"Perhaps the scenes of Acting Grand Master Jean, Lumine, and the others in Belobog fighting the Antimatter Legion gave you a misconception. It makes you think that since they could handle some Antimatter Legion soldiers and remain unscathed after the battle, you would also be able to remain unscathed after dealing with the Abundance Abominations."
"In fact, when the Antimatter Legion truly arrives, their numbers are quite massive. Moreover, within the Antimatter Legion, there will even be monsters like the Doomsday Beast, which are countless times stronger than the Trampler. No matter how strong Lumine and Acting Grand Master Jean are, it will be difficult for them to survive when facing these forces. Similarly, if you were to participate in the battle against the Abundance Abominations, the possibility of failure would also be very high."
Takagi shook his head and said to La Signora. Are you kidding? Which battle between the Xianzhou Alliance and the Abundance Abominations wasn't earth-shattering? Such battlefields can truly easily crush one or two worlds. Even if La Signora now has the level of a Teyvat Archon, if she were to truly participate in the battle between the Xianzhou Alliance and the Abundance Abominations, she would most likely die a horrible death. Let alone fighting, if the battlefield were set in the vacuum of the universe, La Signora might not even be able to maintain her vital signs properly.
"Furthermore, the followers of The Hunt who are facing the Abundance Abominations are very strong. Although your current power is not bad in Teyvat, it is really not of much help to them; it is dispensable," Takagi said.
"Disp... dispensable?" La Signora opened her mouth and murmured. Her expression was just short of writing the thought of whether she had heard wrong on her face. However, to her disappointment, Takagi nodded his head affirmatively at her.
(Scaramouche: Is La Signora's current power dispensable to the followers of The Hunt?)
(Tartaglia: That flame that can instantly melt Abyss monsters and turn the earth into lava... can it actually not participate in the battle against the Abundance Abominations?)
(Furina: No... no way, are those Abundance Abominations that terrifying?!)
(Neuvillette: According to Takagi's meaning, the battlefield between the followers of The Hunt and the Abundance Abominations is very severe. Even if Teyvat's Archons entered the field, they wouldn't make much of a splash, right?)
(Dvalin: This is truly complicated.)
(Zhongli: I wonder how strong these followers of The Hunt are, and where do they come from?)
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe it. Anyway, you will be able to witness a corner of the combat power of the followers of The Hunt in the upcoming simulated Machine War," Takagi shrugged and said.
Lisa: "Machine War? Is the main stage of this Machine War in the place where these followers of The Hunt are located?"
"That's right!" Takagi nodded and said, "That is also the hometown of the Hunt Aeon, Lan. During the Machine War period, there was also a mechanical rebellion there. There is a type of robot there called the Aurumaton Gatekeeper. La Signora, although your current power is strong, it is not easy to deal with an Aurumaton Gatekeeper. And in that place, there are many Aurumaton Gatekeepers."
The Xianzhou's Aurumaton Gatekeepers can assist the Xianzhou in guarding the ships and can help the ancestors of the Xianzhou unify the entire world, which proves that their strength is definitely not weak. And in the Machine War, the Aurumaton Gatekeepers caused great trouble to the Xianzhou. This further illustrates how troublesome the Aurumaton Gatekeeper is if it rebels.
"The hometown of the Hunt Aeon... the Aurumaton Gatekeeper?" La Signora frowned tightly, and her fists clenched involuntarily. Although these words were spoken by Takagi, she, who had just gained power, was still a little unwilling.
"Not only you, La Signora, but also Nahida—who has also embarked on the Path and is slightly stronger than La Signora—needs to be careful when facing the battle formation composed of those Aurumaton Gatekeepers. Many times, the Aurumaton Gatekeeper does not appear alone. Furthermore, the strength of some special Aurumaton Gatekeepers will be even more difficult to deal with."
Takagi turned his head to look at Nahida and said. Although Nahida has not actually made a move yet, Takagi can still feel the situation of who has more or less Imaginary Energy between Nahida and La Signora. The current Nahida is indeed much stronger than La Signora.
(Tartaglia: No way, with La Signora's current power, she should at least be able to deal with this so-called Aurumaton Gatekeeper, right?)
(Dvalin: Archon-level combat power is even inferior to a robot? This is really a bit hard to accept.)
(Andrius: What's even harder to accept is that the number of Aurumaton Gatekeepers may not be small. However, I didn't expect that the place where Takagi prepared to simulate the Machine War was actually the hometown of the Hunt Aeon! In other words, the hometown of the Hunt Aeon was not only deeply persecuted by the Abundance Abominations, but it even suffered the hardships brought by the Machine War later?)
