Hearing Jiang Yan's words, the World Will immediately shifted topics—
no emotion, no hesitation.
It didn't care why Jiang Yan changed his mind.
It cared only for one thing:
Evolving Teyvat as quickly as possible.
"Miss Ganyu merging with the World Will may also be described as the World Will merging with Miss Ganyu,"
it said tonelessly.
"From that moment onward, Miss Ganyu becomes one with Teyvat.
Within Teyvat, Miss Ganyu will be the world itself."
"Her aptitude will increase.
Her cultivation speed will rise with the aid of heaven and earth."
"As a price, Miss Ganyu's fate will be bound to Teyvat.
When Teyvat prospers, Miss Ganyu prospers.
When Teyvat is destroyed, all the enhancements she gains from the world will vanish."
Alice blinked in surprise.
"…Isn't that basically the classic 'merging with the Heavenly Dao' from cultivation epics?
Only, unlike those stories, Ganyu won't die with the world if Teyvat collapses."
"At least she keeps her life."
The World Will calmly added:
"The evolution of a world is the evolution toward a Heavenly Dao.
When Teyvat ascends to a Minor Thousand World, the World Will ascends into a Heavenly Dao.
At that time, Miss Ganyu will be the Heavenly Dao's covenant partner—
not merely its representative."
Jiang Yan raised a brow.
Now that was something he understood.
A Heavenly Dao covenant partner…
essentially a co-owner of the world.
If the world was a company, the Heavenly Dao was the legal representative,
and Ganyu would be the major shareholder.
If the company went bankrupt, the Heavenly Dao died,
but Ganyu would merely suffer severe losses—
not perish.
For a mysterious world like Teyvat,
this arrangement wasn't bad for Ganyu at all.
As for Jiang Yan himself?
He had zero interest.
The innate Dao Body needed no world's Heavenly Dao as a "partner."
No world here even had the qualification.
And as for whether the World Will was lying—
World Wills didn't have the concept of lying.
"So in short," Jiang Yan concluded,
"you want a symbiotic pact with Ganyu.
She cultivates and grows stronger; you speed up her path.
She advances; you evolve faster."
"Long-term, it's mutually beneficial."
Ningguang nodded thoughtfully.
"But if that's the case… doesn't that make the Heavenly Principles Ganyu's subordinate?"
The World Will did not hesitate.
"Yes."
Jiang Yan glanced at Ganyu.
"This is your decision."
Ganyu stayed silent for a moment, then asked:
"If I cooperate with you, exactly how much faster will I cultivate?"
"This is undetermined," the World Will replied.
"As the world evolves, your speed increases.
But in exchange, you bear responsibility for the world's survival.
If the world perishes, all your gained benefits vanish."
Ganyu thought for only a heartbeat.
Then nodded firmly.
"I accept."
If this let her grow stronger faster—
then she could help Jiang Yan sooner.
And maybe… in the far future,
when she transcended tribulation again,
she could even bring all of Teyvat with her
into the Immortal Realm.
The World Will instantly opened all of Teyvat's root permissions to her.
There was no flashy spectacle—
just a sudden, instinctive awareness:
She could control everything in Teyvat.
Not destroy the world itself—
but if she wanted an entire region to vanish, she could make it happen.
She also sensed clearly that Teyvat was already on the cusp of becoming a Minor Thousand World.
And the World Will was one tiny step away from becoming the true Heavenly Dao.
That last step?
Once Yae Miko and Xiao undergo tribulation here—
the explosion of spiritual energy would push Teyvat across the threshold instantly.
And then—
Humans would evolve further.
Talents would rise.
Spiritual beasts would appear everywhere.
Perhaps even true demons might form.
Good and bad.
But inevitable.
"I'm curious," Jiang Yan said, eyeing the World Will,
"if you wanted cooperation with a cultivator, why didn't you find Zhongli?
He was the first to transcend tribulation."
"He did not undergo tribulation in Teyvat," the World Will replied.
"He brought no benefit to Teyvat."
Zhongli did not deny it.
If he had transcended here back then—
Liyue would have been annihilated.
The World Will didn't care if Liyue was destroyed.
