The void space.
Keqing's bright eyes reflected Ling Feng's figure. For some reason, Keqing felt her body lighten, as if a drowning person had grabbed a life-saving straw.
Where have you been these days? Where is this... Keqing had many questions in her heart.
"Ah~"
Before Keqing could ask, she suddenly let out a startled cry, her face flushing red.
She was swept up in Ling Feng's arms in a bridal carry.
As one of the Liyue Qixing and from a renowned noble family, she had never been treated so "rudely."
However, although Keqing was of high status and noble birth, she was still a young girl of blooming age (under 20). No matter how thick her outward "armor" was, her inner girlish heart still existed.
She already had a good impression of Ling Feng. Being carried by him made her flustered, her pretty face blushing, her gaze averted, revealing her shy maidenly demeanor.
"Ling... Ling Feng, what... what are you doing? Put me down quickly."
Keqing said playfully, feeling like she was about to explode from embarrassment!
"We can't stay here long. You're seriously injured and have difficulty moving. You can't run fast. If I carry you, I can escape faster."
As soon as Ling Feng finished speaking, as if to prove his words, the surrounding space suddenly twisted, and spatial ripples surged.
Immediately after, Honkai Beasts appeared one after another, numbering over twenty, surrounding Ling Feng and Keqing.
These Honkai Beasts were of various types: Tanks, Chargers, Knights, and even Honkai Emperors.
Each Honkai Beast was as tall as a building, thirty to forty meters high. Compared to their size, Ling Feng and Keqing were like ants.
Keqing's face turned pale. Looking at so many mountain-like monsters, she felt a deep sense of powerlessness and fear.
"Ling Feng, put me down and escape alone."
Keqing murmured. She knew she was a burden to Ling Feng and that taking her along might drag him down.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I can't abandon a friend. Besides, they can't stop me."
"Hold on tight!"
Ling Feng took a few quick steps, leaped up, and transformed into a golden light, streaking through the sky like lightning. The wind roared in his ears.
"Ah."
Feeling the push against her back and the sensation of weightlessness, Keqing instinctively wrapped her arms around Ling Feng's neck, her eyes squeezed shut.
So soft... so fragrant... Wait, now is not the time to be thinking about this.
Ling Feng shook his head, returning to his senses, and frowned. He formed a sword with two fingers, circulated his true energy, and summoned the Myriad Sword Box.
Soon, a humming vibration sounded.
"Swords, come!"
The spiritual apertures of the Myriad Sword Box opened, and tens of thousands of spirit swords poured out like a steel torrent, vast and surging like a raging tide.
Thousands of spirit swords gathered around Ling Feng and Keqing, like strictly trained warriors protecting them.
Then, some spirit swords formed sword hilts, others formed sword bodies. True energy surged over the torrent of spirit swords like a tide.
A golden greatsword, nearly a hundred meters long, slowly took shape. It cleaved through the sky, shattered the clouds, and moved forward relentlessly.
"Bang bang bang!"
The Honkai Beasts blocking their path, regardless of their type, were all pierced by the golden greatsword, one after another. To put it simply: unstoppable!
Half an hour later, Ling Feng, wielding the golden greatsword, landed.
Ling Feng gently put Keqing down. Keqing clutched her chest, her heart still pounding. She hadn't recovered yet.
"As expected, these two-star spirit swords are already difficult to wield."
Ling Feng watched as the golden greatsword dissolved into flecks of golden light and vanished into the world.
Whoosh!
The Myriad Sword Box flew from a distance, hovering before Ling Feng. Ling Feng stored it into his system space.
He would have to find time to forge a batch of three-star spirit swords to fill the gap.
Keqing stood aside, watching this scene with a look of shock. She hadn't expected Ling Feng to become so strong in just a few months. He was like an immortal.
"Keqing, I plan to open a passage to escape from here. You should step back a few paces, turn your back, and close your eyes, otherwise, it will hurt you."
"Okay."
Keqing didn't understand how Ling Feng would open a passage, but she trusted he had his reasons. Obediently, the aloof girl turned around. Ling Feng glanced back to see Keqing had indeed turned away. The God of War's Blade appeared in Ling Feng's hand.
Although it looked the same, the God of War's Blade was no longer the same one as before.
After Ling Feng reforged and upgraded it, it had become a six-star divine weapon!
[Item]: God of War's Blade
[Type]: Divine Weapon
[Quality]: Six-Star
[Innate Attributes]: Armor Pierce (Naturally counters most defensive measures, inflicting high destructive damage.) Amplification (The wielder receives an energy boost.)
