"Ying's brother?"
Everyone was startled for a moment—
except Zhongli and Venti, who looked entirely unsurprised.
Clearly, they had known all along.
But the Abyss was not the point right now.
Ganyu's tribulation
was all that mattered.
The sixth bolt had passed.
What remained were the last three—
each one far more terrifying than the last.
Ganyu dared not relax.
She quickly swallowed a pill, restoring the true essence she had expended.
Though she couldn't return to peak strength, she would have enough to face the bolts to come.
Above her, the swirling clouds tightened inward, thickening like a black hole.
What had been violet lightning now burned an ominous blood-red, leaking raw destruction.
Even those who had already stepped into the Spirit-Refining Realm—
the Cryo Archon, Neuvillette, Furina—
felt their scalps numb.
This was not something they wanted to face twice.
Ganyu formed hand seals with trembling fingers, layering every defensive technique she knew onto her body.
She did not plan to take a bolt head-on—
but if any of the stray arcs hit her, she needed protection.
She had barely completed the last layer when—
BOOM—!!
The seventh tribulation struck.
This time Ganyu could no longer fight casually.
She strained every muscle, her petite face flushing red as she drew the bow to its limit.
A Golden Crow larger than any she had summoned before burst upward—
meeting the crimson thunder head-on.
Shockingly—
It held.
But Ganyu didn't smile.
For she could already sense it—
The eighth bolt was riding on the tail of the seventh.
It fell silently, without warning.
Just as she predicted.
The earlier Golden Crow shattered instantly.
Ganyu had already nocked multiple arrows—
a full volley of blazing suns.
The arrows collided with the eighth bolt and locked together,
crackling for what felt like an eternity—
until both dissolved into nothingness.
When the smoke cleared—
Jueyun Karst no longer had mountains.
Everything had been flattened.
Hundreds of peaks, wiped away.
A wasteland of shattered earth.
Without the system's suppression like during Jiang Yan's own tribulation,
this lightning—
even in a world strengthened by rising spiritual energy—
showed its true terrifying nature.
Yae Miko swallowed hard.
Thank goodness she hadn't chosen to break through in Inazuma.
If she did, all of Inazuma would probably have ceased to exist.
Liuyun, Mooncarver, and Cloud Retainer all stared at the ruined terrain, grief flickering in their eyes.
These were places they once lived, laughed, argued—
centuries of memories.
Now gone.
Yet the Will of Teyvat rejoiced.
It did not care for Jueyun Karst.
It did not care for mountains, forests, mortals, beasts.
To a world, everything living on it is merely a parasite.
Nothing is precious.
Everything can be sacrificed.
Colder than Celestia.
But that was the truth behind its existence.
As cultivation legends said—
Humans have never been the protagonists of a world.
The Final Bolt
Ganyu's breath hitched as she lifted her gaze.
The tribulation clouds were gone.
The sky was clear—
too clear.
But the sense of death covered everything like a tidal wave.
Even the World Will seemed uneasy.
Only a small, ink-black sphere remained overhead.
It condensed slowly, becoming the size of a fist—
then drifted downward like a falling star.
Ganyu's pupils constricted.
This was far stronger than the one Qinyuan (Azure Plume) had faced.
Ganyu gathered every strand of true essence she had—
every last drop.
Nine arrows.
Nine Golden Crows.
They shot out in a line, shrieking as they fused mid-flight—
becoming a second miniature sun.
The two spheres collided—
and the world went white.
Everyone's eyes burned.
They squeezed them shut instinctively, faces twisting in pain.
Only after a long, breathless silence did the light fade.
When the crowd opened their eyes again—
There was no tribulation.
Only a rending seam in space—
a crack large enough to see an entire barren planet outside, half-destroyed.
Then, slowly—
the crack healed.
Breakthrough
Ganyu closed her eyes, exhausted beyond exhaustion.
But something warm washed over her—
the faint presence of Dao itself.
Her drained true essence rapidly refilled, surging back richer, purer, holier than anything of the Essence-Refining Realm.
She raised her palm and stared at the brilliant aura flowing within.
"…I… succeeded?"
The world answered for her.
A tidal wave of cheers exploded across Jueyun Karst.
"She did it!!"
"Ganyu-sama has succeeded!"
"Long live Ganyu-sama—congratulations on entering Spirit-Refining!"
Even the gravely wounded Qianyan soldiers beamed with pride.
The sight made Ganyu's eyes soften.
She lifted a finger.
The healing technique she once barely controlled flowed like water—
effortless, perfect.
A soft green rain fell over the battlefield.
Arms regrew.
Mortally wounded soldiers leapt back onto their feet.
Minor wounds vanished instantly.
