Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Nolan, along with Lumine and Paimon, had co here to find Hu Tao. With Ningguang rebuilding the Jade Chamber and hosting a grand banquet, the master of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was naturally on the guest list.
"Hu Tao, Hu Tao, are you there? We ca to hang out with you!"
Paimon flew ahead, calling out.
"Three friends arrive under the vast sky and drifting clouds! What kind of wind blew you all here today?" Hu Tao erged from within the funeral parlor, yawning and placing her hands on her hips.
Her fair legs, revealed under her shorts, showed just the right amount of soft curves for her figure.
"Hehe, of course it's the wind of our unshakable friendship that brought us here!"
Paimon puffed out her chest proudly.
"Are you free today? Co walk around Liyue Harbor with us. How about we all go to the Jade Chamber together for the banquet tonight?"
Nolan extended an invitation to the girl before him.
"Oh? So you're trying to date two girls at once?" Hu Tao's fair face wore a teasing expression.
"You saw through even though I hid it so well? Wow, as expected of Master Hu! So, will you give this chance?"
Nolan smiled gently and offered his hand to Hu Tao like a gentleman.
Next to them, Lumine stood with her hands on her hips, and Paimon crossed her arms, both looking at him with clear disdain.
"You—You jerk, don't treat like so kind of fool!" Hu Tao's charming face flushed ever so slightly. She turned to the side and wrapped her arms around her not-so-full chest. "Hmph! You think I'll let you get your way that easily?"
I, Hu Tao, am not that easy!
[Hu Tao Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You Obtained 250 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.8 (600/800)]
Seeing the notification pop up on his character panel, Nolan realized that Hu Tao was actually happy he had co to find her—it was all just her stubborn front.
Hmm, in this situation, if he took her feelings into account and gave her a way to save face, he could easily reach his goal.
With that thought, Nolan boldly wrapped his arm around Hu Tao's shoulders and said with a firm tone:
"I'm not asking for your permission. Just co with already!"
With that, he led Hu Tao out the door. Lumine and Paimon's looks of disdain turned into pure exasperation.
As if they were saying, "I don't know this idiot."
"Ugh, you jerk!"
Hu Tao gave a symbolic struggle. When it didn't work, she gave up and went along with it, giving Nolan's arm a quick pinch as payback.
The streets of Liyue were bustling with people.
Perhaps due to the increasing number of bicycles, the Liyue Qixing had wisely created a separate lane for wheeled vehicles—bicycles, carriages, and rickshaws all had their designated path.
This separated them from pedestrians, improving traffic flow while reducing the chance of accidental collisions.
It was a smart piece of urban planning and a natural step in the city's developnt.
Nolan even spotted a four-wheeled vehicle equipped with an elental steam engine speeding along the vehicle lane, catching the eyes of many passersby.
Possibly because it was powered directly by pyro elental energy, the steam engine ran quietly.
It didn't give off the noisy, clunky sounds one might expect.
It seed the engineers and scholars from the Sweet Flower rchant Association had been quick to apply steam technology.
It felt like it wouldn't be long before elental steam engines could be used at scale, across multiple industries.
When that ti ca, Teyvat's industrial capabilities would evolve dramatically, and the developnt of elental technology would progress at an even faster pace.
Ningguang was clearly very invested in this matter.
He and Lumine would need to talk to her more about the progress of other worlds, giving her more inspiration and direction—doing that could accelerate everything!
Wait, no—that wouldn't be enough. He and Lumine should actually record everything they had seen related to technological products from other civilizations, the challenges faced during developnt, and how they were solved.
They should write everything down, include simple explanations, and compile it all into a book for Ningguang.
That would be far more efficient than just talking.
Yes, he would ntion this to Lumine later. She had visited more worlds than he had, so she'd definitely have more to write down.
It might be a bit of a burden on her, though…
"Let's head to Heyu Tea House next."
"I heard Ningguang also invited Yun Jin and her Yun-Han Opera Troupe to perform tonight. Let's check out how their preparations are going!"
Just as Nolan made up his mind, Paimon flew ahead and addressed the group.
"Mhm, sounds good! Maybe I can talk to Yun Jin and get a spot in the show myself!"
