I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

So what is the person in question doing at this moment?

The answer is to watch a play with Zhongli.

Inside the restaurant, Li Lin ordered a plate of boiled river shrimp and pork liver, which he ate slowly with soy sauce, while Zhong Li ordered a bowl of braised chicken. The two chatted about precautions for Oser while watching a small opera troupe perform a tragic play in the restaurant.

"You can't be with her! Because... she's your half-sister!"

"What?! Little Swallow, is this true?"

Master Li peeled the river shrimp, removed the shrimp vein, dipped the shrimp meat in soy sauce, and put it in his mouth with great relish.

“If we want to solve the problem of Oser once and for all, the Liyue Navy’s approach won’t work.” Zhongli picked up a piece of black fungus and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. “Ningguang likes to make a big show of things. The more important the matter, the easier it is for things to go wrong.”

"Of course, I have always highly regarded Ningguang's personal abilities."

"Then why did things go wrong?" Li Lin asked casually, his eyes fixed on the stage without turning around.

Zhongli swallowed the wood ear mushroom, thinking to himself that it was because of you that I felt something was wrong.

"...In short, a high-profile deployment might backfire." Zhongli poured some soup into the rice, watching the dark brown, fragrant broth gradually soak into each grain of rice. "My suggestion is to find a reliable captain to take you out to sea."

"Beidou, right?" Li Lin asked abruptly.

Zhongli tried to keep them in suspense but was seen through. However, his skin was thick enough after six thousand years, and his mental fortitude was quite excellent: "Besides Beidou, is there anyone else?"

"As the most outstanding privateer ship in Liyue, a great pirate who roamed several countries, she is the only captain who can face Inazuma's thunder directly."

Zhongli covered the teacup with his finger, his eyes somewhat cold: "I have protected Liyue's navy too well. In recent years, the sea monsters have disappeared and there has been no fighting. Instead, they have made their ships look bright and shiny. You should know that the only way to maintain weapons is to drink the blood of the enemy."

This statement was delivered with great spirit, but unfortunately, Li Lin was engrossed in watching the melodramatic performance on the stage, while Zhong Li was simply throwing flirtatious glances at a blind man.

"You've only lost an eye and an arm! But what about Ziwei? She's lost her love!"

Zhong Li sighed. Knowing Li Lin's personality, he knew he shouldn't have had any illusions about Li Lin in the first place.

He began to steer the conversation toward Oser's characteristics. From Oser's powers, physique, and appearance, to the strength of Bazha, the "remnant of the vortex" who followed him.

"I'm all better," Li Lin suddenly said.

Suddenly, Zhongli stopped speaking and stared at Li Lin with an inscrutable gaze.

Of the seven gods, Morax, the rock god, is especially known for his unwavering will. Despite the changing landscape, his rock remains steadfast, and the wear and tear over the past six thousand years has had little effect on him.

But Zhong Lizhen felt that the wear and tear she had suffered during this period was more severe than in the previous thousand years.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Li Lin shouted, his neck stiff. "Don't you think Ausel and Ba Che are both lecherous?!"

Zhongli sighed: "Liyue has been known for its foxes, ghosts, immortals, and beasts since ancient times. For example, Gan Yu, the secretary of Yuehaiting, and Yan Fei are both half-immortal beasts—but they are at least auspicious beasts, and they have both transformed into human form..."

The implication was that Li Lin should tone down his wildly enthusiastic fantasies about the riverbank.

Li Lin slammed his fist on the table and started arguing unreasonably: "What gives you the right to look down on O'Sel?!"

"I was wrong, I apologize." Zhong Li readily admitted defeat, picked up his cup, and punished himself with a cup of tea instead of wine.

He realized he shouldn't have gotten entangled with Li Lin about this matter; the more he got involved, the more he risked being worn down.

After finishing their meal, the two left the restaurant and found that the Southern Cross fleet's flagship, the Death Star, was already docked in another port, and there were people on board to meet them at the restaurant entrance.

"I presume you are Mr. Zhongli, a guest elder of the Hall of Rebirth? As for this gentleman..."

The first mate of the Death Star glanced at Li Lin's signature dead fish eyes and then stopped at the thumb ring on his left hand, his expression becoming somewhat excited.

