"L-Let go already!"
Guizhong glared at Ryen in embarrassnt and irritation.
Ryen coughed lightly and imdiately released her hand, putting on a serious expression.
"Relax. Since you also pursue visual effects, and you even gave this divine power crystal, "
"I absolutely won't let you down."
"For the next while, I'll put aside all research on the Seven Elents and devote myself entirely to your Authority of Dust."
"I've already co up with a lot of handso, elegant, and grand techniques."
"What do you think sounds better?"
"Sand Coffin, Sandstorm Funeral, Infinite Sand Great Breakthrough?"
"Or Shifting Quicksand, Forbidden Guard's Wall, Trial of Dust and Sand?"
Pingzi and Cloud Retainer were both covered in black lines, staring at the two of them speechlessly.
Yet Guizhong actually thought about it very seriously. After a long mont, she muttered,
"These skill nas are too vulgar… and they sound way too murderous."
"Do you have sothing that fits a beautiful young lady's image, elegant, but with hidden killing intent?"
Ryen froze for a mont, then looked at Guizhong with admiration.
"You really have gone far down this path already…"
"Don't worry, there are plenty like that!"
"And even if there weren't, I'd design them for you!"
"How about Dragonfall teor?"
Guizhong was taken aback.
"Dragonfall teor? It does sound cool, but it feels like the na is too short."
"When you shout it out, it doesn't feel imposing enough."
"And it doesn't sound very elegant either, Morax's Planet Befall still sounds better."
Ryen waved his hand aningfully.
"The na may be short, but the presentation is insanely cool."
"I even tried to persuade Zhongli to remodel Planet Befall before."
"One teor is too monotonous, Dragonfall teor is way better."
"Imagine countless teors raining down from the sky, dense and overwhelming, grand and majestic."
Guizhong's eyes lit up.
"Like a teor shower?"
Ryen nodded solemnly.
"So cool!"
Stars practically sparkled in Guizhong's eyes. Then she scoffed disdainfully.
"That Morax guy really has no sense of aesthetics."
"Isn't this way better than his Planet Befall?"
"His move is just a big ugly rock falling out of the sky, what's so good about that?"
A flash of golden light appeared as Zhongli arrived with Venti and the others.
The mont he appeared, he spoke calmly,
"From the standpoint of general rationality, so-called Dragonfall teor disperses its power."
"It cannot achieve the sa concentrated, indissoluble point of attack as Planet Befall."
"The more elental energy is output, the lower the actual damage becos."
"Flashy, but impractical."
Ryen and Guizhong rolled their eyes in perfect sync and said in unison,
"Who cares! As long as it looks cool!"
The mont the words left their mouths, both froze.
They exchanged a glance, and a powerful sense of mutual understanding surged between them.
This was what a true kindred spirit felt like!
Zhongli's mouth twitched.
"My elental power has not yet reached the point where it can be wasted on… visual effects."
"No aesthetic sense. No understanding of art."
Ryen muttered, and Guizhong nodded vigorously beside him.
After a pause, Ryen continued,
"Then why don't you use Tengai Shinsei? That move condenses power instead of dispersing it, hardly flashy without substance, right?"
"A teor descends from the heavens, tears through the clouds, and strikes with crushing, annihilating montum."
"Isn't that both cool and powerful?"
Zhongli rubbed his forehead with a headache-inducing sigh.
"Yes, Tengai Shinsei is indeed powerful, but, "
"By general principles, condensing even a single teor is already extrely taxing."
"Even Planet Befall cannot be used without restraint."
"And yet you want to summon three at once."
"And you insist the teors must descend slowly, to give enemies unprecedented psychological pressure."
"And after impact, there must be a world-shaking explosion that petrifies all enemies."
"This is a bit…"
Before he could finish, Guizhong said with shining eyes,
"That's amazing! That's art!"
"Exactly! You think so too, right?"
Ryen looked at Guizhong with deep emotion.
Zhongli fell silent.
At this mont, he truly felt,
Ryen and Guizhong were the two people he found hardest to deal with.
One was a close friend he couldn't beat.
The other was a sister-figure he felt guilty toward.
And both of them were wildly imaginative, utterly unrestrained thinkers.
Now that these two had tead up, Zhongli had a very strong feeling,
His days of peace were over.
As for Ryen's Tengai Shinsei concept, Zhongli admitted it.
It was powerful, but,
What did it an that the teor had to descend slowly to maximize psychological terror?
What did it an that three had to be condensed at once, so that despair would be followed by even deeper despair?
And preferably, Zhongli himself had to stand in midair with arms crossed and say sothing like,
"You dealt with that one, what about the next?"
"Such insignificant sand, not even worthy of half my power."
"This world is too small, only enough for to toy with."
Those lines…
That was mortifying.
"Just ignore him!"
Guizhong turned excitedly toward Ryen, eyes full of anticipation.
"Can I use that Tengai Shinsei move?"
Ryen rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I don't yet know how far your Authority of Dust can go."
"Can you condense sand and dust into a teor?"
Guizhong thought carefully.
"Condensing it would be difficult…"
"But if I output all my divine power, it should be possible."
"Then we're set!"
Ryen clapped his hands in satisfaction.
"This move will be your ultimate, screen-clearing finisher."
"Condense three teors, then smash them down one by one."
"The enemy finally deals with the first teor, only to realize there's another one."
"After struggling to destroy two, a third one cos crashing down."