Liyue erupted into another storm of gratitude.
The World Blesses Its Savior
Golden petals drifted from the heavens.
Seven-colored clouds formed above her head.
This wasn't the Dao's intervention—
but the gratitude of the world itself.
Ganyu's tribulation had destroyed Jueyun Karst, killed many beasts, caused chaos—
But what she brought back—
the purity of Dao-infused spiritual energy,
enough to spread across the entire continent—
was a treasure beyond measure.
From this moment onward,
Teyvat's evolution entered overdrive.
How could the World Will not rejoice?
But Ganyu barely cared.
She only wanted to share her joy with—
him.
She stepped lightly forward and returned to the Jade Chamber.
Her new Spirit-Refining aura made many tremble involuntarily.
Tartaglia's eyes burned with battle-lust.
"Spirit-Refining…
I can reach it too! Definitely!"
Ganyu ignored him completely.
She only looked at Jiang Yan, bright-eyed and unable to contain her excitement.
"Master! I succeeded!"
Jiang Yan chuckled warmly.
"Congratulations, Ganyu."
The others snapped out of their awe and quickly cupped their fists.
"Congratulations, Senior Sister Ganyu! Your immortal path is limitless!"
"Thank you, everyone!"
Ganyu's smile curved like a crescent moon.
Zhongli thought for a moment, then spoke:
"Master, now that Ganyu has entered the Spirit-Refining Realm,
is it still appropriate for her to remain an inner disciple?"
After all, the Cryo Archon, Neuvillette, and Furina were only one minor realm above her—
yet they all held elder positions.
Jiang Yan waved a hand.
"In the past, all inner disciples of Mount Shu were Spirit-Refining cultivators.
But the past is the past.
Mount Shu has another rank—
aside from outer, inner, and true disciples:
Core Disciple."
Everyone stirred.
"Core disciples," Jiang Yan continued,
"are the sharpest pillars of Mount Shu's future battle strength.
They are not true disciples,
but are cultivators who have already matured—
second only to the peak geniuses.
Traditionally, core disciples begin at the Void-Returning Realm.
But these are no longer traditional times.
Ganyu has advanced steadily along the orthodox path.
Becoming a core disciple is well within reason."
He looked down at her gently.
"Ganyu.
Are you willing?"
Ganyu nodded instantly.
"I am willing!"
"Very well."
Jiang Yan raised his hand.
"From this day forth—
Ganyu is a Core Disciple of Mount Shu's Tongtian Peak.
Your monthly resources:
one thousand mid-grade spirit stones,
and three bottles of pills."
The surrounding disciples were struck with envy.
Even Zhongli sighed slightly.
That level of support was nearly equal to what a chief or elder received.
But with Mount Shu's seven spirit veins running at full capacity—
and Jiang Yan's monstrous wealth—
no one questioned it.
And besides—
everyone knew Ganyu's relationship with the Sect Master.
No need to speak it aloud.
Ningguang clasped her hands.
"A double celebration indeed.
Though Liyue suffered some injuries,
the resources collected from the beasts will sustain us for months."
Liuyun nodded—
then grimaced at the ruined landscape.
"But… Jueyun Karst is no more."
Everyone looked toward the devastated wasteland.
No mountains.
No forests.
Merely craters.
Scattered surviving beasts.
The only upside—
the spiritual energy density had soared again.
"Sorry… I—"
Ganyu lowered her head.
After all, this was her home for over a thousand years.
"It's fine," Liuyun said quickly, realizing her tone had slipped.
"Your breakthrough is far more important.
We stay on Mount Shu now anyway.
Losing this place isn't so terrible.
Higher spiritual energy—that is the true blessing."
Even so, Ganyu still looked guilty.
Jiang Yan smiled.
"I told you earlier—
someone will fix it."
Everyone turned to him in confusion.
Jiang Yan's gaze drifted toward an empty patch of air.
"Come out."
At once—
a massive glowing orb emerged silently.
A warm familiarity washed over every Mount Shu disciple—
a feeling like distant kinship.
The orb hovered, hesitated,
then floated before Jiang Yan.
A hollow, mechanical yet ethereal voice resonated:
"Greetings, venerable Sect Master of Mount Shu.
Teyvat's World Will offers you its respect."
The crowd froze.
World Will?
Not… Celestia?
Zhongli blinked—then pieced it together.
Celestia did not exist with the world.
It was an invader, a later addition.
The world itself, naturally, had its own Will.
The Will ignored their shock and drifted toward Ganyu.
Its voice echoed across heaven and earth:
**"Ganyu.
Will you merge with this world,
and become the avatar of its Will?"**
To read 220+ future chapters, head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/WhiteDevil7554