“The Teaching Academy has ordered us to stop this Flower God Festival. Although we managed to hold it successfully, next year, they will surely prevent us from holding it beforehand. This Flower God Festival may be the last one.”
Niru lowered her head slightly, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
She loved dancing, and she loved the Flower God Festival, but in this nation dedicated solely to knowledge, such things were not allowed.
Si Xuan chuckled, surprised. He thought it would be a much graver issue.
He reached out and gently touched Niru's head, feeling the silkiness of her veil.
“Don't worry, next year’s Flower God Festival will proceed as usual.”
Feeling the warmth transmitted through the veil, the disappointment in Niru’s heart gradually faded.
She slowly looked up, a glimmer of light returning to her once dull eyes.
“Really? But the sages of the Teaching Academy… .”
“Don't worry about the sages. Those who seek their own destruction won't last long.”
Niru didn't know what had happened to the sages, but she trusted Si Xuan.
Ever since she was a little girl, everything Si Xuan had said had come true.
“Then for next year's Flower God Festival, you must come and watch. I will prepare the best dance.”
Niru gave a radiant smile, erasing the gloom that had hung over her and Zubayr.
“Rest assured, I will definitely be there.”
In the following days, Si Xuan continued to control the clockwork mechanisms to scour the Palace of Wisdom.
Even though his primary objective was achieved, any extra scraps were worth taking. After all, once the Grass God took charge, he wouldn't be able to freely plunder Sumeru like this anymore.
In the real world, the first day of the 3.1 version storyline had concluded.
To experience the rest of the story, people had to wait until tomorrow.
However, this part of the plot alone was enough for people to discuss. Si Xuan’s presence had left people wondering...
Five days later, Si Xuan felt the time was right and bundled up the copied materials, sending them to Fontaine.
He then used a spatial anchor point to teleport to Aaru Village.
After adapting to the discomfort of spatial displacement, Si Xuan reached the entrance of Aaru Village.
And there he saw two handsome guys and one beautiful girl in a standoff.
“Dodging that shot doesn’t mean you’ll escape judgment, Alhaitham.”
“Judgment? Based on your actions just now… is it judgment or 【Purging】?”
As soon as Si Xuan, who had approached the group, heard the word "judgment," he knew things were getting interesting.
After all, was there anyone in Teyvat who understood judgment better than the Fontaine people?
“I seem to hear two familiar words. Do you need me to act as the judge?”
Si Xuan's voice immediately drew everyone's attention.
They turned to look, and upon seeing Si Xuan, they all showed surprise.
“Huh? Si Xuan? How did you get here before us?”
Paimon stared at Si Xuan in astonishment.
To rescue Nahida as quickly as possible, she and Lumine had been rushing at top speed.
Why were they slower than Si Xuan?
“We’ll talk about that later.”
Si Xuan walked towards the two facing off, glancing at the dark-skinned, white-haired, red-eyed Cyno and then at the muscular “scholar” Alhaitham.
He cracked a smile.
“The Grand Scribe and the Scriptorium Secretary actually clashing. It’s truly rare.
Why don't you both give me some face and sit down for tea? Let’s talk about this calmly.”
Did Si Xuan have face? Of course, he had plenty, and not just any kind – he had major clout.
At least, Alhaitham and Cyno both obediently put away their weapons.
“This guy is amazing. These two were about to fight, but one sentence from him stopped them!”
Paimon whispered to Lumine.
Lumine, upon hearing this, immediately crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly.
“Actually, I could do it too.”
Faced with Lumine's sudden, inexplicable confidence, Paimon helplessly spread her hands.
With Si Xuan's face as a shield, neither of them clashed, and under Si Xuan's invitation, they entered the village chief's house in Aaru Village.
In the real world, the game's plot ended abruptly at this point.
The subsequent storyline would only unlock a day later.
Unable to progress through the story, some players started grinding the map.
Others flocked to the forums to discuss Si Xuan’s character design and strength.
Although he had directly confronted the second-in-command of the Fatui Harbingers, showing players the strength of this legendary diplomat, based on the current plot, this character's design seemed a bit thin.
Powerful, wealthy, cheap, and a tad self-absorbed – that was the impression players had of Si Xuan.
But soon, an “insider” posted a picture of Si Xuan’s character portrait on the forum, along with an explanation of his character positioning.
In the portrait, Si Xuan was wearing the same clothes as in the story.
His left fist was clenched against his chest, his right hand gripping his left wrist.
Behind him was a red pattern.
The pattern extended into circles, each containing four designs.
From left to right, they were a compass, a person wearing a Chinese imperial crown, an ancient, ornate sword, and a scale symbolizing judgment.
His name was written at the lower right of his leg.
Below his name, a bold white line separated a monologue.
“Usurpers, by stealing the authority of the Supreme Being, they dare to break free from the shackles of the throne. How pitiful, yet how admirable – Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya.”
Below the monologue, a simple description of Si Xuan's character was written under another bold white line.
Pure Being
God's Eye? – Fire
Constellation – Astrolabe
Although “insiders” weren't always reliable with their leaks, this character portrait still sparked widespread discussion.
Everyone knows miHoYo is detail-obsessed. If they released something slightly different from usual, it meant there was definitely a hidden implication.
And the question mark after the God’s Eye in the character description was enough to fuel speculation.
【What’s with the question mark after the God’s Eye? Does that mean Si Xuan’s God’s Eye is fake?】
【No way. Si Xuan's introduction describes him as a “Pure Being,” meaning he's not a dragon or a divine being's descendant. People can only drive elemental power through their God’s Eye.】
【Maybe Si Xuan uses his God’s Eye to drive his elemental powers?】
【I'm more concerned about Tsaritsa’s assessment of Si Xuan. What exactly did he steal? The story doesn't show us anything.】
【So you guys are all speculating blindly. Who still believes insider leaks? How many times have they been wrong?】
As people engaged in heated discussions, the insider continued to leak information.
“Si Xuan’s character went through multiple revisions, as there are many hidden implications surrounding him. Originally, this character was a miHoYo reject, but due to certain reasons, miHoYo employees redesigned him.
The known information is that Si Xuan is a one-handed sword character, though he is Fire-type, he is a physical damage support.
His first two constellations are for physical damage builds, while his fourth constellation enhances elemental reactions.
The specific details of his skills are still unclear, but with this character entering the banner, the physical damage build basically has no fatal weaknesses.”
Whether it was true or not, this leak exploded the forum.
Because Si Xuan was a one-handed sword character.
Such a handsome guy wielding dual pistols, but he actually uses a one-handed sword.
Based on his initial battle scenes, many people thought Si Xuan was either a Catalyst user or a ranged weapon user, but they never expected him to be a one-handed sword user.