(Lyney: Judging from the strength of the Aurumaton Gatekeeper mentioned by Lord Takagi, the Machine War that these followers of The Hunt have to face is also quite troublesome, right?)
(Clorinde: That is indeed a place of many disasters.)
(Tartaglia: Hearing this makes me want to compete with these Aurumaton Gatekeepers.)
(Arlecchino: If the strength of the Aurumaton Gatekeeper is truly as Lord Takagi said, your power is simply no match for it.)
(Tartaglia: ...)
...
"Lord Takagi, since those Aurumaton Gatekeepers are so powerful, can we really embark on the Path through battle?" Dottore asked.
"Then you'll have to use your smart brain, Dottore. Aren't you going to embark on the Path of Erudition? If so, why not use your brain more?" Takagi said to Dottore.
"Using my brain..." Dottore muttered to himself, stroking his chin, and looked up at where the Aurumaton Gatekeeper was located.
According to Takagi, these Aurumaton Gatekeepers are at least at the level of Teyvat Archons. If we can master their production technology, when executing the god-making plan related to Scaramouche in the future, we... we should be able to create even more powerful gods, right? And these Aurumaton Gatekeepers are about to be affected by the Anti-Life Equation. If I can thoroughly research the Anti-Life Equation through this opportunity... Dottore thought to himself, looking up at the sky.
Although this world is a simulated world, since it is so realistic, it should also be able to simulate the real structure of the Aurumaton Gatekeeper and the code of the Anti-Life Equation. If I can figure out one of them... maybe I can also step onto the Path of Erudition. Thinking of this, Dottore's lips couldn't help but curve upwards.
Lord Takagi looked at the pensive Dottore meaningfully; he keenly felt that Dottore was up to something. However, he didn't say much more. Instead, he turned to look at Lisa, Cloud Retainer, and Nahida.
"As for Lisa and Cloud Retainer, you two don't have to worry about not being able to step onto a Path through combat. Even if you can't do it through combat, you can try to step onto the Path of Erudition through research. Don't forget that there is a very suitable environment for research here. Moreover, the duration of my Blessing won't end so quickly for now. And Nahida, you should also take this time to familiarize yourself with your own strength. If I'm not mistaken, you haven't used your own strength to fight since you were born, right? This time is a good opportunity to gain some combat experience through battle and familiarize yourself with the power of your Path of Memory. Although you might prefer to solve problems with wisdom, there will definitely be times when you need to use force, right?" Lord Takagi said.
Lisa and Cloud Retainer nodded their heads upon hearing this. "Familiarize myself with my power... I understand, Lord Takagi. I will take it seriously," Nahida took a deep breath and said.
Venti and Zhongli, the two Archons, instantly had a glint flash in their eyes upon hearing Nahida's words. Grand Sage Azar's heart tightened. The ones most curious about Nahida's power were Venti, Zhongli, and Azar. The former two were curious about the power Nahida would possess after stepping onto a Path, being one of the Seven Archons like them. As for Azar, he was simply worried about what kind of power Nahida would have.
...
Sumeru.
"Lesser Lord Kusanali's power, even Lord Takagi has acknowledged it. Before she returns, we should be able to create a god capable of confronting her, right?" Azar muttered to himself, as if talking to himself, or perhaps asking Dottore not far away.
"At least, we still have time," Dottore glanced at Azar and continued, "Moreover, the segment over there is also trying to step onto a Path. If he can step onto a Path, he should also gain the power to confront Lesser Lord Kusanali."
"Really?" Azar's heart couldn't help but rejoice upon hearing Dottore's words. Dottore smiled superficially and nodded to the Grand Sage, but he was laughing coldly inside. Even if the Dottore currently in Herta Space Station really stepped onto a Path and truly gained power that could rival Lesser Lord Kusanali, he wouldn't stand against her for the sake of the Grand Sage. He just wanted to stabilize the Grand Sage's state of mind so that he could carry out the god-creation plan with peace of mind.
"In addition, if I'm not mistaken, the segment over there will likely try to analyze the manufacturing method of the Aurumaton Gatekeeper through this Simulated Universe. Grand Sage, don't you think the Aurumaton Gatekeeper Lord Takagi mentioned has many similarities with the god we are going to create?" Dottore smiled.
"Similarities?" The Grand Sage's eyes lit up, saying, "That's right, the Aurumaton Gatekeeper can be considered a mechanical deity, and we are also creating a mechanical deity. Since that's the case, we can certainly use the technology of the Aurumaton Gatekeeper on the god we are going to create."
Dottore looked at the excited and thrilled Grand Sage, a meaningful smile hanging on his lips. He lowered his head and looked at the other Dottore on the screen, who also had a smiling face. If it's you, you should be more interested in analyzing and obtaining the Anti-Life Equation, right? Dottore thought to himself. As for this point, he didn't want the other segment to know.
