Chapter 57: A New Test

After Longhua left, Lumine turned to Zhongli. This time, instead of letting Paimon speak for her, she chose to ask the question herself: "Your relationship with her seems a bit... unusual."

"Unusual?"

Zhongli thought for a moment, then replied seriously:

"My attitude toward her should be one of respect. After all, during the Archon War, she helped me greatly."

Paimon immediately became curious. "A great help? What kind of help? Was she one of the adepti who made a contract with you? She doesn't seem like it."

"During the most brutal period of the Archon War, demonic beasts roamed the land, and chaos reigned. Even I was stretched thin, unable to simultaneously wage war and protect my people. I even paid a heavy price for it."

At this point, Zhongli's eyes closed slightly, and after a pause, he continued:

"At that time, it was the Mountain and Sea Fairy who extended a helping hand. She took all my people to the immortal island she created and ruled, the Shanhai Jing. Only then could I fully focus on the war and eventually bring the Archon War to an end."

"So, she must be really strong, right?"

Hearing Zhongli's words, Paimon's eyes lit up, as if she had found evidence to prove how powerful Longhua was... though it wasn't clear why proving this was so important. But Paimon was thrilled, twisting and dancing in the air.

"I knew she had to be really strong!"

"As for that question..."

Zhongli pondered how to answer, then replied earnestly: "Although I've never fought her myself, I've heard many stories about her. During the Archon War, she was the one god I least wanted to fight—because no matter who won or lost, Liyue would have been destroyed in the process. So, when I first received the notice from Celestia, I had already made up my mind: if a conflict with the Mountain and Sea Fairy arose, I would stop my conquest and voluntarily withdraw from Liyue."

"After all, my reason for participating in the Archon War wasn't to compete for the position of Geo Archon, but simply to end the war and free the people of Liyue from suffering as quickly as possible. Fighting the Mountain and Sea Fairy would have been counterproductive."

As he said this, Zhongli couldn't help but smile.

"Unexpectedly, the Mountain and Sea Fairy had the same idea as me. So, in a way, I've admired her from afar for a long time."

After Zhongli finished speaking, Paimon blinked, fell silent for two seconds, and then suddenly shrank back in horror.

"W-wait! S-she... she's a god?!?!"

"Did you just realize that now?"

Lumine couldn't help but look at Paimon with exasperation.

In Liyue, the lines between gods and adepti are often blurred, as even gods refer to themselves as adepti and don't see much difference between themselves and other adepti. The Geo Archon is primarily recognized as the Ancestor of All Adepti, the Lord of Geo, and being called the Geo Archon actually displeases the people of Liyue.

—But it's understandable.

After all, the adepti of Liyue are truly powerful.

The adepti of Liyue today are all ancient beings who have lived for thousands of years. They possess both the power of Visions (Elemental Eyes) and the power of adepti (immortal energy), making them transcendent beings far beyond the reach of mortals. They are practically indistinguishable from gods, and one could even say that adepti are semi-divine beings without much objection.

At least in the eyes of most mortals in Liyue, there's no difference between adepti and gods—they are both great beings who can protect mortals and are beyond mortal resistance.

Only the Geo Archon stands apart from the adepti, as he is seen as the Ancestor of All Adepti, the adeptus above adepti, the one who reigns supreme.

—But for outsiders like Lumine and Paimon, gods are far more awe-inspiring than adepti.

Adepti are different, but gods are on another level!

Moreover, for Lumine, she doesn't care much about adepti—only gods.

After all, during her prime, she couldn't even last two moves against that white-haired woman, who was a god.

She just didn't know which of the seven nations' gods that was.

Or perhaps it was a god from Celestia?

Having experienced both Mondstadt and Liyue, Lumine no longer viewed all gods as enemies, but she still wanted to find the unknown god who had captured her brother. So, her journey would continue.

As for gods...

(I wonder if Longhua knows that unknown god. I'll have to find a chance to ask her later...)

Thinking this, Lumine bid farewell to Zhongli. After all, during the Lantern Rite Festival, when everyone was enjoying themselves, she still had many... quests to complete.

After parting ways with Lumine, Zhongli stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

"If Sidhe has emerged from seclusion at this time, it's likely that she plans to open the Shanhai Jing and bring it under Liyue's jurisdiction. But in this era where Liyue has just begun to be ruled by its people, I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing."

"...Overall, it's probably a good thing."

