all that is born must perish," and successfully saved that world.

It is no exaggeration to say that the brother and sister are beings who are "comparable to an entire world" in themselves.

However, in Teyvat, in this new world, they were suppressed by the laws of the world and reduced to "humans".

The declaration made to them by the Ruler of Heaven was essentially a kind of "word of power," symbolizing the operating rules of the entire world. She seems to have used some method to strip Sora and Hikari of their original status, allowing them to only unleash the power of "Children of Man" during battle.

When fighting the guardians of the natural order, Ying could clearly feel that her own power was being severely suppressed, as if even the air around her was oppressing her and opposing her—to put it more precisely, she was fighting against the laws of the entire world at that time.

Under such circumstances, defeat was to be expected.

So, if she could grasp the laws of this world, would the outcome be different?

Demons represent not only superhuman power and infinitely long life, but more importantly—laws.

Ying now knows that the continent of Teyvat is a world shrouded in "False Heaven," and the rules of this world are established by "Heavenly Principles," that is, by Fanes.

"Heavenly Principles" represent "the principles of the world," which are the essential rules governing the operation of this world.

The eye of God, elemental power, ley lines, living beings, natural laws... even the human soul, the so-called "return to the ley line cycle," are all subject to the laws prescribed by the principles of Heaven.

Those "Sky Island civil servants" summoned from beyond the world by the laws of nature, those demons and gods, are actually part of the rules of this world.

It can be said that the powers possessed by each demon god represent a part of the rules of this world.

For example, the thunderstorm that Lei could block the vast ocean of Inazuma with a mere thought, and the "Millennium Symphony" that Wendy uses to protect Mondstadt forever, are actually manifestations of the laws of the Teyvat continent.

In other words, becoming a demon god allows one to control a portion of the laws of this world; the more powerful the demon god, the stronger the power of the laws they control.

Upon reaching the level of the Four Shadows of Sky Island, one can even grasp powerful laws such as "life," "death," "time," and "space."

If Kong and the "Abyss Order" want to fight against Sky Island, they must master the rules of the world. Otherwise, no matter how many people they gather, they will probably be no match for the Ruler of Heaven.

If Ying wants to challenge the maintainers of the laws of nature, reclaim her stolen power and freedom... she also needs such power of the laws.

Perhaps simply becoming a demon god is not enough to challenge the maintainers of the natural order, but this is the difference between a "god" and a "son of man".

The battle with the maintainers of the natural order has proven that mortals cannot transcend the "principles of the world"—just as no matter how high a person jumps, they will always be pulled back to the ground by gravity.

The law is the source and essence of all power.

In any case, ascending to the throne is the foundation of everything.

The most important reason why Kong would want her to become a god is probably this.

Even disregarding the "Abyss Order" and the affairs of Kanria, just to once again ascend Sky Island and demand the return of what was taken from him and his sister from the Keepers of Heaven's Law, they must ascend the throne of God and take control of the laws of this world.

In the parlance of light novels, Ying is roughly like a Level 99 hero who defeats the Demon King's castle, only to be slapped down to Level 1 by the Demon King and thrown back to the starting village, where she is currently struggling to level up... During her travels, she collects elemental power, studies various elemental-related natural phenomena with Paimon, and creates various techniques, essentially analyzing the laws of this world.

The reason she can quickly master the application of various elemental forces and grasp the essence of various martial arts techniques at a glance is fundamentally because she has had experience in mastering the laws of the world and can understand those forces from the perspective of the laws.

However, with her efforts and Paimon's help alone, it would be difficult for her to reach the level of a demon god in terms of mastery of the "principles of the world," let alone a guardian of the natural order.

However, her brother seemed to have prepared a "shortcut" for her—the divine status left behind by the sea serpent god Orobas.

Should she take this "shortcut"?

and……

Ying looked at Han Fulai, her eyes filled with a complex and unfathomable meaning.

He said that he came to Yuanxia Palace to "ascend to godhood".

Does this mean she's going to compete with him for it?

When he asked her if she wanted to become a god, he was actually asking, "Do you want to become my enemy?"

To be honest, Ying felt that the time she spent with Han Fulai was quite pleasant. Whether as a friend or a teammate, he was always very reliable.

Aside from being a bit of a womanizer, she couldn't find any faults in this person—after all, no matter how much of a womanizer he was, it had nothing to do with her, a mere bystander!

It would be a real shame if the two of them had to become enemies because of the position of Demon God...

After hesitating for a long time, Ying finally asked Han Fulai, "...If I say I want it, are you willing to give me this opportunity?"

Chapter 334 I Did It All for You

Upon hearing Ying's question, even the usually carefree Paimon couldn't help but hold his breath—Ying, she actually wanted to "ascend to godhood"?

Based on her understanding of Ying, Ying should never have considered joining the "Abyss Order".

Putting aside the fact that she once saved Dvalin, who was corrupted by the "Abyss Order," in Mondstadt, and investigated the Abyss Mage's conspiracy with Diluc... just considering her friendship with Daines Reeb, Luminous would never do such a thing.

...But she also knew that Ying was a very sentimental person, especially when it came to family.

Sora is, after all, her only blood relative. No matter what her reasons were for joining the "Abyss Order" and becoming an enemy of Sky Island, Ying could not possibly abandon her brother.

In fact, when Ying and Dain were searching for the "Apostle of the Abyss" and reunited with her brother in the secret realm, Ying had said that she wanted to go with her brother.