...
Herta Space Station, Simulated Universe.
"Break time is over. It's time for everyone to head to the next scene," Lord Takagi said, raising his hand and snapping his fingers. A floating card, one person's height, immediately appeared beside him. "Touch it, and you will go to the scene I have prepared for you. The place you are going to is called the Xianzhou Luofu."
After Lord Takagi finished speaking, his projected image disappeared in front of Nahida and the others.
(Venti: Xianzhou?)
(Zhongli: It's here!)
(Ganyu: Rex Lapis, do you know about the Xianzhou?)
(Andrius: Venti, you know too?)
(Zhongli: When Cloud Retainer was sent to Lord Takagi's location, I heard about the famous Xianzhou from him.)
(Venti: Ehe! I also just happened to hear the name Xianzhou at that time. Lord Takagi also said that if we enjoyed our time in Liyue enough, Liyue might have a chance to have an Astral Express station placed by him for travel between the Xianzhou and Liyue.)
(Furina: You... you actually met Lord Takagi secretly?! The Geo Archon even made a contract?!)
(Ei: ...)
(Ningguang: Rex Lapis actually sought benefits for Liyue without us knowing?)
(Beidou: So, does this mean we can go to Liyue later?)
(Dori: Oh no, Liyue is going to reach a deal with Lord Takagi first. Nilou, hurry up; whether Sumeru can have the Astral Express stationed depends entirely on you.)
(Nilou: Do... do I really have to do that?)
(Zhongli: Lord Takagi said that he would at most only be willing to help Liyue build a bridge, but whether an Astral Express route can be established between Liyue and the Xianzhou still requires Liyue's own efforts. The prosperity of the Xianzhou is far beyond that of Belobog; Liyue may not have the trading items required by the Xianzhou. Therefore, the method of establishing a route by entering into trade contracts like Belobog and Mondstadt might not work.)
(Ningguang: I see... It seems we need to put in some effort.)
(Zhongli: Lord Takagi said that the cultural environment of the Xianzhou has many similarities with Liyue. Storytelling, drama, and other things that Liyue has, the Xianzhou also has, and the food is also similar; even the way of handling funeral matters has similarities.)
After communicating with Lord Takagi back then, Zhongli began to think about how to get the Xianzhou to agree to set up an Astral Express station traveling between Liyue and the Xianzhou. And the final result he thought of was to facilitate the establishment of the route through the cultural similarities between the two places. These proposals also received the agreement of some Liyue Adepti, and Venti also approved.
Zhongli thought of the scene when he mentioned this method back then, where Venti strongly expressed that if the station was successfully built between Liyue and the Xianzhou, he also wanted to travel on the Astral Express through Liyue's station. Zhongli did not refuse this. After all, he also wanted to travel to Yarilo-VI through the station set up by Lord Takagi in Mondstadt to experience the local customs of Belobog. If Liyue could also sign trade contracts with Mondstadt and Belobog, that would be even better. After all, perhaps some things on Yarilo-VI could also be very beneficial to Liyue.
(Hu Tao: Huh! Are there similar places for funerals? Can my Wangsheng Funeral Parlor business open on the Xianzhou?)
(Xingqiu: It's better not to do that; even if others have funeral customs similar to Liyue's, but if you immediately say you want to open the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor business on the Xianzhou, they definitely won't agree.)
(Ningguang: I understand Rex Lapis's meaning. I will actively formulate plans in the direction Rex Lapis mentioned.)
(Yun Jin: If you need help with performing plays, I can assist.)
(Xiangling: If you need help with cooking, I can come over.)
(Iron-Tongue Tian: Need storytelling? I'd be very happy to go to the Xianzhou to exchange storytelling culture!)
...
Simulated Universe.
After seeing Takagi disappear, Nahida and the others all raised their hands to touch the cards suspended in the air. With a shift of light and shadow, everyone arrived at a street guarded by a large number of soldiers wearing armor. Just by standing there, hundreds of warriors made Lisa and the others feel a bone-chilling aura wash over them. Especially the warrior dressed as the leading Captain, whose aura was even stronger.
Of course, what Lisa, Dottore, La Signora, and the others cared about most was the entire row of red giants behind the soldiers.
"What a powerful aura; could this be the Xianzhou's army?" Cloud Retainer said in surprise.
"Are those entirely red giants the Aurumaton Gatekeepers that Lord Takagi mentioned?" La Signora frowned and said with a stern expression.
[Those are indeed the Xianzhou's army. The army is called the Cloud Knights, and these Cloud Knights before you are a group of experienced veterans.]
Takagi's voice timely sounded in the ears of La Signora and the others.