It had been about half a month since Jean and the others returned to Mondstadt.
During this period, Ryen and his group didn't make any major breakthroughs.
But to say there was no progress at all would be incorrect.
The blacksmithing division personnel who had been reassigned had already memorized the process of crafting some basic firearms.
They had even managed to create devices like wireless surveillance cameras.
Currently, the three Liyue military teams stationed in the Minecraft world—nearly 700 Qianyan Army soldiers—had all been fully equipped with firearms.
Of course, these weapons were not allowed to be brought back to Teyvat.
The Qianyan Army had high military discipline, and Ningguang and the others never doubted that they would hide weapons for themselves.
Even so, the soldiers took it upon themselves to monitor each other to ensure that no firearms would appear in Teyvat.
After experiencing battles involving firearms—both the large-scale one and several smaller ones since—they were very aware of just how dangerous these weapons could be.
They were extremely effective in battle—dozens of soldiers could fire in a sweep, enough to riddle even a Rock Shield Mitachurl with holes.
But against their own comrades, the damage could be just as fatal.
Until Ningguang and the others figured out a proper policy, these weapons had to be strictly regulated.
In fact, several new regulations had been added to the Qianyan Army's military code.
Firearms must never be out of the user's possession.
No gun is allowed to circulate freely.
Usage of firearms must be recorded in writing by each squad.
Guns must never be pointed at a comrade; violating this rule would be treated as a serious breach of discipline.
The Qianyan soldiers took these rules very seriously. The fear of having a gun pointed at them was no joke.
Even a careless moment when a comrade accidentally aimed at them was enough to cause mental distress.
If something like that did happen, the offender would likely get a solid beating from their squadmates, even if they were close.
This was a matter of life and death.
The wolves they lost had since been re-bred, and with the aid of alchemy potions, the new pack was even stronger.
However, for those stationed at Base No.1, what was lost remained lost.
They could only continue to move forward—together with their new companions.
Still, many of them could be seen now and then visiting the cemetery, mourning the wolves that had fallen.
There were four craftsmen in the blacksmithing division who had learned how to make firearms.
Basically, one crafted the weapons, one made the raw materials, another produced the lower-tier component materials,
and the last one focused on making ammunition.
Each of them was isolated from the others, forbidden from discussing the others' fields of expertise.
This served as an extra layer of protection.
On top of that, strict contractual clauses were enforced.
The craftsmen didn't mind, though—they were doing it for Liyue.
And besides, they genuinely enjoyed working with these firearms.
As Ryen expected, materials like steel plates—after being refined in Teyvat—proved far superior in utility than iron blocks.
Steel plates, plastic... and newly discovered minerals all had tremendous potential.
Ningguang and her group were actively discussing new ways to use these materials.
In addition, Ryen and his team had once again visited the End, retrieved five dragon eggs, and also looted a bunch of materials for crafting shulker boxes from an End Fortress.
Ryen's villa had expanded again—after all, even though the dragons weren't quite as massive as the original Ender Dragon, they still weren't small.
He had become a full-fledged dragon breeder.
Ningguang and the others had also installed wireless surveillance cameras throughout the streets and alleys of Liyue,
truly allowing her to sit atop the Jade Chamber and monitor every detail of Liyue Harbor.
She even named the surveillance system "Tianyan" (Heaven's Eye).
However, since no one dared cause trouble in Liyue Harbor at the moment, the system didn't have much immediate use.
One noteworthy development was that after several Qixing meetings, a decision was made:
Liyue would begin selling small quantities of alchemy potions and offer commercial weapon enchantments.
The quantities were very limited.
One batch of alchemy potions would be released each week, including Strength, Swiftness, Jump Boost, and Regeneration types.
Only 100 bottles of each were available.
Even so, every release caused a stampede—people crowded every street corner to get their hands on them.
As for pricing, Ningguang's group didn't bundle sales or force combos. Each potion was sold individually:
One million Mora per bottle.
It sounded expensive, but those who understood the value of these potions felt they were getting an absolute bargain.
Even an ordinary person could become as powerful as a Vision holder after drinking one—if only for a brief moment.
It was a life-saving elixir, and a game-changer in combat.
And let's be honest—if you could buy one for one million and resell it for five million, someone would definitely take it.
No one ever complained about having too many life-saving items.
Even Tartaglia would line up a day early to buy them.
The Adventurers' Guild had negotiated extensively with Ningguang for access to these potions.
Whatever they offered in return, Ningguang ultimately agreed:
Each week, the Guild could purchase 100 bottles of each type at a 10% discount.
Judging by Ningguang's beaming face that day, she had clearly gotten what she wanted from the Guild.
To be honest, these were the most basic alchemy potions.
The Qianyan Army wouldn't even look twice at them—after all, they were already equipped with at least Tier-2 potions.
If the release of alchemy potions had caused a stir, then the introduction of weapon enchantments genuinely shocked everyone.
Weapon enchantments granted supernatural power.
Especially when people saw an ordinary sword, taken by the blacksmithing team, returned glowing with a purple aura—
and, when swung, it emitted flames.
Now, not only ordinary people yearning for power, but even Vision holders became excited.
