It only took a moment for every Liyue citizen to see the truth.
What Ningguang and the others were doing…
wasn't a battle at all.
They had simply found a rare, durable training dummy and were taking the opportunity to practice their techniques.
Keqing, for example—
After verifying the Ten-Thousand-Sword Art, she switched to Demon-Subduing Sword Control, then to Heavenly Gang Sword Techniques.
Hu Tao, after enjoying herself with the Ten-Thousand Ghost Records, moved on to other sinister curses.
Even Yelan and the rest were taking the chance to refine their respective arts.
If the Liyue people could see this much, then the observers atop the Jade Chamber understood it even more clearly.
Finding a perfect sparring partner before entering the Nine Nether Secret Realm…
This was a gift straight from the heavens.
Not just new Shushan disciples like Childe and Alhaitham—who needed practical combat the most—
Even Diluc, who had been in Shushan for some time, looked jealous.
Beisht wasn't worth mentioning—too fragile, not fun enough.
But Osial?
Osial was perfect.
Thick skin. Hard to kill. Endless regeneration through ocean authority.
Strong enough to push an average late-stage Essence-Refining cultivator.
And most importantly—
Against Osial, no one had to hold back.
Every killing move was allowed.
There was no better training partner.
Sure, one could spar within Shushan…
But that was sparring, not a fight to the death.
Childe couldn't use his Reverse-Blood Demon Knife.
Diluc and the others had many forbidden killing blows.
Restricted fights led to restricted growth.
But the Nine Nether Secret Realm would require true life-and-death combat—
And none of them had such experience yet.
Against Osial?
No need to hold back.
No need to fear losing.
He wouldn't die easily.
This was the ultimate punching bag.
"Ai…"
Childe sighed dramatically for the tenth time, staring longingly at Osial being beaten into several kinds of seafood.
A glorious battle was unfolding right in front of him, and he wasn't allowed to participate.
It was torture.
But with the Cryo Archon watching, he didn't dare defy Zhongli's wishes.
"Keqing-shijie is already practicing her Heavenly Gang Sword on Osial… You can see she's gaining a lot."
Childe's heart twisted.
"So jealous…"
He turned toward Xiao with desperate hope:
"Xiao-shixiong, is there any other sealed demon god in Liyue? I can help deal with them!"
Xiao paused, then shook his head.
"Almost all demon gods were subdued by Zhongli-shouzuo. Only a few scattered remnants remain.
Lisa-shimei may find them useful—but for you, they're meaningless."
Childe's mouth twitched.
He turned toward Venti.
"Then Mondstad? I heard there's still the soul of the ancient god Andrius—"
Venti's face darkened instantly.
"Andrius is my friend."
Lisa chuckled quietly.
If Andrius had been fair game, she would've already gone—Childe wouldn't even get a turn.
"Uh… then Inazuma? Sumeru?"
Still refusing to give up, he turned to Ayaka and Tighnari.
"Inazuma has no demon gods left," Kujou Sara said immediately, horrified at the idea.
A battle of this scale in Inazuma? They'd sink half the nation.
"There is something in Sumeru…"
Alhaitham mused.
"I've heard there's an ancient Dragon King buried in the desert—"
"It's Apep, the Grass Dragon King, one of the Seven Sovereign Dragons."
Neuvillette cut in calmly.
"I do not recommend provoking it. One, Apep is extremely powerful. Two… it was once my colleague. In the future, I hope to bring it into Shushan."
Childe deflated instantly.
But then—
"However…"
Neuvillette's tone shifted.
"In Fontaine's Primordial Sea, there is a great creature. Stronger than a top-tier demon god.
Far stronger than Osial."
Childe lit up like a bonfire.
"Can I fight it!?"
"No!"
Before Neuvillette could reply, Furina cut him off, cheeks puffed in indignation.
"The Primordial Sea monster lives at the source! I haven't fixed the citizens' body-dissolution issue!
If the sea level rises because you stir it up, Fontaine will melt!
Absolutely not!"
Childe froze again.
But Furcalos patted Furina's shoulder with a gentle smile.
"You worry too much. Neuvillette and I can easily suppress an entire Primordial Sea.
Even if a war erupts within, nothing will spill out."
Furina hesitated.
"But isn't that too troublesome? And you two should be focusing on your cultivation—
The Nine Nether exploration is starting soon. Running around wastes time."
Childe sighed, nodding.
