Jade Chamber, Formation Core.
Hu Tao stood with her hands on her hips, her fingers pressing lightly on the soft belly beneath her robes, leaving faint indentations.
She watched as Shenhe and Nolan ignored her and clung to each other, feeling inexplicably annoyed.
Her light pink lips moved slightly, her cheeks puffed out as she gave a soft "hmph." Left with no better option, Hu Tao sat down beside Nolan and wrapped her arms around his.
She couldn't just watch the two of them stick together while she stood there like some clueless fool.
The best way to fix this was to join in — that way she wouldn't feel left out.
Feeling the warm, soft bodies of both girls against him, Nolan smiled faintly.
After a while…
A bored Hu Tao opened her mouth and let out a yawn, leaning her head on Nolan's shoulder, her side bangs gently falling across her face.
She was feeling a bit drowsy and was planning to take a short nap.
On the other side, Shenhe was the same. Holding onto Nolan helped her relax. With her head resting on his shoulder, she soon closed her eyes.
Nolan looked at their fair, delicate faces and didn't disturb them.
It felt nice to enjoy a moment of warmth like this from time to time.
With that thought, he rested his head gently against Shenhe's, feeling the silky softness of her hair brushing against his neck and cheek, and slowly closed his eyes as well.
Then, he shifted his attention to the other "Sword Gods of Lumine" spread across the land.
The "Sword God of Lumine" in the Beast Realm continued to explore unknown territory. The one in Liyue hunted monsters while tracking down hidden Treasure Hoarder elites.
Lastly, the one in Sumeru was busy cleansing the remnants of the Withering Zones scattered across the world.
Everything was progressing steadily, with the character panel occasionally popping up messages like: "Enemy Defeated. Adventure EXP Obtained."
Time, like a flowing river, stopped for no one.
Within the quiet formation core, only the central "Core of Wonders" pulsed with a gentle glow.
Numerous talismans from the adepti floated above it, flickering between light and shadow, constantly shifting.
Around midday…
Nolan opened his eyes. His black pupils shimmered with a flicker of light.
In just the short span of one to two hours, he had operated all three "Sword Gods of Lumine" in parallel, effortlessly racking up over 30,000 Adventure EXP.
His character panel now showed a new total:
[Adventure EXP: 153,131]
Another seven to eight hundred thousand, and he could level up again. The efficiency was still very impressive.
If he could gain sixty to seventy thousand Adventure EXP a day, then he'd level up in about half a month.
Unfortunately, powerful monsters in Teyvat were still relatively rare. Most of the ones he encountered weren't very strong. Whether he could keep this pace up daily really depended on luck.
Maybe with good fortune, he might run into the remnants of a demon god, or some ancient beast. Defeating one of those could net over 100,000 Adventure EXP in one go.
A few more of those and he'd level up in no time!
But right now, Teyvat was pretty peaceful. Most of the demon god remnants and ancient beasts had already been sealed away. Running into one was pretty difficult...
Wait—hold on a second!
A sudden realization lit up Nolan's mind.
He had learned before that the reason those demon god remnants and ancient beasts were sealed rather than killed outright was because their deaths often brought catastrophic consequences — vengeful energy polluting the land, or disasters like the Salt God's salt plague.
For gods and adepti whose main goal was to protect humanity, such outcomes were unacceptable.
Sealing them was the best option.
But with time, seals could weaken. There was always a chance that one day, those monsters could break free and once again threaten Teyvat.
Zhongli and the adepti must be deeply troubled by this.
But he had the Command Seal.
If he could mark those demon god remnants and ancient beasts with Command Seals...
No matter how evil they were, they would never again be able to harm Teyvat or humanity.
If Zhongli and the adepti learned about his ability, they'd probably welcome him reinforcing their seals with Command Seals.
That way, even if the original seals broke for some reason, the threat would still be neutralized.
And the precondition for placing a Command Seal… was that he had to defeat them and make them lose consciousness — which would also earn him tons of Adventure EXP.
It was the perfect win-win situation!
He'd gain massive EXP from defeating the monsters, and the seals on them would be even more secure.
Nolan decided to go find Zhongli and see what he thought of the idea.
