Chapter 44: Youthful Spirit
With a crisp, acrobatic flip, Stelle stuck a flawless landing atop a carefully selected boulder near the finish line. The blistering, orange-red glow of the Blazestone Fire Lake painted her silhouette in dramatic, flickering shadows.
Without missing a beat, she pivoted her back to the approaching newcomers and crossed her arms. Her spine snapped ramrod straight, perfectly mimicking the aloof, untouchable aura of the legendary martial arts masters she had seen on the Xianzhou Luofu. To complete the illusion, she had secretly enlisted Lumine's help. A minuscule, highly concentrated current of Anemo energy swirled at her ankles, causing the hem of her trench coat to flutter dramatically in the otherwise still, suffocating heat of the cavern. She was the picture of an unmatched expert, moving without the wind.
As Zhongli, Wise, and the others slowly rolled their motorcycles into the finish area, their gazes naturally gravitated toward the boulder. Right on cue, Belle let out a breathless gasp of pure admiration.
"Brother! Look!" Belle pointed excitedly. "Stelle standing on that big rock... she looks exactly like those peerless martial arts heroes in the late-night movies! You know, the ones who defeat every master in the world and then sigh, 'Life is as lonely as snow'!"
Belle's words were absolute music to Stelle's ears. It was a critical hit directly to her protagonist-syndrome core.
Stelle bit the inside of her cheek, desperately suppressing the urge to let her lips curl into a wild, unhinged grin. 'Good eye, Belle,'she praised internally.'A true connoisseur of the dramatic arts.'
Forcing her features into a mask of stoic melancholy, Stelle took a deep, measured breath. She lowered her voice an octave, aiming for a weathered, world-weary gravel.
"Ah..."
The sigh was long, drawn-out, and dripping with the heavy burden of absolute invincibility.
"Life, ah... it truly is..." She shook her head by a fraction of an inch, as if mourning the tragic mediocrity of the mortal realm. "...as lonely as snow."
She let the final four words hang in the sweltering air, heavy with the desolation of standing alone at the absolute pinnacle of strength. "To seek an opponent capable of offering even a fraction of a challenge... it is truly a difficult path."
Internally, Stelle was cheering. Her coolness factor had just shattered the stratosphere.
Unfortunately for her, March 7th had witnessed the entire careful setup of this "expert entrance show." A visible, pulsing vein practically materialized on the archer's forehead.
Unable to endure the sheer cringe for another second, March jabbed an accusing finger at the boulder, her voice ringing out across the rocky platform.
"Hey! Stelle! You're taking this way too far! That is—so—pretentious! Get down from that stupid rock right now!"
But Stelle was far too deeply immersed in her self-crafted domain of expertise. Surrender was not an option.
Maintaining her crossed-arm stance, she tilted her head with feigned, gentle helplessness. When she spoke, her tone dripped with patronizing pity.
"Alas, poor March 7th. You must have failed to secure the championship, and now your fragile heart is being consumed by the ugly flames of jealousy. Is that not so?"
"Don't worry, I understand your pain. But I will not be frightened away by your petty anger~" To add insult to injury, Stelle turned her head just a fraction more, offering the group a flawless, stoic "expert's profile" angle.
March 7th's fists clenched so hard her knuckles turned white. "You! Do you seriously want me to climb up there and give you two solid punches?!"
Lumine, the secret Anemo accomplice, watched Stelle spout absolute nonsense with a perfectly straight face. The Traveler quickly slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, her shoulders shaking violently with the effort.
Beside them, Dan Heng quietly turned his face away. His expression screamed a desperate, silent plea of 'I don't know this person, we are not affiliated,' though the tips of his ears burned a suspicious shade of red. He had witnessed Stelle's chaotic antics countless times across the cosmos, yet her infinite capacity to invent new, embarrassing tricks still managed to overwhelm his defenses.
Paimon, meanwhile, blissfully ignored the standoff. The little floating companion zipped happily over to Lumine, chattering a mile a minute as she demanded to know exactly how the race went and what her final placement was.
Zhongli simply sat on his idling motorcycle, his amber eyes slowly sweeping across the chaotic tableau on the platform. He watched March 7th playfully threatening to drag Stelle off the rock, while the Trailblazer stubbornly held her ground. He noted Lumine's easy laughter as she entertained Paimon, Dan Heng's quiet, helpless indulgence, and the bright, entertained smiles of the proxy siblings, Wise and Belle.