[Innate Divine Abilities]: Will of the God of War (During combat, as the owner's fighting will rises, the blade's momentum will continuously stack. When the owner's fighting will reaches its peak, the God of War's Blade will fully awaken, releasing its power, and the owner will receive a power feedback, leading to comprehensive amplification.) Purity (Any negative status effects not exceeding the quality of the God of War's Blade, such as tearing, bleeding, frostbite, severe poison, paralysis, etc., will be purified by the pure energy of the God of War's Blade.) [Note: Effects not affecting the internal body, such as freezing, are not included.] Wrath of the God of War (A single attack that unleashes all the energy of the God of War's Blade, which can be fused into a move. In its awakened state, the energy's power is doubled.) [Note: This move will cause significant backlash to the owner's physique, and can only be released when the energy reaches 50% or more.]
Ling Feng gripped the hilt with both hands, raised the God of War's Blade, and his gaze sharpened.
The surrounding air was agitated by the surging sword intent, shaking violently, ripples surging, and stirring up an energy storm.
At this moment, sword intent surged and swelled around Ling Feng, incredibly powerful, like the eye of a hurricane, with winds like blades, shredding and refining everything!
To open a passage to the void space, one either needed the authority of the Herrscher of the Void or to find another way.
The system's provided method was: to gather sword intent and spatial power to forcefully carve out a passage.
"Hah! Wrath of the God of War!"
With Ling Feng's roar, a dazzling deep blue radiance erupted, covering the area, as blinding as a scorching sun.
"Screech!"
This slash directly tore through the spatial barrier of the void space!
"Keqing, let's go quickly!"
Keqing heard him and quickly turned around. Ling Feng extended a hand, grabbed her wrist, and without hesitation, pulled her into the white light.
A few minutes later, the spatial barrier of the void space slowly healed.
----------
In a dark alley, white light suddenly flashed and then faded.
The alley was in a secluded area, and there were no surveillance cameras. Very few people passed by. No one noticed the commotion just now.
Ling Feng helped Keqing out of the alley.
Under the night sky, the moonlight was hazy. Keqing looked around. With her eyesight, she could clearly see her surroundings by the faint moonlight.
After looking around, there were only two words: unfamiliar, unfamiliar tall buildings.
"Ling Feng, do you know where we are?"
Keqing turned to look at Ling Feng, her amethyst-like eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
Having lived in Liyue for so long, she had never seen such a place.
Now, Ling Feng was her backbone. Being close to him made her feel safe and secure.
Ling Feng hesitated for a moment before explaining Keqing's current situation. As for why she suddenly appeared in the void space from Teyvat, he was still unclear. He only knew that Keqing was in the void space because the system had suddenly issued a mission during the day.
Then, he learned from the system that the spatial rift he had crossed through last time had not completely closed, and he could open a passage to the void space from there.
With his spatial power, he successfully opened the gate to the void space and entered to find Keqing, who had stumbled in.
However, returning to Teyvat from there was impossible.
The void space connected to the Imaginary Tree, and they didn't even know where Teyvat was located, making it like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Another world..."
After hearing Ling Feng's explanation, Keqing's eyes became vacant, and she fell into silence, murmuring softly.
She didn't suspect Ling Feng was joking. Although they had only known each other for about a year, she understood some of his personality and way of doing things. One of them was that he rarely joked when discussing serious matters, especially in the beginning.
Keqing wasn't incapable of accepting another world; it was just too sudden... and she felt a bit lost, not knowing what to do.
Ling Feng sighed and pondered.
"Keqing, let's go back to my place first and then make plans?"
Keqing nodded slightly. In this unfamiliar world, Ling Feng was the only person she knew, trusted, and could rely on.
Ling Feng summoned Fen Ji, enlarged it using the Greatsword Technique, and stepped onto it. Keqing followed closely.
To Ling Feng's surprise, Keqing weakly reached out and grabbed his robe.
Ling Feng's expression was complex. Without a word, he condensed a true energy shield and then rode the sword into the sky.
St. Freya, male teacher's dormitory.
Crisp footsteps echoed in the corridor. Ling Feng, with Keqing, arrived at his dormitory door.
"Beep beep beep—"
For convenience, Ling Feng had replaced the door lock with a password lock, so he wouldn't worry about forgetting his keys.
After entering the password, Ling Feng twisted the doorknob, and with a "creak," the door opened.
Inside, Mei and Tu Shan Honghong, who were having dinner at the dining table, heard the movement and turned to look at the door. Ling Feng pushed the door open and entered.