There was no way he was going to miss out on such an efficient method of farming EXP!
And then there were Venti and Ei — over the years, they had probably sealed away quite a few demon gods and monsters themselves.
Yes, after tonight's banquet, he would go talk to Ei first. If things went smoothly, he could establish a case or two.
Then, he could bring it up with Zhongli and Venti. That way, it would be far more convincing!
With a concrete plan forming, Nolan decided to get up and check how preparations for the banquet at the Jade Chamber were going.
He glanced left and right at Hu Tao and Shenhe, realizing it was about time to wake them up — but both of his arms were tightly held, making it impossible to move.
The corners of Nolan's mouth curved up slightly as he looked at Hu Tao's parted lips, exhaling warm breaths.
Very well — let's see if I can awaken this "Sleeping Beauty."
He leaned in slowly, lowering his head toward Hu Tao's soft, moist lips.
As he got closer, the first thing he felt was a gentle warmth… then came the soft, bouncy sensation of her lips.
"...Mm!"
Maybe because her mouth was suddenly blocked, her breath got caught too, leaving her unable to exhale properly.
Hu Tao let out a small whimper. Her beautiful brows furrowed as she opened her pale eyelids, revealing pupils like plum blossoms.
She saw Nolan's face right in front of hers, felt the softness on her lips…
As if suddenly realizing what was happening, her pupils shrank slightly. She tried to sit up, but found her waist was held tightly.
Flustered and annoyed, Hu Tao pulled her head back, separating their lips. She was just about to say something — when he immediately leaned in again and sealed her lips once more.
"...Mmph!"
Hu Tao felt like she was suffocating. She could only let out a muffled protest as she grabbed Nolan's waist, trying to make him let go.
But now that the kiss had already happened, no matter how she pinched him, Nolan wasn't going to back off that easily.
As time passed, perhaps due to her breath being obstructed, Hu Tao began to feel slightly uncomfortable and had trouble breathing.
Her fair cheeks flushed a rosy red, and her dazed eyes began to lose focus. The strength in her grip on his waist gradually faded.
Her initial frustration slowly melted away, and she went limp in Nolan's arms.
"You bastard, you jerk — let go of me right now!"
Her voice echoed in Nolan's mind.
He didn't answer — just held her even tighter. His meaning was crystal clear.
"Damn you!"
Even though she was shouting inside his mind, Hu Tao's voice sounded weak and powerless — which only made Nolan deepen the kiss.
Hu Tao realized he wasn't going to let go easily and had no good way to stop him. Helplessly, she could only follow his lead and let him take control.
Several minutes passed. Her teeth bumped against his, and suddenly, Hu Tao realized there was still a way to fight back.
Her plum blossom-like pupils lit up — and then she bit down hard!
Nolan froze instantly, seeing Hu Tao's mischievous smile. He instinctively tried to pull away.
But it was already too late. A sharp sting came from inside his mouth — he had finally paid the price for his overreach!
"—Tch!"
About ten seconds later, Hu Tao finally let him go. She wiped her lips with the back of her pale hand and let out a snort.
"Hmph! Serves you right! Next time you try that again, I'll bite your tongue clean off!"
Still feeling unsatisfied, she grabbed Nolan's ear and gave it a fierce twist!
Nolan didn't feel much pain, honestly. But in order to make her stop twisting, he quickly surrendered.
"Hmph!" Hu Tao finally felt a little better.
At the same time, she realized — she had just been kissed. On the lips. This was something only lovers did. Which meant… weren't they basically lovers now?
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and to hide it from Nolan, she crossed her arms and turned away.
[Hu Tao Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 430 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (820/900)]
Nolan saw the affection notification pop up and let out a slight sigh of relief. Seems like getting bitten was worth it.
Only 80 more affection points to max level!
"Does it hurt?" A voice suddenly came from beside his ear.
Nolan looked to his right and saw Shenhe gazing at him with a puzzled expression.
Clearly, their little kissing episode had been a bit too loud, and Shenhe had woken up — just in time to see him getting bitten.
"...Hu Tao was merciful. It didn't really hurt," Nolan said with a light cough, casually brushing it off.