A gentle, deep smile graced the retired Archon's lips. It was a look of deep benevolence, the quiet understanding of a man who had watched millennia of history unfold.
"Youthful spirit, full of boundless vigor," Zhongli murmured softly, his voice a rich, resonant rumble. "Stelle's pure, unburdened heart is truly a rare treasure."
His gaze drifted over the vibrant assembly of young heroes, finally resting on the back of the "lonely expert" who was still refusing to break character on her boulder. The amusement in his eyes deepened, as though he were admiring the most precious, unpolished jade in all of Liyue.
"This scene..." He paused, his tone brimming with an elder's warm appreciation for the relentless vitality of the new generation. "...is also the truest, most beautiful scenery one can witness on the long path of cultivation."
Just as the "expert offense and defense battle" was threatening to escalate into physical violence—with March 7th seriously calculating the stamina required to scale the rock and deliver those two punches—a sharp, mechanical chime echoed simultaneously in everyone's minds.
[System Notification: World Event "Tour de Inferno Finals" has been completed.]
[Beginning reward settlement...]
[Stelle: Champion Reward Points: 300 points.]
[Lumine: Runner-up Reward Points: 240 points.]
[Dan Heng: Third Place Reward Points: 180 points.]
[March 7th: Event Participation Points: 120 points.]
[...]
[Points have been distributed to all members' accounts.]
[Friendly Reminder: This World Event has concluded. All group members will be safely teleported back to their respective original worlds at 9:00 PM sharp, local time. Please prepare in advance.]
The sterile, robotic notification acted like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing Stelle's carefully curated "expert" aura and March 7th's fiery indignation.
Dropping the act entirely, Stelle sheepishly hopped down from the boulder, landing with a soft thud. March 7th huffed, finally unclenching her fists.
The group exchanged quiet glances. A sudden, bittersweet realization permeated the sweltering cavern air. Ah... it's almost over.
"Going back at nine?" Belle frowned, her voice tinged with genuine reluctance. "No way! How can we just pack up and leave without celebrating? That would be a total waste of a victory!"
Wise immediately caught his sister's drift. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he smiled warmly. "She's right. It's still early, anyway. Five or six hours is plenty of time. Perfect timing, actually. Belle and I will take everyone to Lumina Square in New Eridu! We can relax, have some fun, and grab a massive dinner!"
He looked around at the assembled multiversal travelers. "Thanks to everyone's help today, my sister and I barely had to lift a finger. So please, let us treat you all to a proper feast!"
Any lingering melancholy in Stelle's heart was instantly obliterated by the magic words: fun and food. Her golden eyes lit up like supernovas. "Lumina Square? Sounds like prime real estate for trash cans! I haven't explored that area yet! Let's go, let's go!"
Lumine and March 7th nodded enthusiastically, bright smiles returning to their faces.
Paimon pumped her tiny fists in the air, cheering louder than anyone. "Yay! More delicious food! Paimon's stomach is ready!"
Dan Heng and Zhongli exchanged a brief, knowing glance. The archivist gave a slight nod, and the consultant smiled in silent agreement. Neither had any objections to a good meal.
Without further delay, the group mounted their respective motorcycles, the engines roaring to life in a synchronized chorus.
Leaving the blistering heat of the Blazestone Fire Lake behind, they handled their way out of the Hollow. The moment Wise and Belle's devices reconnected to New Eridu's local network, Wise pulled over briefly to fire off a quick message.
[Wise: Caesar, we're taking our friends to Lumina Square to relax and celebrate. Thanks for all the hard work wrapping things up at the venue. We'll swing back by the Outer Ring later tonight to pack up our gear.]
A reply pinged back almost instantaneously.
[Caesar: Received. Have fun out there, and give them my thanks again. We'll handle the cleanup on this end. Ride safe.]
Pocketing his phone, Wise took the lead. The ride toward Lumina Square was far more relaxed than their breakneck pace during the Tour de Inferno.
As they cruised down the winding asphalt, the desolate outskirts gradually gave way to the vibrant, pulsing heart of the city. The evening traffic began to swell, and pedestrians crowded the sidewalks. Neon signs flickered to life overhead, painting the streets in vivid strokes of cyan and magenta. The familiar, comforting hustle and bustle of New Eridu wrapped around them like a warm blanket.
Wise kept their speed steady and manageable, and the rest of the group followed in a loose, tacit formation. They let the cool evening wind wash over them, silently savoring this rare, leisurely journey through a foreign cyberpunk metropolis.
After all the multiversal chaos, safe driving was the ultimate luxury.
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