"Five Saints, as the name suggests. Five sacred objects, but what I'm referring to here is the Five Sacred Beasts. Take me, for example—the Five Saints, Azure Dragon!"
As he spoke, Lu Ze's body erupted in green light, and dragon-like features began to manifest. Two azure dragon horns slowly grew, followed by his skin being covered in a layer of emerald scales.
Even a dragon tail sprouted from his back, adorned with a few strands of white fur, making him appear remarkably lifelike.
His eyes also turned into golden vertical pupils. In the next second, the green vines, which were on the verge of breaking, seemed to receive some reinforcement and tightened their grip on the pseudo-god Otto once more.
He gently tossed the Black Abyss White Flower in his hand into the air, letting it spin freely.
In the next moment, his figure appeared beside the Heavenly Fire Saint Judgment. The Heavenly Fire Greatsword, which had been stuck straight into the vines, was now pulled out.
"Heavenly Fire, unsheathed! 2000% power!"
The pseudo-god Otto had initially shown no fear upon seeing this sword, believing it could at most scratch his skin. However, to his surprise, the crimson greatsword pierced directly through his body, and blood trickled down the wound, dripping onto the vines.
Immediately afterward, the Heavenly Fire Saint Judgment vanished from his grasp. He looked at his injured right arm and quickly caught the Black Abyss White Flower, which had just fallen, directly activating its zero-rated power.
The wound healed instantly. The pseudo-god Otto in front of him struggled free from the vines' restraint. He glanced at his wound and immediately placed his left hand over it, intending to use his power to recover.
But would Lu Ze give him the chance? Absolutely not.
His right hand caught the Cleansing Seven Thunders as it flew out. He swiftly switched the blade's form to that of a gun, gripping the sniper rifle with his right hand and firing three quick shots.
His left hand, which had been resting on his chest, was blown apart. The second shot struck his right hand. With both hands incapacitated, the third shot was aimed directly at his forehead.
The bullet pierced through, and the pseudo-god Otto collapsed to the ground, transforming into a divine core, attempting to revive himself using void energy.
"Will I give you a chance?"
He retracted the Cleansing Seven Thunders into the system space. In the next moment, Lu Ze achieved complete beastification in mid-air. The azure giant dragon coiled in the sky, then bit down on the divine core. His teeth clamped shut with a crisp crunch.
Disgusted, he spat it out. Lu Ze transformed back into his human form, standing on the ice. In the sky, the pseudo-god Otto's health bar reached its end. After enduring so many attacks, even a mere scratch would have been enough to kill him.
"Finished. Packing up."
Lu Ze returned to the coastline. The system had already displayed the victory message for the challenge and unlocked the system store.
A short while later, the participants were excitedly browsing the available items in the system store. Some, lacking sufficient points, could only set their sights on less valuable items.
Others, with enough points, were roaring with laughter.
However, in Lu Ze's case, due to prior arrangements, the people from his faction directly transferred all their earned points to him. Lei Dian Zhen, not having participated, received no points, and only Ying gave him some.
The haul this time was a staggering 30 million points. This meant that all the participants' combined output in one round only dealt 30 million damage. Although the pseudo-god Otto's total health was only 32 million.
They accounted for over 90% of the total damage, which was cause for celebration.
Meanwhile, Venti, feeling drowsy, slumped against the ship's corner. However, before falling asleep, he issued a warning to his subjects in the name of the Anemo Archon.
"Do not make an enemy of Lu Ze."
These simple seven words left the Mondstadt citizens present somewhat bewildered.
However, most understood. After all, they had witnessed the battle just moments ago, which was nothing short of earth-shattering. What kind of lunatic would provoke such a person?
Zhongli, standing nearby, quietly sipped his tea. According to the original storyline, he should have already perished. But his current appearance, how should it be explained?
Perhaps... a small, well-intentioned lie? He could claim it was residual power from the Rex Lapis. Would they believe it?
Even he found the reason somewhat unbelievable, but he had to come up with an explanation.
Ships from Fontaine and Natlan, carrying their respective Pyro and Hydro Archons, reached a silent understanding.
"People of Natlan, heed my words! You must never make an enemy of Lu Ze. In this world, perhaps only that one person can defeat him."
"Pass it down. If Lu Ze ever visits Fontaine, do everything possible to assist him. Absolutely do not provoke him. After we return, spread this message. We must not become his enemies."
The Dendro Archon, hopping merrily, approached Lu Ze. "It's been a while, Lu Ze. I've missed you terribly during this time. You're quite something, not even coming to Sumeru to help me. Do you know how troublesome it is to handle all those matters?"
"Alright, alright, it's my fault. Hmm... how about I let you play for a whole day tomorrow?"
"Heh heh, you know me well!"
As for the Fatui from Snezhnaya, the Cryo Archon stood at the highest point, looking down at Lu Ze from afar with an air of arrogance.
"In your future plans, try to avoid him. As long as he doesn't interfere, do not engage him directly. I suspect even I cannot defeat him. Do you understand?"
The third Fatui Harbinger, Columbina, quietly observed Lu Ze standing on the coastline, her thoughts unreadable, though likely not benevolent.
"Your Majesty, when did you appear here? I thought you hadn't accompanied us."
Childe, Tartaglia, looked at the proud Ice Queen with no hint of displeasure. After all, she was his object of worship.
"Do not ask questions you are not meant to know. Focus on your tasks. You still haven't obtained the Electro Archon's Divine Heart. I hope you can manage it."
Standing on the coastline, the Raiden Shogun watched the six ships that were still lingering. After receiving permission from her sister, she ascended into the air and spoke loudly:
"To all of you who have traveled far to support my Inazuma, I, the Raiden Shogun, express my gratitude. However, as dusk approaches, why not stay for the night? I will arrange accommodations for everyone and, furthermore, host another Seven Archons' meeting. I doubt any of you would refuse."
A meeting of the Seven Archons. The last such gathering had been over a century ago, around the time of the Cataclysm of Khaenri'ah. At that time, they had only recently attained their divine positions.