"Ling, you're back. Hurry and wash your hands, dinner is ready..." Mei's voice "again" came to an abrupt halt. Her eyes widened in surprise.
Tu Shan Honghong frowned in displeasure, both their gazes focused on the purple-haired girl behind Ling Feng.
Ling Feng had brought another girl home, but that wasn't the most important thing.
What was important was Keqing's tattered clothing and her pitiful appearance, as if she had been bullied, which made both women's imaginations run wild.
Their expressions and demeanor suggested they were thinking of something inappropriate. Ling Feng, who was "experienced," secretly analyzed the situation. Sensing something was wrong, he quickly began to explain.
After about fifteen minutes, Mei and Tu Shan Honghong nodded in understanding.
Phew, this time they weren't misunderstood... Ling Feng turned to look at the silent Keqing and said.
"Keqing, I'll take you to the bathing room. You should clean yourself up first and change into some clothes before we talk."
"Okay."
"Mei, could I borrow a set of your clothes? I don't have any clothes for girls, so please make do for now."
Mei's beautiful eyes curved into a smile, and she nodded. She was about to get up and go to her room to get the clothes.
From what Ling Feng had said earlier, Keqing was also from the continent of Teyvat, making them fellow countrymen. She immediately felt a sense of closeness.
"Wait, no need to bother... I have a spare set of clothes in my Vision that I can change into."
Keqing said softly.
Seeing this, Ling Feng didn't bother Mei to get the clothes. He took Keqing to the bathroom, briefly showed her how to use the showerhead, and then left the bathroom to return to the dining table.
Mei curiously inquired about Keqing. She noticed that Keqing was a Vision holder, but the Electro Visions were almost all dropped by her gaze.
In her memory, there was no trace of Keqing.
Ling Feng ate while sharing some non-private information.
In the bathroom, Keqing removed her hairband, and her twin ponytails immediately scattered, her long purple hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall.
She slowly took off her clothes, revealing her fair skin and voluptuous figure.
Although young, Keqing possessed delicate features and a proud "figure."
Her eyes were clear and bright purple, her eyebrows were curved, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her fair, flawless skin had a hint of pink.
Keqing raised her hand and gently turned the switch. Warm water immediately poured down from the showerhead.
"Splish splash."
Her hair was wet by the flowing water, and droplets rolled down her milky white skin.
"Hoo..."
Keqing let out a long sigh, feeling a great sense of relief in both body and mind. She emptied her thoughts and closed her eyes, enjoying the rush of water.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of flowing water abruptly stopped. The bathroom was filled with mist.
Keqing slowly opened her eyes. The confusion in her eyes was gone, replaced by firm confidence.
In the living room, Mei and Tu Shan Honghong were sitting on the sofa. In front of them, the coffee table was piled high with various snacks and several cans of cola.
Each of them held a bag of potato chips, engrossed in watching anime on TV.
Beside them, Ling Feng sighed softly.
He regretted recommending anime to Mei. Now that the two beauties had seemingly discovered a new world, they had both become otaku.
He couldn't even grab the TV remote from them. Although there was a computer, it wasn't as enjoyable as lounging on the sofa with their legs crossed, eating snacks, drinking cola, and watching anime on the big screen.
Ling Feng glanced at the slice-of-life school anime on the TV screen and roared internally.
"I want to watch action anime!"
Just then, a figure approached Ling Feng, and said with a firm voice.
"I've made up my mind."
Hearing this, Ling Feng turned his head and smiled broadly.
Keqing, no longer confused, had regained her heroic and confident demeanor as he remembered her.
When they were returning to St. Freya on the sword earlier, he had asked Keqing if she preferred a peaceful life while he found a way home, or to fight alongside him, "survival of the fittest."
"Living a stable life is not my style; it would make me decadent. I choose to fight."
...
At the Schicksal headquarters, in a laboratory, two men stood before a large screen.
One of them, with golden hair and blue eyes, had his long hair tied into a ponytail draped over his left shoulder. He looked about twenty years old, wearing a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, a purple robe on the outside, gray trousers, and brown boots.
He was the Bishop of Schicksal—Otto Apocalypse.
The other was a plain-looking man, holding a cup of instant noodles and slurping them.
Otto held a character file.
[Name: Keqing]
[... ]
"You have quite a few confidantes."
"What, jealous? Slurp~"
"Of course not, my friend."
"Alright, you continue your research. I'm going to take a nap."
The man put down his instant noodles, and his body turned into light particles, disappearing and merging into a spear on a bracket in the laboratory.