"It's actually the real savior in person!"

Upon hearing this, Li Lin's deadpan expression softened slightly: "Why are you so agitated?"

The first mate rubbed his face, his lips trembling. "I'm just too happy. You've done so many great things since you came to Liyue Harbor. Every Liyue resident speaks highly of you. If anyone were to say a bad word about you, they'd probably be dragged into an alley and beaten... Oh, look at my memory. This way, please!"

Li Lin followed in surprise, never expecting that he would have a group of brainless fans.

......

At Liyue Harbor, red silk ribbons flutter in the breeze, and the sounds of silk and bamboo instruments fill the air.

Powered by the core of the Floating Stone, the Jade Pavilion also moved above the Liyue Navy, casting a massive shadow on the sea.

"Haha, great! Lady Ningguang's Jade Pavilion is invincible!"

Upon seeing this, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic shouts. However, as time passed, both Ke Qing from Yuheng Star and dignitaries from various countries who had already boarded the ship, and Ning Guang who was simply flying in the sky aboard the Qunyu Pavilion, gradually began to feel anxious.

Where is Li Lin?

The next instant, a refreshing breeze came from the clouds, and a blue crane, seemingly draped in clouds, landed on the Jade Pavilion in full view of everyone.

"The immortals have arrived! The immortals are here—"

Liyue Harbor erupted in jubilation upon witnessing all of this, except for Ningguang on the Jade Pavilion, whose expression turned somewhat strange before she became serious.

"I have come here on the orders of the Rock King," said True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng in a clear, cold voice. "To take the place of Heavenly Lord Dongming Lihuo and oversee the Jade Pavilion, in order to ensure everything is in order."

"Immortal." Although she harbored some resentment, Ningguang remained silent in front of the immortal. "Where did True Immortal Li go?"

Then, Ningguang heard the news she least wanted to hear from Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun.

"The Heavenly Lord naturally went to Lonely Cloud Pavilion with the fleet in advance, and all the immortals have already arrived there." True Lord Liuyun Jiefeng chuckled, "If the Heavenly Lord were to dawdle like you all, how could he make a great decision and a grand vow to solve the Vortex Demon God problem once and for all for the sake of the people of Liyue?"

Fleets? Liyue has all the information on its fleets, except for that troublesome woman, Beidou!

Fortunately, Ningguang immediately made the most appropriate decision at that moment: "Liyue Navy, heed my command, all forces attack, target: Lone Cloud Pavilion!"

The Liyue people and Thousand Rock soldiers, who had been kept in the dark, erupted in deafening cheers once again.

215 I know you've all heard this story before, but I'll tell it again.

Dozens of nautical miles ahead of the Liyue Navy, the massive Southern Cross fleet was slowly sailing.

The lookout, perched atop the mast of the Southern Cross flagship, the Death Star, picked up his binoculars, turned them to their maximum angle, and peered in the direction of the wind.

"Boss!" The lookout called out to the woman standing on the deck, dressed in a tight-fitting sharkskin tumbleweed and exuding a heroic air, "Lone Cloud Pavilion is just ahead!"

"Alright!" The captain of the Death Star, who was also the master of the entire Southern Cross fleet, Hokuto's eyes lit up, and then he turned around and shouted, "The weather is up to you. If there is anything unusual, you must report it immediately, understand, Mango boy!"

Since Li Lin and Zhong Li boarded the ship, Kaedehara Manyo, who came from Inazuma, only appeared when greeting them; otherwise, he sat on the cable and looked up at the sky.

As a ronin who has grasped the true meaning of the wind and the vast emptiness of the universe, Kaedehara Manyo was able to escape the shogunate's arrest warrant in a small boat and sail out to sea alone, thanks in no small part to his ability to predict celestial phenomena.

“Wan Ye is our navigator on the Death Star. Without him, we might run into trouble if we encounter any sudden weather events,” Bei Dou said to Li Lin and Zhong Li as he walked down from the deck.

"I naturally trust Captain Beidou's ability to judge people."

Zhongli smiled gently, "But this Maple Plains Manba... is he a warrior from Inazuma?"

