The Jade Chamber floated quietly in the air, suspended a hundred meters above ground. The beacon's light pillar had already dispersed—Ningguang and the others had long since dismantled and stored the beacon properly.
After all, keeping that thing active would've turned all of Liyue into a demolition site. Every citizen would have become a human bulldozer, and any slight movement might accidentally level a building.
On the five warships, the Qianyan Army stood tall and proud, accepting the praise that belonged to them.
Ningguang and the others also stood at the edge of the Jade Chamber, looking down at the roaring Liyue Harbor below.
When the people saw them, the cheers from the citizens of Liyue grew even louder.
Many even climbed up onto ruins, just so their passionate shouts could be seen and heard more clearly.
Dr. Hanxue was so moved that he could no longer maintain his usual scholarly demeanor.
His whole body trembled as he pushed up his glasses.
"A triumph unseen in a hundred—no! Unseen in all of history!"
"Liyue, relying on itself, without pleading to the Geo Archon, has slain a god and quelled chaos!"
"Across all of Teyvat, who else could have achieved what we just did?"
Tian Tiezui clapped excitedly.
"More than that, Dr. Hanxue—don't forget, not a single person from Liyue was injured!"
"Exactly! Subduing a god with zero casualties—even during the Archon War back then, nothing like this was ever seen."
Even Liu Su, for once, didn't argue with Tian Tiezui. Instead, he eagerly scribbled notes.
"A thousand years from now, this event will surely be remembered alongside the Geo Archon's conquest of the world and the founding of Liyue. I must be the first to turn this into a tale!"
Tian Tiezui snorted.
"I'll definitely tell it better than you! My storytelling books will be passed down for generations!"
"You...!"
Liu Su glared at Tian Tiezui, annoyed.
Just as the two were about to start bickering again, a graceful figure approached with a gentle smile.
"You're both masters of storytelling in Liyue Harbor—why quarrel over such a trivial matter? Today is a day of great celebration for Liyue."
The two turned their heads and saw it was Yun Jin. Their expressions softened noticeably.
"Master Yun…"
Tian Tiezui cupped his hands and smiled modestly:
"You flatter us. We may have some small accomplishments, but compared to you, we're far behind."
Even Liu Su didn't argue this time. He grinned and said:
"Master Yun is right. On such a joyful day, no point arguing with this guy."
"But, Master Yun, will the Yun-Han Opera Troupe adapt today's events into a play?"
Yun Jin nodded.
"Of course. A great deed led by humans and accomplished by humans—if even this doesn't deserve to be sung about, then what does?"
"I'll personally write the script. In a few days, it will premiere at the Yun-Han Opera House!"
At those words, the crowd around them burst into laughter and cheers.
"We get to see Master Yun's new play again—that's wonderful! I'll definitely go support it!"
"Master Yun, please save me a ticket! It's impossible to get tickets to your shows."
Yun Jin chuckled helplessly and shook her head.
"Though it'll be a few days, it won't happen too soon either. After all, what happened in Liyue is incredibly complex. I never imagined we had grown so powerful."
"Even if I want to adapt it into a script, it'll take some time."
Yun Jin's words left the people around her with thoughtful expressions.
"That's true… Just a few days ago, everything was peaceful. Yesterday, we were still panicking over the Geo Archon being gravely wounded. And today, we suddenly realize—we've built up such deep, hidden strength all this time."
"That beacon on the Jade Chamber was truly a treasure. Never in my life did I think I'd get to wield such power."
"Those enchanted weapons... they even come imbued with Pyro. Looks like I need to figure out how to buy one myself."
"Buy one? With those prices? How?"
"What a joke! Those are sold to other factions! Did you forget? The alchemical potions that go for tens of millions of Mora on the market—we Liyue citizens only pay a hundred thousand."
"Exactly! Seeing that all the Qianyan Army soldiers are uniformly equipped with them, it seems these things are already in mass production. If the price isn't too high, I want to buy one too. It could save your life one day."
"Speaking of which, what about those hot weapons..."
"Better not. Those can destroy monsters from a distance with just a flick—they're too dangerous. I'm sure Lady Ningguang and the others wouldn't allow them to be sold."
"True enough..."
The crowd chattered enthusiastically, every word filled with pride in their identity as citizens of Liyue.
Their voices made listeners from other nations and factions around them quite envious.
No one knew how much time had passed, but as the cheering still showed no signs of dying down, Ningguang finally raised her voice:
"People of Liyue..."
With just those words, the entire city of Liyue fell instantly silent.
All eyes were ablaze with fervor as they gazed up at the Jade Chamber.
When the Geo Archon had been gravely wounded and unable to appear, and the gods had launched a massive invasion, the Jade Chamber rose into the sky—
—becoming the fortress that protected Liyue in the Archon's stead.
Before all of Teyvat, it had turned the tide in spectacular fashion.
They had crushed the invading god with overwhelming power, revealing their terrifying strength.
This was the power of humanity—shining for the first time in the long history of Teyvat, a world ruled by Archons, demons, and monsters.
And now it had burst forth in dazzling brilliance.
With their frail human bodies, they had slain a god.
If not for the fact that many were secretly pinching themselves, they'd have thought it was all just a dream.
On the Jade Chamber, seeing Liyue grow silent in perfect unity, Ningguang let out a light laugh and declared proudly:
"We fulfilled our promise. Even without the Geo Archon's intervention, we subdued the god!"
"We crushed this war without a scratch! We did not lose a single person!"
"This is humanity's great victory! From this day forward—besides the Archons and the adepti—we too possess the strength to face gods directly!"
"You all witnessed this with your own eyes. This will be the most glorious chapter in your lives!"
"In the name of the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, I hereby proclaim: Today marks Liyue's great victory! A banquet will be held in Liyue Harbor—let all the world celebrate! We shall not sleep tonight!"
In the next moment, the cheers of Liyue Harbor shot straight into the heavens, parting the clouds and even causing the Jade Chamber to tremble slightly.
Slowly, the Jade Chamber began to drift back toward its original position.
Ningguang sent a voice transmission to Dashi, then left the rest of the matters below in others' hands.
The crisis was over. Now, she wanted to spend some time with Ryen.
It was easy to imagine how busy she would soon become with the upcoming Rite of Parting for the fallen adepti.
From a hundred meters in the air, everyone could clearly see the barrels of the redstone cannons on the Jade Chamber.
Densely packed.
And yet every single person could immediately recognize what they were.
There was the Mountain Shatterer Cannon, which had directly suppressed Osial at the start—its terrifying power had blown off two of Osial's heads.
There were also the rapid-fire redstone turrets that could rain down bombs in a full-coverage, saturation sweep.
And the vertically downward-facing ones—redstone bombers.
It could be said that if this thing were to make just one circuit around Liyue, the mountains and rivers would be shattered, and not a single blade of grass would remain—it would be effortless.
It was, without question, a fortress of war—a Damocles' sword hanging high in the sky.
To all life, it brought equal measures of death and devastation.
And yet, even when the cannon barrels passed right over their own heads, the people of Liyue only cheered louder.
Because they knew—the Jade Chamber's cannons would only fire upon their enemies.
This was the nation's ultimate weapon of defense.
Their new mechanical guardian deity.
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