"I'll massage it for you," Shenhe offered, nodding gently. Her silvery hair swayed with the movement.
"Massage?" Nolan blinked in surprise, then shook his head. "No need, really, it doesn't hurt."
"No. I insist." For some reason, Shenhe was uncharacteristically firm.
Maybe… she was jealous after seeing him kiss Hu Tao?
Nolan found the idea a bit funny, but in the end, he just smiled and began gently guiding Shenhe.
A few minutes later, Shenhe's special massage service came to an end. A faint blush had appeared on her pale face as well.
She wiped her lips and, in her usual calm tone, said softly:
"If you want to do that again next time… come to me. I won't bite you."
[Shenhe Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 460 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (60/900)]
Shenhe's affection had increased too. Nolan, delighted, quickly agreed:
"Alright!"
But Hu Tao clearly wasn't pleased. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Shenhe.
"Ugh! What's that supposed to mean? You trying to hog this guy all to yourself?!"
"Mhm. You tend to bite too hard. Leave the kissing to me from now on," Shenhe said matter-of-factly, shielding Nolan and giving a slight nod.
"You—why are you protecting this idiot so much!" Hu Tao sputtered, momentarily at a loss for words.
"…Haha."
Watching Hu Tao flustered, Nolan couldn't help but chuckle.
-Midday-
Nolan, Hu Tao, and Shenhe stepped outside to get some fresh air and check on how the banquet venue was coming along.
They saw that the event space was mostly set up. It looked like performers could start rehearsing on stage in the afternoon to familiarize themselves with the setup, and by evening, they'd be ready to officially perform!
After lunch, the three returned to the array control center. Unlike the dull morning, there were now a few more things to do.
For example, using kisses to activate his [Harmony] specialty and help Hu Tao and Shenhe strengthen their power — something he did regularly, especially at night when they were all lying in bed together.
Given that he was now level 95, the energy provided through [Harmony] had become far more potent. Just kissing alone was enough to generate the energy needed for leveling up.
By the time the banquet was about to begin in the evening, Hu Tao had successfully leveled up from 62 to 64.
Shenhe also rose from level 71 to 72.
That kind of efficiency was impressive. If they were training on their own, they wouldn't have gained levels nearly this quickly.
When the time came, Nolan extended his spiritual sense outward and saw that the platform outside the Jade Chamber was already full of people.
It looked like everyone had arrived. The banquet was about to begin.
He also noticed Baiwen, one of Ningguang's three secretaries, walking toward the array control center — clearly coming to fetch them.
Nolan immediately got up from the embrace of the two girls. If someone saw them acting so intimately, it wouldn't look good and could affect their reputations.
So, when others were around, he had to restrain himself — at least a little.
Sure enough, Baiwen soon arrived at the center of the array, just as Nolan expected, inviting them to attend the banquet.
Well… since nearly everyone was already there, there wasn't much point in staying here. They might have to return and monitor things briefly at the end, though.
Nolan, Hu Tao, and Shenhe all gave a slight nod and followed behind Baiwen, climbing the stairs upward.
Soon, they opened the doors and stepped into the banquet area outside the Jade Chamber.
Right ahead was the stage for tonight's performances. Beyond that were rows of tables, where guests — mostly business partners of Ningguang — were already seated.
Some were familiar, like the heads of various trade guilds they'd met before during negotiations. Others were total strangers.
Of course, there were also recognizable faces — Xingqiu and Chongyun were there, as expected of the Feiyun Commerce Guild's second young master.
Xiangling and Guoba were also present, along with Master Mao. But they weren't seated for dinner — they were here as guest chefs invited by Ningguang!
"Please follow me, your seats are over here," Baiwen said as she guided them to a large table near the stage, where several people were already seated.
Ningguang, Lumine and Paimon, Beidou and Yelan, Keqing, and finally Ganyu — all people Nolan was familiar with.
Adding the three of them made a perfect ten around the table.
But he was the only guy.
…Wasn't this a bit too conspicuous? Nolan thought, slightly taken aback.
(End of Chapter)
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T/N: Guys Keep Throwing Your PowerStone, we're not in ranking!! I Will DO Extra Chap, Les GOO ok!
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