“Mr. Zhongli’s words are so comforting.” Beidou laughed heartily. “His eye for people is truly sharp. That’s right, Wanye is Inazuma. Although he doesn’t shy away from what happened to him, the brothers on the ship don’t ask him about it. I think it’s probably to avoid that Eye Hunt Order.”

“Oh, Captain Beidou has also heard of the Eyehunter Order.” Zhongli nodded slightly. “I’ve also heard of it in Liyue.”

"Hmm." Beidou's hearty smile faded slightly as she looked at the gleaming purple lightning-attribute Divine Eye at her waist. "For quite some time now, no lightning-attribute Divine Eyes have been issued in Teyvat, yet General Inazuma is going even further by confiscating them..."

"It's not just the Eye of God of Lightning; what the General wants to seize is the Eye of God of all elements, to forge the Thousand-Handed and Hundred-Eyed God Statue that can see all of humanity with a thousand hands and a hundred eyes."

Kaedehara Manyo's voice came from outside.

"Of course, as a citizen of Inazuma ruled by the General, I have no objection to this, but as a pure warrior, I believe that human loyalty and will should not be insulted or desecrated in this way."

A white-haired man with crimson highlights appeared outside the cabin door, giving the person inside a seemingly relaxed smile.

"Sister Beidou has never asked about my story, so I'll take this opportunity to tell you."

Zhong Li nodded slightly, signaling him to continue, while expressing surprise at Li Lin's unusual failure to show any symptoms.

Noticing Zhong Li's attitude, Li Lin turned his head in displeasure, looking Zhong Li up and down: "I feel like you're thinking about something rude. Do you think I'm some kind of crazy person?"

Anyway, having Kaedehara Manyo tell a story can fill a few hundred words, so why not?

Unaware that he had almost fallen into Li Lin's clutches, Kaede Manba was still smiling: "...The original isolation order had already cut Inazuma off from the outside world, and the additional Eye Hunting Order has made all the possessors of the Eye of God feel insecure. In order to reverse this situation, we warriors have no choice but to dare to petition the Great Lord."

“A military remonstrance…” Zhongli murmured, watching the ripples in his teacup.

"Good!" Beidou slammed his hand on the table. "Well done! Regardless of life or death, success or failure, daring to draw your sword against the gods, this spirit is truly exhilarating... It's a pity there's no wine on the ship, otherwise we would have drunk a whole cup."

Kaedehara Manyo shook his head and laughed out loud: "To be honest, it's just that I'm unwilling to accept it."

"When I was traveling in the Inazuma Islands, I had a close friend who was both a teacher and a friend. His swordsmanship was even more superb than mine, and his personality was as free and unrestrained as lightning that streaks across the sky."

"One day he asked me if I had ever heard of Wuxiang's One Blade. I said, of course, that one blade can only be seen when General Leidian's divine punishment descends."

"This is the pinnacle of General Thunder's martial arts, the symbol of his ultimate strength."

"But he said that the strike was not unattainable, and that there would always be creatures on earth who dared to face the might of the thunder."

"Later, the Eye Hunting Order arrived unexpectedly, and the people's wishes gradually became the bricks and tiles of the building. While I was wandering around helplessly, I heard that he had challenged the executor of the Eye Hunting Order to a duel in front of the emperor."

"The duel before the emperor is solemn and cruel. The loser will face divine punishment, while the winner can win a chance to turn the tide."

"Perhaps he was thinking that he was the most suitable person to stand up and face that unexpected blow, which was his lifelong wish."

"But when I arrived at the castle tower, the duel was already over. I only heard the sound of his broken sword hitting the ground after the divine punishment. Perhaps that was the light he wanted to witness."

The young ronin's face was filled with inexplicable pain; he clutched his wrist, his expression somber.

"What expression did he have on his face at the last moment? There was no time to guess. I simply stepped forward, snatched the fading Eye of God, and fled the scene of the duel—"

"All I know is that I cannot let his burning desire be encased in a cold idol."

Wan Ye took out the Eye of God, which had ceased to shine, and unconsciously ran his hand over its smooth surface, sighing, "I have been searching for a way to make it shine again. Perhaps someone can awaken it, or perhaps it is just wishful thinking on my part, but..."