During the battle, Zhongli's every movement appeared effortless.
He wasn't just avoiding further injury—he was actively searching for the perfect opportunity to suppress the intruders completely.
The Treasure Hoarders quickly realized the situation was spiraling out of control and attempted to retreat.
Unfortunately for them, Zhongli had no intention of letting that happen.
With a calm gesture, he summoned stone spears, sealing off every possible escape route.
The Hoarders shouted a mess of garbled pleas—roughly amounting to "Can we stop fighting?"
Zhongli's reply was thunderous.
"You think you can stop just because you say so?"
"What about my dignity?"
With a roar, he brought down overwhelming Geo power, burying the Treasure Hoarders alive beneath rising stone.
Even so, their strength wasn't negligible.
That single strike only crushed two of them.
One remained.
Elsewhere, Idris disengaged from the Abyss Mage battlefield.
The portal had already been retracted—no more enemies would emerge from it. With that cut off, any remaining Abyss Mages in the area were likely few.
He had sensed an intense surge of Geo energy earlier.
Zhongli had clearly made a move.
Idris headed over immediately.
Even if the former Geo Archon was absurdly strong, Idris was still the host here in Sumeru. Ignoring him entirely wouldn't be right.
More importantly—
He still wanted Zhongli to work for him.
As for whether Zhongli might take this as distrust?
That wasn't Idris's problem.
People who like you will like everything you do.
People who don't will find fault even in your breathing.
Whether keeping Zhongli was realistically possible or just wishful thinking…
Even Idris couldn't say yet.
His system had a habit of delivering surprises at the worst—or best—possible moments.
On the battlefield, Zhongli fully displayed the bearing of the Geo Archon.
Every action was precise.
Every decision is flawless.
Three words summed it up perfectly:
Ridiculously strong.
As Geo energy surged, the land itself responded to his will.
Not only did he protect himself with ease, he controlled the battlefield with absolute authority.
The final Treasure Hoarder and two elder-level Abyss Mages realized things had gone very wrong.
They tried to flee.
Zhongli wouldn't allow it.
With a heavy motion, the ground erupted, stone walls rising instantly to form an inescapable prison.
The Treasure Hoarder leader screamed, begging for mercy.
His voice trembled with fear and despair.
Zhongli's response was cold and merciless.
"Mercy?"
"Grave-robbing trash dares to negotiate?"
"Die."
His voice fell like divine judgment.
Moments later, the enemies were entombed alive, crushed beneath unyielding stone.
No hesitation.
No regret.
Perhaps the ancient Geo Archon felt no joy—only disdain.
With the battle over, Zhongli didn't linger.
He carried the two surviving Abyss Mages and resumed his return.
The foolishness and greed of his enemies lingered briefly in his thoughts.
All of it was witnessed by Idris, who arrived just in time.
"Tsk tsk… impressive," Idris said, stepping out from the shadows.
"So this is Zhongli when he stops holding back. That aura is no joke."
The Geo Archon's strength was already beyond the Dragon King—
and dangerously close to Idris himself.
And Idris had a system.
That made Zhongli even more valuable.
Zhongli suddenly stopped walking.
His eyes narrowed.
"Who's there?"
"So sharp," Idris applauded lightly as he revealed himself.
"Worthy of the title Geo Archon."
Seeing Idris, Zhongli relaxed.
"Finished on your end?" he asked.
He knew Idris possessed strange tools like portals—his enemies should have been even harder to deal with.
"Mostly," Idris replied casually.
"A few stragglers escaped. It won't be easy to catch them again."
"They may speak nonsense," he added, "but they're not idiots."
Zhongli's expression grew serious.
That casual tone unsettled him.
For Idris to call this "mostly solved"—
how many Abyss Mages had he captured?
Ten?
Twenty?
Idris waved it off.
"Let's head back. They're probably waiting."
The Abyss couldn't be wiped out in a single day.
Even Idris didn't know their true numbers.
Grabbing them one by one was inefficient.
The ideal solution was simple—
Extract intel through Nahida,
then teleport directly to their nests and erase them.
One location.
One strike.
Fast.
Clean.
No wasted time.
Today's operation took an entire morning.
For Idris, that was already too slow.
The continent was massive.
He didn't intend to crawl across it inch by inch.
"Alright," Zhongli agreed. "Let's go."
He didn't interpret Idris's appearance as surveillance.
In Liyue, he would've done the same.
High above Sumeru City, Shenhe and Nahida waited.
Time felt long.
To pass it, the two began discussing something dangerous—
Who was stronger: Zhongli or the Great Sage?
Shenhe praised Zhongli's calm dominance, his iron control over battle, even claiming his strength surpassed her own.
Nahida countered with Idris's foresight and overwhelming strategic ability—how he could reverse situations before enemies even realized they were doomed.
As for combat strength?
That had become an assumed constant.
Idris was so capable that people often forgot—
He wasn't a strategist hiding behind others.
He was a monster in his own right.
"Zhongli's power isn't just raw strength," Shenhe insisted, eyes burning.
"It's his control—his faith in himself."
Nahida smiled gently.
"True. But the Great Sage's greatest weapon is preparation. He wins before the battle begins."
They argued happily, neither willing to concede.
For a brief moment, Shenhe thought—
Is the God of Wisdom… a little love-brained?
Then she remembered her own senior sister, hopelessly enchanted by Idris.
And sighed.
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