After destroying all the Guizhong Machines, Chen Meng turned to look at Guizhong, who stood inside her shield with arms crossed, staring back at him.
"Good thing I made those with leftover materials. Otherwise, I really might've come over there and smacked you."
Though Guizhong said it jokingly, Chen Meng could tell from her puffed cheeks and the way she glared at him—she was clearly still a little mad.
Suddenly, Chen Meng flashed back to his original position. The spot he'd just been standing in was now trapped in a cage made of dust.
Just as he was about to speak, a crisp ding-ling-ling rang in his ears. His vision blurred, his body felt heavy, and his consciousness began to fade.
Chen Meng instantly channeled power to protect himself. The heaviness quietly faded away.
Once recovered, he looked back at Guizhong. She stood inside the shield, hands on her hips, looking triumphant. Beside her, the Dustbell swayed and chimed melodiously.
"Chen Meng, round two begins!"
As she spoke, the Dustbell's shaking intensified, and its sound grew louder.
Thanks to the protective force Chen Meng had activated earlier, the Dustbell's effects on him were now minimal.
He looked at Guizhong and drew the Xiaomeng Flute from his system space with his right hand.
Of course, to others, it simply looked like the flute suddenly appeared in his hand—but for an Archon, materializing things like that wasn't strange at all.
Over in the spectator area, Morax and Markosius watched as both Guizhong and Chen Meng pulled out their instruments—wait, artifacts? Yes, definitely artifacts!
"Morax, what do you think would happen if A-Ping were here?"
"They'd argue."
"Mm… true."
With that, their attention returned to the battlefield.
There, Guizhong realized the Dustbell was no longer affecting Chen Meng. She raised her right arm, reached forward, and opened her hand.
A cloud of dust suddenly appeared around Chen Meng, quickly forming a dome that enveloped him.
Guizhong clenched her fist, and the dome began to contract inward.
Suddenly, the dust exploded outward, and a violet mist spread in all directions, surging toward Guizhong.
Her shield blocked the mist, but her vision was completely obscured. In that moment, Chen Meng appeared before her and slashed at the shield with his Tigerfish Blade.
Guizhong launched a counterattack—but it passed right through him. Ding—she turned around.
Behind her, another Chen Meng had appeared, striking the shield.
Some of the mist drifted toward the stone table. Morax took a quick glance and casually cast a shield over himself and Markosius, then poured a cup of tea and handed it to the Chen Meng sitting next to him.
"Chen Meng? What are you doing over here?"
Markosius looked at the Chen Meng beside Morax in confusion.
"Just conserving energy."
Chen Meng took a sip, then set the cup down with a slight frown—it was too hot.
"Drinking tea without snacks? What is this?"
After his question, Markosius pulled out some food.
"We have snacks, but Morax and I only bring them out when Guizhong drinks tea."
Chen Meng began munching on the snacks, thinking to himself that sunflower seeds would've been perfect. He made a mental note to see if he could make some later.
Back on the battlefield.
The number of Chen Meng's clones kept growing. Guizhong looked at the surrounding duplicates, thought for a moment, then began gathering her power.
Boom! A wave of force burst from Guizhong at the center, scattering all of Chen Meng's clones.
With the area cleared, Guizhong quickly spotted Chen Meng sitting calmly at the stone table.
"Chen Meng!" she shouted, rushing toward him.
Chen Meng poured another cup of tea and handed it to her as she arrived and sat beside him.
Guizhong accepted the cup, cheeks puffed in frustration.
"Chen Meng, how can you just stop and take a break in the middle of a duel?"
"Because~ I already lost."
Chen Meng replied with a relaxed smile.
"What? But shouldn't we have been evenly matched?"
Guizhong asked, puzzled.
Instead of replying, Chen Meng looked to Morax.
Morax set down his teacup and gave Guizhong a hint.
"Guizhong, didn't you notice Chen Meng's clones were getting weaker?"
A flash of realization crossed her face.
"Wait… Chen Meng, you ran out of power?"
"Much as I hate to admit it, yes—I'm completely out."
Chen Meng confirmed.
"Wait, weren't you just trying to… oh~"
Markosius suddenly realized he might've spoiled the act.
Thankfully, Guizhong was too wrapped up in her victory to hear what he said.
"Yay! I win!"
Guizhong raised her hands in triumph.
"Chen Meng, do you still want to spar with me?"
Morax turned to ask.
"Another time. I'm not strong enough yet."
Chen Meng replied.
"Very well. Let's return."
With a wave, Zhongli dispelled the space, and the group returned to the area outside the house.
"I'm off to work on a new mechanism—bye!"
With that, Guizhong hurried away.
"Morax, I want to join Fuxue and the others to help clear out the monsters."
"You want to improve your combat skills?"
"Yes. My close combat is still weak. Even though my spells are powerful, they consume too much energy. If I run out of power and an enemy gets in close, I might not make it."
"Understood. I'll inform Fuxue and the others."
Morax left after speaking.
Only Chen Meng and Markosius remained at the stone table.
"Chen Meng, why are you in such a rush to get stronger?"
Markosius asked. To him, even though Chen Meng's authority was incomplete, once fully mastered it would still outclass most Archons. There was no need to hurry.
Chen Meng didn't answer right away. He stared at the teacup in his hand, thinking. Then he rested his left arm on the table, cradled his head in his left hand, and slowly lifted the teacup in his right.
"Because… I want to beat you all."
"(Duck-face expression) Alright then. If you've got time, come learn some cooking from me."
With that, Markosius stood up and left.
"They've all gone… Guess I'll go find Fuxue and the others."
Chen Meng turned and made his way to the Five Yakshas' quarters.
————————————————————————————
"Big bro, what did the Lord of Geo say to you?"
Yingda approached Fuxue from behind, full of curiosity.
Fuxue turned and replied,
"The Lord said Lord Chen Meng will be joining us for the next few days to help clear out monsters."
"Lord Chen Meng is joining us? Not sure if that's good or bad."
Vanan suddenly appeared beside them.
"Vanan? What are you doing here?"
"You and big bro Fuxue hadn't come back yet, so I came to check."
Vanan explained.
"Sigh… so who's teaming up with Lord Chen Meng?"
Yingda asked.
"Hmm~ Let's pair Chen Meng with Xiao."
"(⊙_⊙)?"
"(⊙_⊙)?"
The two girls stared at Fuxue in confusion.
"I know Xiao's a bit hostile toward Lord Chen Meng. But that's exactly why he needs to spend more time with him. That way, Xiao might gradually change."
"Alright, let's go back."
Yingda and Vanan exchanged a glance and followed Fuxue back home.
Meanwhile, Chen Meng had finally arrived at the Yakshas' quarters.
In the system space, the 'System' observed Chen Meng's every move and muttered,
"Chen… you're getting closer to your wish."