The next day.
Morning.
Bai Ge woke up refreshed… in his own home.
Of course, he hadn't stayed over at Keqing's place last night. He had merely conducted a highly serious and academically rigorous comparison between Master Keqing's "White Slime" and Rosaria's.
As for the conclusion—well, everyone already knows.
Let's just say… after discussing life ideals and engaging in some very in-depth exchanges at Keqing's home, Bai Ge realized that Keqing was truly outstanding in every aspect.
She was genuinely exceptional. A rare beauty. Not only intelligent, but highly capable and competent as well.
For now, Bai Ge decided to crown her the Strongest White Slime—after all, he hadn't seen any others to compare, so the title temporarily belonged to her.
Still, last night had left Keqing rather shy.
After all, for her, such matters were extremely embarrassing. All these years, she had never invested herself so deeply in any man—Bai Ge being the sole exception.
He was the first man to truly step into her heart. Naturally, the treatment and position he enjoyed were incomparable.
And Bai Ge understood that at this pace, he would eventually fall completely.
It had to be said—when it came to this aspect, Keqing truly embodied everything a man could wish for.
It seemed today he would be temporarily separated from the White Slime.
Fortunately, he didn't have to go to work today. Keqing could take some time to recover.
Because today was a rest day.
"System, check in!"
[Ding! Weekly check-in successful. Obtained Elemental Skill: Heartguard Armor!]
Since it was a rest day, the nine-to-five system didn't require clocking out. He could check in directly.
Feeling the newly acquired knowledge settle into his mind, Bai Ge nodded in satisfaction, a long-missed smile appearing on his face.
He took a deep breath to calm himself.
Basic operation. Routine procedure.
"Nice. A rare defensive skill!"
Bai Ge didn't know whether Hu Tao had boosted his luck, or if Keqing's White Slime had altered his fortune.
Or maybe meeting Zhongli face-to-face had simply used up all his bad luck.
In any case, ever since helping Hu Tao exorcise spirits and upgrading the system, this week had been extremely rewarding.
In just one week, he had drawn:
One Ancient Millelith Sword Art Two Guhua Sword Arts One Mage Talent The rest were Ley Line Power
It seemed he would no longer draw single-stat bonuses.
His current stat panel looked like this:
Name: Bai Ge
Constitution: 71
Spirit: 71
Strength: 71
Agility: 71
Elemental Power (Seven Elements): 61
Ley Line Power: 2 (Each +0.5 to all attributes)
Talents:
One-Handed Sword (Normal) Claymore (Peerless) Polearm (One-in-a-Hundred) Bow (Normal) Mage (Normal)
Techniques:
Ancient Millelith Sword Art (Master) Ancient Millelith Spear Art (Legendary) Basic Cooking Yunlai Sword Art (Proficient) Guhua Sword Art (Master) Amber's Gliding Manual Twelve Wind Current Traversal Techniques
Elemental Skills:
Blade of Inverse Flame Dawn Spirit Blade: Chonghua Frost Layer Starfall Heartguard Armor
Yesterday's Guhua Sword Art had brought him particular delight.
Unlike the Millelith style, which emphasized martial technique over elemental manipulation, the Guhua Sword Art was specifically designed to mobilize elemental power.
Upon reaching Master level, Bai Ge found numerous Hydro elemental techniques appearing in his mind.
After washing up, making breakfast, and playing with his younger sister for a while—
He took a one-handed sword and headed to the backyard.
Following the knowledge in his mind, he began mobilizing the Hydro element within his body.
Cool, misty water vapor gathered.
Once the blade had condensed enough Hydro energy—
Bai Ge swung!
"Guhua: Rain Cutter!"
"Guhua: Fatal Rainscreen!"
A horizontal sweeping strike followed by an upward slash.
Surging waves burst forth with his blade, knocking over the wooden dummy ahead.
A single Rain Sword began orbiting his body.
"Only one?"
Looking at the solitary Rain Sword, Bai Ge frowned slightly.
It seemed this sword art required further practice to strengthen.
Still, obtaining Xingqiu's sword technique was a major boon.
It meant that as someone primarily focused on Pyro offense—
He could now apply Hydro himself.
Self-sufficient vaporize setup!
On this rare rest day, Bai Ge continued practicing in the backyard.
However, his training did not last long.
Outside the courtyard gates, a somewhat irritated orange-haired young man approached.
Tartaglia's recent situation had not been good.
Since that day, the Lady's condition had been unstable—and yesterday, she had even disappeared.
Meanwhile, Bai Ge had not left home lately, leaving no opportunity to evaluate his strength.
Since the Fatui and Liyue were still allies for the time being, their personnel stationed in Liyue could not act openly.
Thus, everything had stalled.
If the opponent was mysterious—
Then go straight to his door!
"Today, I must get answers! At the very least, I need to know what happened with the Lady—only then can I report to Her Majesty!"
Staring at Bai Ge's plaque, Tartaglia's gaze hardened.
Even if this meant walking into blades and fire!
After knocking several times with no response—
He simply vaulted over the wall.
And immediately found himself staring wide-eyed at Bai Ke'er, who was playing in the front hall.
Startled by the sudden appearance of an orange-haired stranger, Bai Ke'er's eyes instantly filled with tears.
"Little sister… if I say I'm a toy salesman from Snezhnaya, would you believe me?"
Tartaglia offered an awkward yet polite smile.
Unfortunately—
Bai Ke'er wasn't a toy-loving little boy.
He probably should've said dolls instead.
"WAAAAAAH!!!"
A piercing cry echoed throughout the entire residence