"The sheer intimidation of a teor descending from the heavens, combined with the psychological pressure of never knowing how many attacks are left, "
"I declare this move the strongest!"
Guizhong nodded repeatedly.
"I've written it down. When I test it, I'll call you to co watch!"
Pingzi sighed softly, a little helpless.
"This move is powerful, but it consus all of your divine power in one burst."
"You'll fall into a prolonged weakened state afterward."
"And the enemy doesn't necessarily have to keep attacking your teors."
"Between a helpless, exhausted god and a teor that clearly looks dangerous,"
"anyone would choose to eliminate you first, wouldn't they?"
"After releasing Tengai Shinsei, you wouldn't even be able to fight a normal monster."
"That's a self-destructive move, it cuts off your own retreat."
Guizhong froze, then turned to look at Ryen.
Ryen had no intention of letting the like-minded soulmate he'd finally found lose confidence.
He imdiately waved his hand dismissively.
"No problem!"
"Guizhong can still use her staff, and she has Totems of Undying to instantly restore herself to peak condition."
"And if worst cos to worst, I'll be right beside her when she uses Tengai Shinsei."
"With around, no one is laying a finger on my like-minded artistic soulmate!"
Guizhong bead and patted Ryen happily.
"Then I'll leave it to you!"
"I'll be beautiful like a flower, and you'll beat all my enemies into the ground!"
Everyone shook their heads with helpless smiles as Guizhong enthusiastically took notes.
"Besides Tengai Shinsei, are there any other moves?"
"Preferably ones with beautiful nas and really gorgeous effects!"
Ryen thought for a mont, then said softly,
"What about Grand Finality of Earth-Shattering Roar?"
"You could even perform so very flashy motions before releasing it."
Guizhong scrunched up her face, thought it over, then shook her head.
"Too rustic! Sounds awful! Next."
Ryen didn't feel her standards were high at all.
On the contrary, this kind of demanding taste made him feel relieved.
At last, soone who truly understood his obsession with visual effects.
"In that case, I'll have to bring out my secret stash."
Ryen solemnly took out a notebook, moved closer to Guizhong, and flipped through it with her.
"How about Armored Warriors Shattered on a Hundred Battlefields?"
"Hmm… it sounds philosophical, but not elegant or flashy enough."
"Then Broken Halberds Sink into the Sands, Iron Still Unrotted?"
"Too murderous! That doesn't suit a beautiful young lady!"
"Then… Desert Sands Like Snow?"
"Mm… it feels like sothing's missing. A bit too plain when shouted."
"Ryen… am I being too picky?"
Ryen waved his hand excitedly.
"Picky? Not at all!"
"Pursuing art requires exactly this kind of rigorous, serious attitude!"
"No worries, I've got plenty more. We'll just keep looking!"
"What about this one, Starfall Tempest?"
Guizhong's eyes lit up, and she nodded thoughtfully.
"So when I unleash the sandstorm, I shout this?"
"It definitely sounds better than Morax yelling Planet Befall or The Heavenly Principles Ever Move."
"Write it down, write it down!"
"That's the second one, help find another!"
Ryen nodded earnestly, deeply moved.
"I just love people like you, people with ideas and pursuits!"
"Leave it to !"
The two leaned closer and closer, until they were practically whispering to each other.
Zhongli and the others sighed helplessly.
They hadn't expected Ryen and Guizhong to be this perfectly in sync over sothing like this.
Perhaps…
People with unconventional minds were simply alike.
Zhongli chuckled softly, shook his head, and quietly sipped his tea.
"Old man,"
"seeing Guizhong and Ryen this close, don't you feel anything?"
Venti grinned mischievously and leaned over to whisper in Zhongli's ear.
Zhongli glanced at him calmly.
"How many more tis must you suffer the Punishnt of Eating Rock before you rember, "
"that Guizhong and I are rely comrades-in-arms?"
"Ehe~"
Venti shrugged and said no more.
"But even as comrades," he pressed on,
"you treat her like a younger sister. If your 'sister' ends up with a guy like Ryen, whose romantic luck is overflowing, "
"you really don't mind?"
Zhongli paused, then replied calmly,
"Each person has their own fate. I have no right to interfere."
"Back in the days of Guili Assembly, I fought day and night."
"I returned only a handful of tis."
"Though we were said to rule together as allies, in truth, "
"Guizhong bore the responsibility of caring for the people alone."
"That life of constant war, never knowing if tomorrow would co,"
"was too oppressive for her. It stifled her youthful nature."
"I think… allowing her more freedom now is a form of compensation."
Venti didn't say anything further.
No matter how he looked at it, Zhongli didn't seem like soone who understood romance.
Which, for Venti, ant one less source of amusent.
"Sorrow and the west wind seem to have an appointnt, eting together every clear autumn…"
Zhongli softly repeated the verse Ryen had just whispered to Guizhong, a trace of appreciation crossing his face.
"A fine poem."
"It seems Ryen brought writings from his forr world to craft these visually pleasing techniques."
"If there's a chance, I might ask him to let take a look."
anwhile, Ryen and Guizhong continued exchanging thoughts on dazzling combat techniques.
With nothing else to do, Zhongli and the others casually chatted about that other world.
After an unknown amount of ti, Ningguang and the rest finally arrived.
The mont they stepped inside, they imdiately noticed the strangely intense, heated atmosphere between Ryen and Guizhong,
And their expressions turned rather odd.
~~----------------------
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