At first, Billy was quite resistant to learning close combat martial arts. But after practicing a few moves with Guoba, he suddenly realized these techniques were incredibly effective. What if he integrated them into his gun combat skills? Wouldn't that make him even more formidable?
Thinking this, Billy instantly perked up, following Guoba and the Bangboo disciples with earnest focus. Even during breaks, Billy kept pondering how to integrate the martial arts he'd just learned from Guoba into his gun techniques—like making bullets curve?
No, no, no... even incorporating martial arts wouldn't work.
Just then, Nekomata asked curiously, "Billy, what are you thinking about? Have you learned it yet?"
Billy temporarily set aside the idea of merging martial arts with his gunplay and declared with Shin, "Of course I've learned it! Now, even without dual pistols, I can easily take down a whole bunch of Ethereals."
Immediately after, Billy added earnestly, "Truly worthy of being the ancient Stove God of Liyue. Impressive indeed."
Guoba approached. "Lulu, Lulu, Lulu—"
Xiangling promptly translated, "Guoba says that's the martial art taught to him by the former Archon of the Geo. Mastered to its peak, it can slay gpds..."
Hearing this, Billy and Nekomata were both utterly astonished. During their journey to Liyue, they'd heard the name "Archon" mentioned countless times. Legend held that each Archon was a being no weaker than an Adeptus, and some were even far stronger.
The figure before them, Guoba, was an god stripped of its power. Liyue's Geo Archon had once been a mighty God of Geo. The sheer potency of this martial art was evident. Even Nekomata, Anby, and Nicole felt their hearts stir.
Thus, during the subsequent training, Anby, Nicole, Nekomata, and even Belle followed Guoba and the Bangboo, learning this martial art from Guoba.
In the process of learning, Anby was astonished to discover that certain techniques in this art bore a striking resemblance to the moves Sam Li had previously taught her.
It wasn't just Anby. Billy noticed this too. But to Billy, Sam Li seemed like an Adeptus akin to figures like the Cloud Retainer Adeptus and Wind Holding Adeptus. It made perfect sense that he'd know martial arts taught by the Geo Archon.
Over the next week, the members of Hare's House—Belle, Hu Tao, Xiangling, and Guoba—came here daily to train with Bangboo.
...
Meanwhile, Keqing was equally busy, leading several Adepts to suppress one A-rank Hollow after another with the cooperation of H.A.N.D. Headquarters and Hoshimi Miyabi.
In the past, these hollows were the most troublesome for the New Eridu authorities. But now, in the presence of Adepts like Cloud Retainer, suppressing these A-rank hollows was child's play.
One was suppressed each day. Sometimes, they'd suppress one in the morning and another in the afternoon.
News of major companion Hollow being suppressed flooded the internet one after another, overwhelming the citizens of New Eridu. Shockwaves rippled through the entire city time and again.
While ordinary citizens remained unaware of the events unfolding, some citizens had deduced that these successive Hollow suppressions must be the work of the Adepts who had appeared earlier.
The entire forum was abuzz with discussions about voids and Adepts. Nineteen out of twenty trending topics were related to Adepts or voids, with the remaining one concerning the superstar Furina.
Since her explosive rise to fame, Furina had vanished. The citizens of New Eridu had waited over a month, yet Furina still hadn't reappeared.
Not only that. Today, Cloud Retainer and Mountain Shaper had also returned to Liyue. At Keqing's request, they brought back a contingent of Millelith from Liyue, along with several capable staff members from Yujing Terrace to assist Keqing in her work.
With the addition of these Millelith and subordinates, the temporary Yujing Terrace in New Eridu gradually took shape.
Simultaneously, Cloud Retainer handed Keqing a blueprint.
"Take this blueprint. That girl Tianquan asked me to deliver it to you. Should you need it, you can construct one in New Eridu."
Upon hearing this, Keqing accepted the blueprint and unfolded it, discovering it was for the Jade Chamber.
Rather than a luxurious palace, the Jade Chamber resembled a hollow fortress—capable of transforming into a weapon to turn the tide in critical moments.
Upon seeing the blueprint, Keqing beamed with delight. "With this blueprint, our odds of victory increase by ten percent."
At that moment, outside the "Temporary Yujing Terrace," the arrival of a Millelith garrison immediately caused a stir along the entire street.
Many passersby stopped to watch, curiously eyeing the Millelith soldiers.
What era is this, where people still wear armor from the old days? Is this some kind of cosplay event?
But clearly, these armored warriors didn't look fake, instantly piquing the citizens' interest.
Some snapped photos of the Millelith... Others live streamed the scene, uploading it online...
...
Seven days slipped by unnoticed.
On the morning of the eighth day, Nicole couldn't wait to call Zhu Yuan, asking her to come supervise Bangboo's assessment. This task had already been assigned to Hare's House and Belle.
Zhu Yuan originally didn't want to participate in Bangboo's assessment. But she couldn't resist Nicole's invitation. Plus, Nicole claimed Bangboo had been trained exceptionally well and guaranteed he'd pass the assessment 100%. So Zhu Yuan decided to go take a look.
After finishing breakfast, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi drove the patrol vehicle to Hare's House first, then to the video store. Accompanied by the Hare's House crew and Belle, they entered the Hollow used for training.
Upon arriving at the training and assessment site, the stationed administrators immediately informed Zhu Yuan about the Notoriety Ethereal incident that had occurred several days prior.
Zhu Yuan's brow furrowed instantly. "Notoriety Ethereal? Why am I only hearing about this now?"
The manager replied cautiously, "Because Ethereal was slain by Miss Nicole, Sam Li, and the others the moment it appeared. We couldn't confirm its rank at the time..."
Hearing this, Qingyi smiled faintly. "I told you inviting them as trainers was the right choice."
Zhu Yuan exhaled in relief. "Very well. Begin the assessment."
Moments later, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi arrived at the testing grounds, where they encountered the same group of Bangboo once more. Compared to before, these Bangboo seemed like entirely different beings—each radiating vitality and eagerness, visibly anticipating the impending trial.
As the group approached, the Bangboo instantly fell silent, forming neat, orderly lines.
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm mm-hmm (Hello Chief Qingyi, hello Chief Zhu Yuan )——"
"Chief??"
Zhu Yuan and Qingyi exchanged bewildered glances.