Zhongli wasn't the type to lose sight of reality. He didn't truly believe that handing Liyue over to human rule meant the presence of gods was no longer important.

Is Liyue able to continue developing smoothly after the apparent death of its god because the Qixing govern the nation so well? Is it because losing a god truly doesn't matter to Liyue?

Of course not.

The main reason is that while the Geo Archon has ostensibly passed away, in reality... both Snezhnaya and Fontaine, the two strongest nations among the seven, know full well that he isn't actually dead.

After the Osial incident, why were the Fatui completely suppressed in diplomatic relations with Liyue?

Because they were in the wrong?

Of course not. It's because both the Liyue Qixing (except Keqing) and the Snezhnayan Fatui know that the Geo Archon isn't actually dead.

Even before that, when the Fatui Harbinger Scaramouche considered attacking the Traveler but gave up because the Millelith were nearby—what was the reason? Could he not handle a few Millelith? Was he afraid of Liyue?

No, it was simply because he knew the Geo Archon wasn't actually dead.

Similarly, in Fontaine, regardless of whether the Hydro Archon Focalors might have any ill intentions, Zhongli was certain that if he were truly dead, his old friend, the Supreme Bishop of Fontaine, would absolutely not miss the opportunity to exploit Liyue. Until he was satisfied or a new Geo Archon ascended, Liyue would suffer.

Zhongli could completely step back from governance, hand Liyue over to human rule, and trust the Qixing to handle everything within the nation—but in this era, he truly didn't dare to let Liyue lose the deterrent power that a god should have over other nations.

As long as a god exists, no matter how weak that god may be, other nations wouldn't dare to openly bully you, because if a god were to go all out, you'd have no idea what they might do... At the very least, any god could rain down nuclear-level destruction on an enemy nation.

Because they possess such authority.

It's not just about power—it's a divine prerogative.

It's like someone holding a nuclear button. The person themselves might not be particularly strong—a soldier with a gun or even a knife could kill them—but that button in their hand could wipe out countless people, including themselves.

The authority of a god is essentially the same.

Take the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, for example. With a single thought, she could alter the weather across the entire nation. If she wanted to, she could wipe out every human in Inazuma in an instant.

The same applies to other nations. If the Raiden Shogun wanted to kill everyone in Liyue, even Zhongli would struggle to stop her. At best, he could only protect those close to him.

Protection is always harder than destruction.

It's like how nuclear weapons on Earth can destroy enemy nations, but if faced with a nuclear attack, at most only 20% of the missiles could be intercepted. It's the same principle.

The same goes for the Dendro Archon, the Lesser Lord Kusanali of Sumeru. If she were to go mad, she could wipe out the entire Teyvat.

—They simply would never do such things.

But just because they wouldn't or don't want to doesn't mean they can't or aren't capable of it. Therefore, as long as a god exists, they will always serve as a deterrent to other nations.

...Speaking of which, Zhongli was a bit puzzled. Sumeru has a god, so why is it being bullied so badly by Fontaine? Does the Lesser Lord Kusanali really not care at all, allowing Fontaine to walk all over her like this?

Ye is really bold, isn't he? Isn't he afraid of a god's retaliation at all?

Well, Sumeru's affairs aren't important right now. What matters is Liyue.

The emergence of the Mountain and Sea Fairy will greatly enhance Liyue's deterrent power.

On the surface, after the apparent death of the Geo Archon, the Mountain and Sea Fairy fills the void left by a god, which will stabilize the people's hearts. Many of Liyue's citizens, unaware of the truth, will likely believe that the Mountain and Sea Fairy has inherited the position of Geo Archon.

Behind the scenes, with both the Geo Archon and the Mountain and Sea Fairy, Liyue will rise to become a powerhouse on par with Snezhnaya and Fontaine, no longer lagging behind these two nations.

From every angle, this seems like a good thing.

"The only downside is that it's not very friendly to the Qixing, who have only recently gained full control over Liyue."

But that has nothing to do with Zhongli, the retired street wanderer.

As long as he doesn't have to go back to work, and as long as internal conflicts don't harm the people of Liyue, it doesn't matter how the Qixing and the Mountain and Sea Fairy divide power and status.

How the Qixing will treat the Mountain and Sea Fairy, and how the Mountain and Sea Fairy will view the Qixing—that's for them to decide.

Zhongli walked away, no longer thinking about it.

Since he had already decided to leave everything to the people of Liyue, he would trust them to handle this matter properly.

This is also a new test for them.