Hu Tao pressed her finger to her lip and thought for a mont before speaking.
"Hu Tao wants to perform too? Don't tell … poetry?" Paimon asked with a confused look.
"Paimon, you really get ! As a poet, I can't miss such a golden opportunity to present my verses in front of everyone!"
Excitent shimred in Hu Tao's plum blossom-like eyes.
"But if you want to perform on stage, shouldn't you be asking Ningguang? Yun Jin probably doesn't have the authority to decide that, right?"
Paimon spread her hands as she asked.
"Oh, co on, Ningguang will definitely say yes! Let's go already—let's find Yun Jin first!"
Hu Tao grabbed Nolan and started pulling him along. Lumine sighed and followed helplessly.
Honestly, Hu Tao's always so impulsive.
...
Heyu Tea House.
It was still morning, and since there were no operas or performances happening, there were fewer guests than usual.
The tea house staff, seeing new custors arrive, hurried over to invite them in for tea and breakfast.
But Nolan and the others had already eaten—Lumine and Sucrose had prepared breakfast early that morning—so they politely declined.
They explained that they were Yun Jin's friends and were here to see her.
The staff had heard about Mr. Yun being acquainted with the famous travelers, so they didn't doubt them. They pointed out where Yun-Han Opera Troupe was rehearsing.
When they found Yun Jin, she was on stage in the middle of a rehearsal.
After all, being invited to perform by one of the Liyue Qixing ant everything had to be prepared perfectly—no room for mistakes.
"Wow, Yun Jin looks just as beautiful as ever up there on stage!" Paimon's starry eyes lit up as she gently clapped her hands.
"She really does. Since Yun Jin's busy right now, we'd better not interrupt her. Let's wait until she takes a break and then go see how her preparations are going."
Nolan spoke while watching the graceful figure on stage.
Yun Jin, who was practicing, also noticed that Nolan and the others had arrived, and her mood instantly lifted.
But she couldn't afford to lose focus while rehearsing, so she decided to greet them later.
[Yun Jin Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You Obtained 220 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (220/700)]
Oh? Yun Jin's affection rose too? Maybe… she missed a bit after so long?
Nolan thought to himself in mild surprise.
Although he had made an effort to et with everyone often, people like Yun Jin and Hu Tao didn't live in the Wonderland space, so he couldn't see them every day.
He'd need to figure out a way to invite them to move there as well. That way, no matter how busy he got, he could still see them every day.
Right now, the Wonderland space had 360 square ters and three floors—plenty of room for more people to live in.
Also, a few days ago, he had managed to roll a spiritual core attribute for the affection skill "Interstellar Travel"—similar to "Fairyland Wonderland"—fixing so of its shortcomings:
[Interstellar Travel: Can place "Waymarks" on any person. Those with Waymarks can sense each other and teleport freely regardless of distance. The number of Waymarks is equal to the combined levels of Nolan and Lumine. Spiritual Attribute: Backdoor Access.]
Previously, even though those with Interstellar Travel could teleport to each other, they needed the other person's permission.
Even Nolan wasn't an exception.
But with the "Backdoor Access" attribute, he now had so privileges—for example, he could teleport to soone without their consent.
He could also summon them to his side or send them back, without having to go himself.
With this ability, even if all the girls who had Waymarks lived in the Wonderland, and they wanted to teleport back but had no target to lock onto—
Nolan could just send them back himself. That way, their jobs and responsibilities wouldn't be interrupted. Absolutely perfect.
No wonder it took him a whole week of grinding to get that attribute!
Aside from enhancing the "Interstellar Travel" skill he received from Lumine, he also rolled a attribute for the specialty skill Spiritual Core itself.
Previously, this specialty allowed him to collect "Spirituality" and assign attributes, but it would stop collecting once full.
That ant he could only assign one attribute per day, and if the attribute rolled wasn't suitable, he'd have to wait another day.
Back in the World Tree dinsion, while waiting for Lumine to cleanse forbidden knowledge, he spent a few days rolling a new attribute for the skill—this ti one that expanded its capacity.
Now, as long as Spirituality was available, the Spiritual Core could keep collecting without any storage limit. The collection speed also improved significantly.