"Much as I want to fight, Senior Neuvillette and Senior Furcalos just joined Shushan.
They need time to stabilize their realms.
It really isn't the right moment."
Both seniors nodded slightly.
Childe slumped.
"Fine…
I'll wait until we enter the Nine Nether Secret Realm."
The Cryo Archon sipped her tea and said lightly:
"If you truly want battle, go to Tianqiu Valley. Zhongli-shouzuo is preparing to awaken Azhdaha.
You may gain combat experience there."
Childe jolted upright.
So did Diluc.
But then Childe hesitated:
"Isn't Azhdaha Zhongli-shouzuo's old friend? How can we use real killing blows?"
"With Zhongli-shouzuo present, your killing blows will achieve nothing."
The Cryo Archon gave him a helpless look.
He decided whether they went or not—
She'd done her part by reminding them.
Childe and Diluc exchanged glances, nodded, and after saying goodbye to Jiang Yan, soared toward Tianqiu Valley.
Soon, Tighnari and the others also left.
The Nine Nether expedition was no joke.
Preparation was life.
Carelessness meant death.
The cultivation world was nothing like safe, civilized Teyvat.
—
Back on Osial's side of the battlefield—
It was a garden of techniques blooming at once.
Ningguang and the others executed elegant, precise, radiant moves.
Beisht's side…
Was pretty much just Beidou soloing everything.
Xingqiu, Chongyun, the other Qixing, and Ningguang's three secretaries—
They were still too new to cultivation.
Their techniques were clumsy, unfamiliar, awkward.
Which was understandable—
They had cultivated for barely half a month.
But Beidou and Yelan were monsters of talent.
Yelan's style was all stealth and lethal strikes—beautiful, but not flashy.
Her attacks were terrifyingly efficient.
Beisht's tail was nearly severed.
But Beidou—
Beidou fought like a storm wearing brass knuckles.
Laughing wildly, she pummeled Beisht with fists and feet.
The divine elephant phantom behind her moved with her—
Like an ancient beast toying with a little serpent.
Sometimes she hoisted Beisht like uprooting a tree—
And smashed her into the waves again and again.
Liyue Harbor exploded with cheers.
The Divine Elephant Prison-Suppressing Force fit Beidou like destiny itself.
Her bold, heroic style had Liyue shouting her name.
She was nearly as awe-inspiring as Keqing's sword ocean.
Meanwhile—
Osial and Beisht no longer wished to attack Liyue at all.
After a few thousand years away, they had returned to find Liyue filled with… monsters.
Sword-wielding immortals.
Heaven-smelting furnaces.
Thunder-summoning Adepti.
And one woman who opened the fight by tearing off a head.
What kind of nightmare was this?
Even in his damaged state, Osial understood:
Liyue today was no longer an opponent he could challenge.
If he didn't run now—
He would never run again.
But his body, crushed by Ningguang and the others' attacks, could barely move.
He finally understood—
The seal wasn't protecting Liyue.
It was protecting him.
But it was far too late.
Baizhu's golden bindings wrapped him like a present needing only a bow.
Hu Tao's ghosts gnawed at his soul.
Lightning cooked him.
Keqing carved him.
Every attack was torture.
This wasn't battle.
This was… execution.
Beisht was slightly better off.
Yelan merely drained her blood.
Beidou merely slammed her around like laundry.
Compared to Osial, she was fortunate.
Everyone took turns, testing techniques, rotating politely.
Neither Osial nor Beisht had caused Liyue the slightest harm.
Instead, they had sacrificed themselves so Ningguang's group could refine their cultivation techniques before the Nine Nether expedition.
Honestly, Ningguang and the others could almost thank them.
Traveling thousands of miles just to deliver practice dummies—
Such deep, touching devotion to Liyue.
Finally, once everyone had familiarized themselves with enough techniques, Ningguang decided the sparring should end.
She glanced at Osial—
Trapped in gold bindings, wrapped in ghostfire—
And exhaled softly.
"Are you all done playing?"
Keqing flew beside her.
"Pretty much. He's durable, but killing him still requires either Hu Tao tearing his soul apart… or Shenhe."
"Tearing the soul is too slow. He's still a demon god," Hu Tao muttered, annoyed.
"If only his physical body could be destroyed, that would make things easier."
"His body…?"
Ningguang blinked.
Then she smiled.
A knowing, dangerous smile.
"I have an idea."
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