Cloud Retainer suddenly coughed hard, as if she had nearly choked on her own adeptal energy.
She looked at the distant mountain peak—cleanly sliced flat, its smooth cross-section still faintly smoking—then back at the black-haired young man in front of her, who was wearing a devastated expression, clearly worried he might be bankrupted by compensation fees.
At that moment, all her "adorable cub" filters and tender affection were utterly obliterated by that heaven-shattering slash.
What remained was overwhelming shock—and a chilling sense of dread.
This child…
He called this "a bit of strength"?!
This was no child.
This was a walking, humanoid, ancient-demon-god-class strategic weapon.
Cloud Retainer felt her thousand years of cultivation crack slightly.
She had seriously considered taking him back to Mt. Aocang to raise him like an ordinary adeptal cub?!
If he ever had a nightmare there…
Or sparred casually…
Would her mountain even survive?
Would Mt. Aocang still exist?!
After the shock came something heavier—responsibility, and urgency.
Power itself had no inherent good or evil.
But such terrifying power, held by a pure-hearted child—if misused, manipulated, or led astray…
The consequences were unthinkable.
Her gaze toward Yi Chen completely changed.
No longer that of a caretaker toward a cub, but of someone staring at a nuclear device that desperately required guidance and restraint.
Yet her care did not vanish—it deepened, becoming heavier and more complex.
"Compensation… will not be necessary,"
Cloud Retainer said stiffly.
"The Guili Plains contain much unclaimed land. Occasional mountain collapses… are not unheard of."
She had already begun instinctively covering for him.
This could not be made public.
Absolutely not.
"As for your power…"
She took a deep breath and fixed Yi Chen with an extremely serious gaze.
"Yi Chen, possessing such power means you must remember this above all: power is a means, not an end. Only by holding fast to righteousness can you be worthy of what Heaven has bestowed. You must never act recklessly for personal desire or be led astray by others. Do you understand?"
Her tone was unprecedentedly solemn—almost pleading.
She desperately wished Rex Lapis already knew.
This child needed far more than ordinary instruction.
Hearing he didn't have to pay, Yi Chen immediately relaxed. His face brightened, sunshine returning instantly.
"Got it, got it! Don't worry, Crane Sister! I'm a righteous member of the Knights of Favonius! My fists—uh, my Susanoo—only hit bad guys and… and people blocking my financial path—uh, wait, that doesn't sound right…"
He paused, then slapped his chest decisively.
"Anyway! I'm a good person!"
Cloud Retainer: "..."
That was less reassuring.
Ganyu clutched her chest, watching her master's expression and Yi Chen's carefree relief, feeling that the future would be… turbulent.
"This place is not suitable to linger," Ganyu said softly.
"Though this is wilderness, such a disturbance may still attract attention…"
Cloud Retainer reacted instantly.
"We leave at once."
A clear wind enveloped the three, and they vanished from the Guili Plains.
About one incense stick later—
Golden light flickered above the plains.
A figure descended silently onto the freshly cut mountain face.
Hands clasped behind his back, he surveyed the mirror-smooth cross-section, faintly radiating a strange residual heat.
"Ah… so that is the case."
"I sensed an immense energy surge earlier and thought it directed at me. It seems this mountain was simply unlucky—chosen as a demonstration."
Zhongli crouched and brushed his fingers across the stone.
The surface was impossibly smooth, still carrying a razor-sharp, domineering residual power.
"The level of force is… unusual. Strong enough to cleave mountains—acceptable. Though the control is somewhat… casual."
Thinking of Cloud Retainer and Ganyu's hurried retreat—surely rushing to report—Zhongli smiled faintly.
That child's temperament clearly needed proper guidance.
Despite clearly sensing Barbatos's influence lingering on him—
Zhongli had already decided.
"No matter what mark Barbatos left on that child…"
"He is mine."
A young qilin with such potential, pure heart, and urgent need for correct guidance was exactly the kind of foundation Liyue required for the future—one capable of bearing contracts.
A glint of planning light flickered in Zhongli's eyes.
Perhaps his retirement plan…
could be moved up a bit.
After all, finding a successor candidate who could slice a mountain in one strike and send Cloud Retainer and Ganyu into a panic—
was not easy.
As for whether that Mondstadt bard would get upset?
Zhongli judged the problem… manageable.
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