Right now, Nolan's Spiritual Core had enough Spirituality to assign attributes three tis—and it was still passively collecting more.
He and Lumine had stirred up quite a scene recently in Suru, so more people would likely co to know them.
That ant the Spirituality pool wouldn't dry up so easily.
Hmm... Once Yun Jin cos offstage, I'll assign her a attribute as a little apology for not visiting in a while.
And Hu Tao too—she'll get one as well.
Nolan and the others found seats and watched Yun Jin's Liyue opera rehearsal for a while—about ten minutes—until she finally finished.
From her Vision, she pulled out a towel and wiped her sweat, her soft legs wrapped in light-purple tights stepping firmly in knee-high boots as she approached.
Smiling, she greeted them:
"What brings you all to Yun-Han today?"
"Hmph, it's this flirt, Nolan! He heard you'd be performing at Ningguang's banquet tonight and insisted on coming to check things out!"
Paimon crossed her arms, pushing the bla onto Nolan.
To that, Nolan could only think: Well done, Paimon! All those lavish als weren't in vain—you've even learned how to set up for a perfect assist!
He gave a slight smile and said:
"It's just that I haven't seen you for a few days, so I ca by to check in. How about we head to the Jade Chamber together tonight?"
Hearing his words, a hint of sweetness welled up in Yun Jin's heart, and a soft blush spread across her fair cheeks.
She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and shifted her gaze to the side, speaking shyly:
"Sure, but we need to head over there a bit early to help with the venue setup."
[Yun Jin Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You Obtained 230 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.7 (450/700)]
Seeing the affection prompt pop up again, Nolan decided to strike while the iron was hot:
"I see. That's fine—either way we're going, so anyti works. Oh, by the way, I brought a gift for you."
"A gift?" Yun Jin looked surprised.
"Yes. But hear out first."
Nolan pulled Yun Jin into a seat, then began explaining the Spiritual Core Attributes to her.
"You an to tell … you've had such an incredible ability all this ti? And you never told ?"
Beside them, Hu Tao pouted and pinched Nolan's cheek in protest.
"Well, I didn't really get the chance to ntion it before—hey, let go already! This is no way for a lady to act. Don't worry, I brought a gift for you too!"
Nolan grabbed her hand to stop her pinching and tried to defend himself.
Yun Jin couldn't help but chuckle behind her hand at the sight of him getting flustered. Lumine watched quietly with a smirk, thinking to herself:
Serves you right. Flirting with so many girls—of course you can't keep up with all of them!
"Hmph, that's more like it!"
Hu Tao finally let go, albeit a little grudgingly, after confirming she'd get a gift too.
"Ahem… Let's have Yun Jin go first," Nolan said as he rubbed his cheek and sighed in relief.
"Mm!"
Yun Jin was also full of anticipation. What kind of attribute would she receive?
Nolan nodded slightly and activated his Spiritual Core specialty. A soft glow of Spirituality appeared and settled on Yun Jin.
It only took a second or two to finish. At the sa ti, Nolan received feedback on the attribute she'd acquired:
[Spiritual Core attribute · Opera Grandmaster: This tag appears only among opera perforrs. The bearer gains faster learning of opera knowledge, enhanced inspiration for creating new operas, and improved performance abilities.]
Hmm... From Nolan's perspective, this wasn't exactly a powerful attribute, since everything about it was opera-related.
It offered no combat enhancents at all—but for Yun Jin, this tag was just right. She was an opera artist through and through.
A tag like this would be a trendous help in her career!
Opera Grandmaster!?"
Yun Jin felt the effects of her new attribute and her eyes lit up in surprise. She hadn't expected it to be so perfectly aligned with her field!
This was amazing. Faster opera learning would help her absorb the knowledge passed down by predecessors and deepen her own understanding.
And more importantly, enhanced inspiration ant she could create even more original operas!
With that thought, her affection toward Nolan rose once again:
[Yun Jin Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You Obtained 350 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.8 (100/800)]
Seeing Yun Jin so happy, Nolan couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
"Alright, alright! Now it's my turn!" Hu Tao shoved his shoulder impatiently, clearly eager for hers.
(End of Chapter)
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