Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Originally, Maple Leaf thought Kiana had some small boat or something nearby, since Lone Cloud Pavilion is an isolated island far from the port, and one would have to take a boat to get there from Liyue Harbor.

After confirming the direction with Maple Leaf, Bronya took out her weapon, and in an instant, a sword made of light appeared on this rather strange weapon.

With a gentle wave of her hand, a path made of ice instantly appeared on the sea. After briefly testing its hardness, Kiana confidently stepped onto the ice and ran towards the distant shore.

Bronya followed closely behind, while Maple Leaf stood still, looked at the ice path in front of him, then looked up at the wind field that had already formed, and finally gritted his teeth and stepped onto the ice surface that Bronya had cleared.

Before long, the group reached the other side and successfully located the culprit of the theft nearby. The culprit was ultimately just an ordinary person, no match for the three holders of the Eye of God. He was quickly captured and interrogated, and through the interrogation, the group learned the truth of the matter.

It turns out that this person was originally a member of the treasure-stealing gang. Later, he heard that Beidou was going to hold a martial arts tournament soon, and the prize for the champion was an unclaimed God's Eye. Tired of the life of hiding with the treasure-stealing gang, he decided to use this martial arts tournament to retire from the life of the gang.

So he participated in the tournament, and under normal circumstances, winning the championship shouldn't have been a problem for him. However, not only was the Traveler Kong, who had faced off against the Demon God and saved Liyue, also participating, but a dark horse named Fu Hua also appeared out of nowhere, preventing him from winning the championship. Originally planning to return home, he suddenly remembered that his thieving skills were the best in his treasure-hunting group, so he succumbed to greed and secretly stole the Eye of God.

He hadn't expected that he would be caught by Kiana and the others before he could run very far. He had no choice but to admit defeat and obediently hand over the Eye of God in the hope that he would be treated leniently.

However, Kaedehara Manyo did not think that way. He threatened the former member of the treasure-hunting group with Inazuma's yakuza methods and told him that if he could not activate the Eye of God within the specified time, Kaedehara Manyo would kill him.

Unfortunately, no matter how much they forced him, they failed to activate the Eye of God. In the end, the member of the treasure-hunting group was pardoned amidst the disappointed sigh of Maple Leaf.

Bronya watched the member of the treasure-hunting group leave cautiously and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why are you so obsessed with awakening this Eye of God?"

“Bronya, Miss Kiana, would you mind telling me a story? After I tell you this story, you will understand the general idea.”

After obtaining their consent, Kaedehara Manyo began to slowly recount the story.

Originally, Kaedehara Man'yō was born into the noble Inazuma family, but unfortunately, the family fell into decline, and only Kaedehara Man'yō remained alive. So Kaedehara Man'yō mortgaged his family property and began to live the life of a wandering samurai.

During that period, he met a close friend. They often drank and chatted, and made friends through swordsmanship, and were always happy.

Finally, one day, they stood on a mountain peak outside Inazuma Castle, gazing at the entire castle. The close friend put down his wine dish and pointed to the towering castle tower in the distance, asking Kaedehara Manyo a question.

Have you ever heard of that thoughtless, single strike?

“Of course,” Maple Leaf Manye laughed. “That strike can only be seen when divine punishment descends. That strike is the pinnacle of General Thunder’s martial arts, the symbol of the strongest.”

But his friend laughed, his eyes flashing with a fanatical gaze that Kaedehara Manyo could not comprehend.

"That strike may not be unattainable; there will always be creatures on earth who dare to face the might of thunder."

Later, the Eye Hunting Order arrived unexpectedly, and the people's wishes gradually became the bricks and tiles for building eternity. Kaedehara Manyo also parted ways with his friends because of his identity as the holder of the Eye of God.

While Kaedehara Manyo was forced to wander aimlessly, he overheard that his friend had challenged the executor of the Eye Hunt Order to a duel before the Emperor.

The duel before the emperor was solemn yet cruel; the loser would face divine punishment, while the winner could win a chance to turn the tide.

Kaedehara Manyo speculated that his friend might be thinking that he was the most suitable person to stand up and face that thoughtless stab, which was his lifelong wish.

By the time Kaedehara Manyo arrived at the castle tower, it was already over.

The duel was over, and all that could be heard was the sound of his friend's broken sword hitting the ground after the divine punishment. At that moment, Kaedehara Manyo understood; perhaps that was the light his friend had wanted to witness.

Without hesitation, at the last moment, Kaedehara Manyo rushed into the duel arena, tightly grasped his friend's burning Eye of God in his hand, and left the castle tower without looking back.

As he left, Kaede Man'yō wondered what expression his friend would have on his face. There was no time to guess; the most urgent matter was to ensure that his friend's burning desire was not enshrined in a cold statue.

The story has ended, but Kaede Manba is still immersed in the disappointment of the failed experiment.

"Perhaps everything I do now will eventually turn out to be meaningless. But for a ronin samurai, there is nothing else in his life but the meaning of the journey, the flowers, birds and moon along the way, and the path in his heart."

"So this Eye of God belongs to your deceased best friend?" Bronya asked.

"Yes! But I didn't expect it to fail in the end."

“Perhaps it wasn’t a failure.” Kiana stepped forward to comfort her. “Even if the Eye of God loses its light and loses its original master, it will still be limited in its choice of the next person because of its original wish. The reason that person couldn’t light it up might simply be that his wish didn’t match your friend’s wish, and he couldn’t gain the Eye of God’s approval, that’s all.”

"When a person's wish reaches its peak, the gods will descend and grant them the Eye of God, which is a derivative of that wish. I've heard this saying before, so let's just assume it's true."

Kaedehara Manyo looked up at the sky and realized that it was getting late.

"It's getting late. Now that the Eye of God has been retrieved, it's time for us to head back."