Liyue only made enchantments available for bows, swords, polearms, and armor.
Only ten enchantment trades were accepted per week.
Each person could only enchant one trait, and each enchantment cost over 100 million Mora.
Even so, the demand was overwhelming.
Alchemy potions were consumables—but enchanted weapons were not.
Once enchanted, a weapon could be used indefinitely.
However, Liyue imposed strict rules on who could receive enchantments.
Liyue citizens were given priority, followed by allies like Mondstadt.
Only then came other friendly factions.
As for the Fatui...
Ningguang and the others absolutely prohibited the Fatui from getting any enchantments.
They had no interest in helping the Fatui grow stronger.
This made Tartaglia incredibly frustrated.
Especially when he saw an ordinary man swinging a flaming longsword—it hit him hard.
If he could get a flaming enchantment on his own longsword, he would effectively become a three-element user, and his strength would skyrocket.
Forget facing the Doctor—Tartaglia was confident he could take down the Wanderer.
Three-element reactions, in Tartaglia's expert hands, would be like a top-tier nuclear bomb combo.
For that reason, he had been pushing harder than ever recently, eager to make contact with Lumine.
Unfortunately, Lumine was currently addicted to dragon-riding adventures in the Minecraft world,
and almost never visited Liyue Harbor alone.
Though the volume of alchemy potions and enchantments was limited, these two new business ventures launched by Liyue
undoubtedly elevated its reputation and greatly expanded its influence across Teyvat.
As for what the full impact would be, Ryen didn't really know yet.
The Rite of Descension was just days away. Ningguang and Keqing were so busy their feet barely touched the ground. Ryen hadn't seen either of them for four or five days now.
Ganyu, too, had resumed her intense workload.
Only in the evenings would she return home, utterly exhausted, to rest beside Ryen.
Seeing her so worn out, Ryen didn't have the heart to trouble her further.
In other words, he had been "abstinent" for four or five days now…
Nahida, meanwhile, had been spending her time playing with Lumine lately. She hadn't been clinging to Ryen as much.
In fact, she often went off riding the dragon with Lumine and Paimon.
So, from being surrounded by beautiful women to now being left all alone, Ryen was feeling a huge sense of loss.
He sat in the small courtyard, drinking tea with Zhongli.
Beside them, the interdimensional portal was open. Xiao had just gone through it, heading off with the Millelith stationed at Base No. 2 to explore a newly discovered mine.
With the addition of firearms, they had indeed grown stronger—but so had their enemies.
To prevent sneak attacks, exploration of the new caves still needed to be carefully supervised.
Ryen took a sip of tea. Though it was slightly sweet by nature, it tasted unbearably bitter in his mouth.
Annoyed, he glanced at Zhongli and muttered:
"So, tell me again—why do you insist on descending every single year?"
"Look at Venti next door. He hasn't shown his face in centuries. Why are you so... competitive?"
Zhongli gazed calmly at the drifting clouds overhead.
He knew Ryen was in a foul mood.
The main reason, of course, was that the upcoming ceremony had made Ganyu busy, and she hadn't been by Ryen's side for days.
After a moment of silence, Zhongli said serenely:
"That's why I plan to retire, for real this time. This year will be the last."
"Tch…"
Ryen shook his head.
"Poor Venti. Must be tough having such an overachieving colleague like you…"
"From a rational standpoint, I've only been fulfilling my duties."
Zhongli put down his teacup and stretched lazily. Recently, the wear and tear on his physical form had greatly decreased.
Naturally, his mood had also improved.
"For over 3,700 years, I have never once missed a Rite of Descension. But this time… it's finally time to let go."
"Liyue as it stands now no longer depends on me. It can stand tall at the peak of Teyvat on its own."
"I should take this opportunity to enjoy life for myself."
As he spoke, Zhongli paused and gave Ryen a sidelong glance, as if he wanted to say something but held back.
Ryen understood perfectly well what he meant.
This guy probably still hadn't given up on his plan—to sever his last remaining contract once and for all.
To put it bluntly, he still wanted to fake his death and be done with it.
Ryen immediately raised a hand.
"Stop right there. Don't even bring up the fake death thing. If you pull a stunt like that, do you know how long Liyue would be thrown into chaos?"
"Besides, haven't I already told you? In a world with gods, a godless nation is a weak and sinful one."
Still unconvinced, Zhongli pursed his lips and said:
"But Liyue is already strong. God or no god—does it even matter anymore?"
"Our base-level strength is enough to sweep through Teyvat. And our upper echelon—Xiao and the others—are no weaker than the Archons themselves with their current enhancements."
"If that's the case…"
Ryen shook his head again, giving Zhongli a meaningful look.
"Yes, Liyue is powerful. Even without you, even if the darkness from five hundred years ago returned, even if another god attacked…"
"Ningguang and the others would be able to handle it, though it might cost them some effort."
"But who in Teyvat knows that? Our true strength, our deepest foundation—still remains hidden."
"It's not something we should show off lightly."
Ryen looked up into the sky and murmured:
"Fists and muscles are for display. But the real killing weapon… must remain well hidden."
~~----------------------
To read 30 future chapters head over to patreon:
patreon.com/Dreamer20