As long as the tribulation helped it evolve, everything else was irrelevant.
But Zhongli was not the World Will.
"Then why not recruit me?"
Jiang Yan asked with a gentle smile.
The glowing sphere flickered.
And stayed silent.
Because—
if approaching Ganyu almost got it killed,
approaching Jiang Yan would get it instantly erased from existence.
It wasn't that stupid.
Also, Jiang Yan's origins were far beyond what a world like Teyvat could bind.
"…Enough. Since you're here, restore Jueyun Karst."
"Yes."
No movement, no gesture—
yet the entire shattered landscape rewound through time.
Every peak, every forest, every stone returned to its original form in an instant.
Except—
New spiritual beasts appeared.
Stronger.
More ferocious.
Gasps rose from the Jade Chamber.
"Refined Essence–Condensed Qi stage beasts… already appearing."
"This is the world's inevitable evolution," the World Will said mechanically.
"When spiritual energy spreads over the whole world,
Teyvat will ascend to a Minor Thousand World.
Miss Ganyu will then become a true Heavenly Dao Partner."
"At the current pace, the entire world will be saturated within three months."
Jean frowned.
"Three months is too fast. Many nations are unprepared.
Even martial cultivation hasn't fully propagated yet…"
"This is inevitable," the World Will repeated,
as cold and unfeeling as machinery.
Only now did everyone truly understand:
Heaven and Earth are unkind,
and treat all things as straw dogs.
Humans, gods, beasts, forests—
none of it mattered.
Only the world's evolution mattered.
Cold, absolute, impartial.
The Tsaritsa stared at the World Will, dazed.
"So…
the Heavenly Principles' lies…
the burning of humanity…
were your orders?"
"Yes.
Before the Honored One descended, Teyvat was dying.
To preserve the world, I bestowed the Thrones and ordered the burning of human order."
Absolute honesty.
The Tsaritsa clenched her fists—
but she could not refute.
"And the lies of the Heavenly Principles…?
You approved those too?"
"No.
My only requirement was the preservation of the world,
not humanity."
"The Thrones acted from their own valuation of humans,
and thus fabricated lies."
The Tsaritsa froze.
The enemy she resented, hunted, blamed—
was not the real culprit.
Her entire struggle
had been an illusion.
"Your Majesty…"
Rosalyne whispered.
The Tsaritsa shook her head weakly.
"Dissolve the Fatui."
And with that one sentence—
years, decades, centuries of fury collapsed into dust.
Nothing she had done had ever mattered.
The world cared not for her grief.
Nor for human suffering.
Nor for civilization.
The world only cared about two things:
Survival.
And advancement.
At any cost.
Jiang Yan finally broke the silence.
"Enough. No need to dwell on unnecessary matters."
"The Rite of Descension has concluded.
Ganyu has succeeded in transcending tribulation and entering the Divine Transformation stage."
"And soon—she will become the Heavenly Dao's partner."
"So today, we celebrate.
Tomorrow, you all return to training."
"The Nine Nether Secret Realm Expedition begins soon.
And Zhongli—you should prepare for the Locking-Demon Pagoda."
Zhongli straightened instantly.
At long last—
his true cultivation path could begin.
"Since things are settled," Ningguang said,
"allow me to calm the citizens.
The earlier shock must have terrified many."
"And the Jade Chamber still needs time to return to Liyue Harbor."
"Oh, and Sect Master—
perhaps inform Ying before she worries herself sick."
Jiang Yan nodded and sent a transmission.
Ningguang left to steer the Jade Chamber back.
Meanwhile—
Though the sky had returned to normal, Ying still looked tense.
But Jiang Yan's message soon reached her,
and both she and Paimon let out a sigh of relief.
Paimon waved cheerfully.
"See? Everything's fiiine! Everyone go home~!"
Ayaka, who had been pale the whole time, finally relaxed and stepped closer.
"Ying… what exactly happened?"
"Nothing major," Ying said casually.
"The World Will said something it shouldn't, angered the Sect Master, and he almost slapped Teyvat apart. That's all."
"…"
Ayaka stared at her.
"…That's all???"
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