When the three returned to the scene, they found that the place was already deserted. Only some of the Beidou crew members and some Qianyan soldiers were cleaning up the scene. Even Baiwen, one of Ningguang's secretaries, was among them.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that the scale of this martial arts tournament exceeded the reported scale by several times. The Seven Stars could not turn a blind eye to this, so Ningguang, one of the Seven Stars, ordered Beidou to personally go to Yujingtai to explain.

Helpless, Beidou could only curse the spoilsporting woman as she returned to Liyue Harbor. Only Baiwen's Thousand Rock Army and her crew remained, maintaining order and cleaning up the mess.

"Haha, conflicts with Ningguang are quite common."

Maplefield Man's Leaf laughed heartily. The conflict between Beidou and Ningguang was common knowledge in Liyue Harbor. It could only be said that this time, Ningguang had found a weakness, and Beidou was bound to be severely exploited.

"Fortunately, the eldest sister still witnessed the birth of the champion in the end, otherwise she would have been talking about it for a long time."

Zhu Han, who was in charge of prize management, said that Feng Yuan Wan Ye also explained the whole story.

"Actually, the one who stole the Eye of God was the third-place winner of this tournament. Knowing that he had no hope of winning the prize, he had the evil idea of ​​stealing it. In this way, the result of this tournament can be considered to be completely settled."

"Yes, the champion has been decided, and the specially made champion medal has been successfully awarded. Apart from the regret that the last seven stars interrupted the award ceremony, this martial arts tournament has come to a successful conclusion."

"So, can we go to Inazuma now?" Kiana asked.

"That's right! Not only that, I was also given special permission to go along!"

Paimon stomped his foot in delight, and Kaedehara Manyo couldn't help but smile at the sight.

“Once the eldest sister returns and replenishes the supplies, I think she will send someone to inform you to prepare to depart,” said Maple Leaf. “However, the sea and land routes to Inazuma are very difficult to traverse, with wind and rain roaring constantly. The relentless wind and rain are actually a manifestation of General Raiden’s will to close the country off.”

"Can willpower even change the weather?!"

Paimon asked in surprise, while Bronya and Fu Hua exchanged a glance, their eyes also revealing a hint of surprise. After all, in their original world, to influence the weather through one's own will, one would at least need to be a Herrscher.

Moreover, not every Herrscher has this ability, so it seems that the power of the Demon God in this world should not be underestimated!

“That’s one of the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm. Just like Morax of Liyue threw a rock spear to create Lone Cloud Pavilion, and General Thunder can summon an eternal storm, it’s nothing to be surprised about.” Maple Leaf emphasized to everyone again, “In short, the Death Star will need a little more time to sail to Inazuma. You will be notified once preparations are complete.”

Then, Kaedehara Manyo's expression relaxed.

"I will also travel around during this time to see if there is an opportunity to awaken the Eye of God on the vast land of Liyue."

Seeing Paimon's curious gaze, Kiana, after obtaining permission, told Paimon and the others the story of Kaedehara Manyo's friend. After listening, Paimon also offered his heartfelt blessings.

"I believe it's possible!"

"Thank you. I hope we can both find meaning on our journeys. I also have a word of advice for you."

As he spoke, Kaede Manba turned to look in Inatsuma's direction and said, "Ahead of the endless thunderstorms may be the most difficult part of your journey."

As the sun sets, a gentle evening breeze caresses the leaves of the maple forest, softly rustling them as they pass through the air. The martial arts tournament hosted by Beidou has officially concluded, and this journey has been truly fruitful.

As the sun set, the group returned to Liyue Harbor. Upon landing, they saw Hu Tao waving to them from a short distance away. Zhong Li, standing to the side, nodded slightly, gazing into the distance with a deep, thoughtful expression.

Although she had gained a lot this time, Fu Hua was, after all, a new employee of the Rebirth Hall, and the repeated requests for leave were making her quite uneasy. In the end, she confessed what had happened that day to Hu Tao and asked her to approve her leave.

However, after hearing Fu Hua's explanation, Hu Tao happily patted Fu Hua on the shoulder and waved her hand, agreeing to Fu Hua's vacation.

However, the condition is that Fu Hua must make a name for the Temple of Rebirth in Inazuma and try to open a branch in Inazuma, which is now closed off from the country.

Fu Hua could only agree helplessly, as she had no idea how to make a name for herself in Inazuma.

Forget it, let's wait until we get to Inazuma before we worry about this!

Having no other options, Fu Hua could only decide to take it one step at a time, hoping things would work themselves out.

"But I never expected that the first thing Beidou did after getting off the ship was to go to Yujingtai in such a hurry! No wonder Beidou looked as bad as if he was constipated."

Hu Tao couldn't help but laugh when she thought of Bei Dou's resentful expression, but she couldn't laugh for the next second.

Suddenly, a hand landed on Hu Tao's shoulder, and then Bei Dou's imposing voice rang out from behind Hu Tao.

"Are you really happy that I'm frustrated and upset? Believe me, I'll cancel the coffin I ordered from your place right now!"

After saying that, he clenched his fists and placed them on Hu Tao's temples, rotating them wildly. Hu Tao apologized repeatedly in pain, and was finally relieved with Zhong Li's help.

After Beidou and Fu Hua briefly confirmed the departure time, Beidou began preparing supplies. During this time, Kiana and the others, led by Fu Hua and Paimon, enjoyed the scenery of Liyue.

Not long after, Kaedehara Manyo, who had also returned from his trip, arrived before everyone with Hokuto's message.

All preparations are complete; now we can head to Inazuma.

Led by Maple Leaf, the group arrived at the Death Star, located next to the Lone Cloud Pavilion, where Hokuto had been waiting for them for a long time.