"Thud, thud—"
In an instant, Zhongli felt two rapid impacts on his Jade Shield. The two strikes were so close together that they almost sounded like one.
At first, he thought his shield had successfully blocked the attack, but the next moment, a pain he hadn't felt in a long time suddenly surged through his body.
The final strike sent him flying into the air, completely immobilized.
The Heavenly Soaring Dragon Flash was the ultimate secret technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. If the Nine-Headed Dragon Flash was about delivering nine basic slashes along different trajectories, then the Heavenly Soaring Dragon Flash condensed those nine slashes into a single point.
The attack shifted from a wide area to a concentrated point, drastically increasing its damage.
After being forcibly launched into the air, Zhongli felt the strange binding force disappear.
Zhongli flipped mid-air and landed gracefully, summoning his Vortex Vanquisher. But before he could assume a defensive stance, Bailuo lightly flicked the reverse-blade sword in his hand.
"Hum—"
A peculiar force surged through his body, giving him the sensation of being doused in icy water. At the same time, his consciousness, which had been blurred from blood loss, became clear again.
Not only his consciousness, but even the bleeding wounds began to heal.
It wasn't that the True Reverse-Blade Sword had healing properties, but rather that it treated the bleeding as a negative status effect and cleared it.
Most importantly, the Heavenly Soaring Dragon Flash, which had been on cooldown, was now available again.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū: Secret Technique—Heavenly Soaring Dragon Flash!"
Zhongli: "???"
Seeing Bailuo charging toward him again, Zhongli's face showed a mix of shock and confusion.
Again? This guy has no sense of honor!
The feeling of being immobilized returned, and for the first time, Zhongli encountered someone as bizarre as Bailuo, suffering a loss at his hands.
Pain surged through him once more, and even Zhongli couldn't help but frown slightly.
As the Geo Archon, Zhongli's defensive capabilities far surpassed those of ordinary gods. Yet, the two secret techniques Bailuo unleashed ignored his shield and defense, directly affecting his physical body.
Fortunately, his physical resilience was far beyond that of ordinary mortals, so enduring these two strikes wasn't a significant issue.
One or two strikes were manageable, but if this guy could keep slashing endlessly...
If every strike could bypass his defenses, even with his godly physique, he might not be able to withstand the onslaught.
If it were just physical damage, he could dodge it. The real problem was the bizarre immobilization and launching effects.
If the opponent could use them without pause, even he wouldn't be able to endure.
"Two moves. One more to go."
Realizing that the Jade Shield was useless, Zhongli dispelled it and simply stood in place, gripping his Vortex Vanquisher tightly, ready to counterattack.
As soon as Bailuo finished his three moves, Zhongli would strike without hesitation.
And then...
"Plop—"
Holding the reverse-blade sword, Bailuo maintained his slashing posture before collapsing face-first into the puddle, completely motionless. Occasionally, a few bubbles rose to the surface.
"..."
A thousand years! A thousand years!
Zhongli had faced all kinds of opponents, including cunning and deceitful ones. But no matter how much they schemed, in the face of absolute power, everything was fleeting.
But Bailuo?
For the first time, Zhongli felt what it was like to be utterly helpless against someone.
Not retaliate?
No way. He had been slashed twice for no reason, and it hurt. Not fighting back would leave him feeling unsatisfied.
Retaliate?
He had agreed to let Bailuo have three moves, but Bailuo had only used two. Attacking now would mean breaking the contract. For the God of Contracts, breaking a contract was no small matter and could even affect him.
Seeing that Bailuo had stopped bubbling in the water, Zhongli had no choice but to rush over and pull him out.
He couldn't just let him drown, could he?
To be honest, Bailuo had initially faked his collapse. When he heard Zhongli say there was still one move left, he realized Zhongli hadn't noticed the Twin Dragon Flash he had used before the two Heavenly Soaring Dragon Flashes.
So he took the opportunity to collapse into the water, pretending to be exhausted.
What else could he do? Get beaten up by Morax? He wasn't Barbatos. Even if Zhongli held back and didn't kill him, being beaten by the God of War wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
After two such slashes, it's only natural for me to collapse from exhaustion, right?
But during the time Zhongli was internally struggling, Bailuo really did start to feel dizzy from being submerged. If Zhongli hadn't come to help him, he would have had to get up on his own.
"Kid, are you alright?"
Seeing Bailuo on the verge of passing out, Zhongli instinctively wanted to heal him.
But after reaching out, he withdrew his hand.
"No, I can't act until he uses his third move. What should I do?"
"..."
Bailuo, barely conscious, almost sat up. So the shield you used earlier doesn't count, but now you're being stingy with healing?
"Bailuo, can you still hear me?"
After checking the wounds Bailuo had inflicted on himself, though the gashes were still gruesome and had pierced through his body, the situation was better than Zhongli had expected.
At least there was no life-threatening danger.
"Mhm."
After a few rapid breaths, Bailuo managed to let out a faint sound.
"Don't worry. Our contract is long-term. Since I promised to fight you, I won't go back on my word. Once you recover, you can use your third move. Then, I'll go all out and give you a satisfying fight."
"..."
You mean you'll beat me to your satisfaction, right?!
It seems even the elderly throw tantrums like children when they're angry. Fortunately, I'm heading to Inazuma soon, so there's no way...
Forget it, let's not invite more trouble.
Last time, I said I wouldn't come to Liyue or meet Tartaglia, and now I'm already on my way to Liyue.
Who knows what strange things might happen after I arrive in Liyue?
After that, things became simple. With the Geo Archon's "promise," Bailuo was sent back to the Fatui group.
However, before being sent back, he switched to his "Hei" form.
Unfortunately, changing classes only repaired his clothes, not his injuries. Otherwise, he would have had an invincibility cheat.
Seeing Bailuo in such a pitiful state, the Ninth Company naturally caused a commotion, nearly starting a fight with Zhongli.
Thankfully, Bailuo intervened in time to prevent a bloodbath.
After bidding farewell to Zhongli, Bailuo comfortably climbed onto his Slime-drawn carriage. While receiving treatment from Katarina, he enjoyed the peanuts she fed him.
The peanuts were bought from Old Zhou for one Mora each. A bag of peanuts cost a few hundred Mora, but since he didn't have to pay, he didn't mind.
On the other side.
"Zhongli, are you okay?"
The girl carrying the shovel ran over, panting. She had seen Bailuo slash him twice with her own eyes, even witnessing blood splatter.
"It's nothing, just a minor injury."
Zhongli smiled faintly, placing his hands behind his back to show that he was fine.
However, the girl didn't notice the blood dripping from his sleeve.
A gruesome scar now etched on Zhongli's shoulder.