Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [347] [50 PS]

"Come on."

Gu Sanqiu drew his spear. His longsword shrank to a palm-sized blade, circling around him as the Geo shield reformed.

Facing someone of this caliber would undoubtedly be challenging. Too bad he didn't have any means to stack buffs. Otherwise, he'd have taken a page from Chongyun's playbook—fully stacking his status effects before squaring off against Andrius.

"Very well."

A flash of icy blue light accompanied a sharp crack. Gu Sanqiu was sent flying backward in the same instant.

One hit. The shield shattered!

"You've got to be kidding me."

Clutching his chest, Gu Sanqiu staggered to his feet. He had clearly seen Andrius' move: a simple lift of his paw, followed by a downward swipe. Yet he had been sent flying like a leaf caught in the wind.

"Use your full strength. The Trial of the Wolf is a painful ordeal."

Andrius' figure blurred as he moved again. Gu Sanqiu roared and, locking onto Andrius' position with his mental perception, thrust his spear forward with all his might!

Crack!

Surprise flashed across Andrius' face. That strike had shattered the icy shield protecting him. Were it not for the significant disparity in power between man and wolf, that attack might have injured him.

"Interesting!"

The fur on Andrius bristled slightly. Elemental energy surged around him, coalescing into chaotic streams of ice and wind that barreled toward Gu Sanqiu. At the same time, Andrius' form melted into the elemental storm, vanishing like a hunter lurking in the shadows.

"Rise, formation!"

Gu Sanqiu didn't let the chaotic elemental streams deceive him. He knew they were merely the prelude to Andrius' real attack. Throwing all his strength into blocking them would've been pure folly.

Rock pillars erupted from the ground, forming a protective barrier that encased Gu Sanqiu in its center. Holding his spear, he stood ready, while the circling longsword glowed with an intense, molten-red flame—so dense it seemed almost liquid.

Boom!

Andrius struck with lightning speed, fully aware of what Gu Sanqiu's shield signified: a buffer for him to react. But this was a trial, and Andrius wasn't about to go easy.

In an instant, five projections of the King of Boreal Wolves surrounded the shield, launching a synchronized assault!

The formation crumbled immediately under Andrius' attack. His claws were at Gu Sanqiu's throat the very next moment!

"Scarlet Lotus!"

A burst of crimson flames erupted as the sword's light surged, transforming into a fiery lotus that enveloped Gu Sanqiu and surged along Andrius' claws, aiming for his body!

Roar!

Andrius howled, unleashing a powerful soundwave that scattered the encroaching flames, reducing them to pure elemental energy that dissipated into the surroundings.

"This works!"

Gu Sanqiu's eyes lit up as he stepped back. His earlier spear thrust had barely elicited a reaction from Andrius, but the wolf had instinctively moved to defend against the cursed power of the Delusion.

"Attack!"

With a furious roar, Gu Sanqiu's dark-red flames coalesced into armor, encasing him entirely. The flames on his spear swirled, merging red and white into a blazing spear glow that radiated intense heat.

Simultaneously, the Delusion's flames soared, forming a thousand-armed figure wielding countless weapons that launched a relentless assault on Andrius.

"Foul contraption."

The five wolf projections merged back into one as Andrius howled. He gathered dual-elemental energy in his maw, shaping it into a lance aimed directly at Gu Sanqiu's chest!

"Crimson Star—Flash!"

Gu Sanqiu unleashed his Geo shield at full power. Throwing his spear with all his strength, he crossed his arms before him to brace against Andrius' attack.

Boom!

The spear, glowing with crimson light, struck Andrius squarely. But Andrius' elemental lance shattered Gu Sanqiu's shield, and razor-sharp wind blades lacerated his arms, leaving them bloodied before freezing the wounds solid.

Bang!

The Delusion's power hit Andrius, the eerie force combined with sheer kinetic energy forcing the wolf back two steps!

Razor-sharp gasps echoed from the wolves watching nearby, including Razor and the pack. One particularly simple-minded wolf gawked, tongue lolling in shock.

The Wolf King—a godlike entity—had been forced back by a mere mortal!

"So, that's the power you're using."

Andrius gazed at Gu Sanqiu, who remained calm as he chipped away the frozen blood on his arms. Although the ice didn't hinder him in combat, he had no way of knowing if Andrius had some bizarre "exploding ice" technique up his sleeve.

A surprise attack like that could end the trial prematurely.

After all, he, Gu Sanqiu, was nothing if not cautious.

"Gu Sanqiu, do you understand the consequences of wielding that power?"

Gu Sanqiu glanced at his spear, now encased in an icy crystal, and tried to summon it back—but to no avail.

"Of course I do. Honestly, finding a medium for such power was more of a lucky bonus."

With a shrug, Gu Sanqiu abandoned the spear. The circling longsword returned to its original form, which he grasped firmly in his hand.

"A lucky bonus?"

Andrius frowned. "How could you call such power a 'lucky bonus'?"

With his right hand gripping the sword, Gu Sanqiu brought his left hand's index and middle fingers together, running them slowly along the blade. The cleared section gleamed brilliantly with Geo elemental light.

"For the sake of strength, I'll do whatever it takes."

In his left hand, the shield of dragon scales gleamed. In his right, he held the sword firmly.

Gu Sanqiu smiled at Andrius. "Can't help it. I wanted to coast through life as a carefree incense burner, but my elders—and their elders—seem to be scheming something big."

"For the sake of what I hold dear, I'll gladly accept any power, so long as it doesn't kill me outright."

"In short, if it's power I can wield, who cares if it brings a flood of calamities in the future!"

Gu Sanqiu laughed heartily, charging forward with his sword raised. "The future's already set to drown in chaos, so what's a few more waves? A few more tsunamis?"

"Let's go, old man!"

A resonant dragon's roar echoed from the shield as the phantom of Azhdaha appeared behind Gu Sanqiu, merging into his body piece by piece.

As he thrust his sword, Andrius no longer saw a human charging toward him but a dragon king reigning supreme over Liyue!

The slash wasn't a blade—it was a dragon's claw!

Howl!

Andrius released a long howl as a hemispherical domain unfurled, filling the air with the tangible essence of wind and snow. Within the domain, hailstones darted about at chaotic, high speeds, forming a deadly field.

The forward charge faltered as Gu Sanqiu was met with immense repelling force. This domain wasn't just deadly—it was designed to repel any advancing foe, binding them with the tenacity of wind and snow to protect its master.

"Fine, bring it on!"

Raising the dragon-scale shield, Gu Sanqiu poured vast amounts of elemental energy into it. The small round shield grew into a massive barrier, blocking his vision but shielding him from the frontal assault of wind and snow.

Hail and slicing winds battered his sides and back relentlessly, but Gu Sanqiu simply shut his eyes, relying on mental perception to pinpoint Andrius' location.