His cultivation progress had already risen by over six hundred thousand points—a result of diligent "training" with the girls.
Nolan continued experimenting with the adeptal arts in his mind, testing ways of using adeptal energy for offense.
Adeptal shockwaves, protective barriers, even arrays and talisman arts—he tried them all.
The sheer variety of techniques Ganyu had mastered seemed endless.
Perhaps the scale of his battle was too great, for before long nearby insect swarms detected something unusual.
They released pheromones to alert distant swarms, and soon countless insects surged toward him. The cosmic beast's stomach lining even began extruding more swarms, as though its blood-born parasites had also sensed the enemy within.
Faced with such numbers, Nolan grew excited.
Frost and snow swirled around him, mingling with the wind until they became a raging blizzard.
He gathered his strength, and the storm intensified into a true calamity.
Even the mere aftershocks froze nearby swarms solid, and the stomach walls themselves became coated in thick ice.
"Adeptal Art · Super Celestial Shower!"
Infusing the original art with Anemo, the ice shards and snowstorm became even more violent and swift.
Dozens of kilometers around him transformed into a frozen world.
The swarms, whether mighty True Stingers or half-grown Lesser Stingers, charged in full of vigor one moment—only to turn into ice sculptures the next, shattering instantly.
Wave after wave of insects perished, and his character panel flashed like a waterfall with experience notifications:
[Defeated Strong Enemies ×57, Obtained 624,154 Adventure EXP]
[Defeated Strong Enemies ×65, Obtained 753,258 Adventure EXP]
[Defeated Strong Enemies ×51, Obtained 595,432 Adventure EXP]
The Adventure EXP piled up as though he were cheating.
Two million… three million… five million… ten million…
In mere minutes, he broke past ten million, surging rapidly toward twenty million.
Pushing his adeptal energy harder, he expanded the blizzard's range. When his adeptal reserves dwindled, he substituted Harmonizing Energy instead.
Harmonizing Energy, condensed through the hot springs, was purer and more potent. With it, the blizzard's scale exploded outward.
The entire stomach of the cosmic beast—hundreds of kilometers across—was consumed in the storm.
This was no longer a spell, but a man-made natural disaster, one even stronger than the fiercest blizzards of Dragonspine.
By now, every swarm within the beast's stomach had been annihilated.
Checking his panel, he saw:
[Adventure EXP: 36,365,421]
Over thirty-six million Adventure EXP—he had never been so wealthy. Enough to level up twice in succession!
With the swarms wiped out and the stomach sealed in ice, no new enemies emerged.
Without hesitation, he chose to ascend.
> Adventure EXP -30,326,812
> Lv.105 (673,188 / 15,000,000) → Lv.107 (0 / 17,000,000)
A torrent of energy surged through him, as though hot spring water immersed every cell and soul, reforging them.
The energy he had spent was instantly restored, and his reserves grew even greater.
[Character Status]
Name: Nolan Walker
Level: 107 (0 / 17,000,000)
Race: Human
Titles: Honorary Knight, Distinguished Citizen of Liyue, Legendary Adventurer, Honorary General of Watatsumi Island, Sumeru Sage
Innate Talent: Entangling Affection
Skills:
- Lumine's Musou · World Lv.10 (Starsea Manifestation, Boundless)
- Domain of Objective Illusory Shadows · Divine Level Lv.10 (Unobservable State)
- Flowing Sky Shot: Arcane Level Lv.10 (Frostglow Arrow)
Specialties:
- Beloved by Maidens (Exclusive)
- Unmoving Gospel of the World Tree (Exclusive)
- Threads of the Northern Wind (Exclusive)
- Spiritual Core (Exclusive)
Adventure EXP: 6,038,609
---
Though only two levels gained, the leap in strength was enormous.
If before he could merely keep pace with Raiden Ei, now he could defeat her outright.
His combat power now truly rivaled Teyvat's top Archons—even without factoring in the absurd boosts from affection skills like Jean's, Hu Tao's, or the Shogun's.
With those, he could crush Ei effortlessly. Without them, he could still win in a fair fight.
His normal power alone had reached Archon-tier.
As he quietly savored his new strength, joy stirring in his heart—
Boom!
The entire stomach quaked. Ice shattered from the walls, crashing down in chunks.
A massive suction force drew him forward.
Nolan instinctively activated his full-hearted protective shield. The next instant, his body was launched like a cannonball!
The scenery blurred past—out of the frozen stomach, through the beast's throat—until at last the starry cosmos spread before him.
For the first time since entering this creature, he beheld the glittering stars.
No doubt the cosmic beast had finally locked onto him and vomited him out.
Nolan wasn't surprised—the commotion he caused was simply too great.
His eyes turned golden as he invoked the Golden Eyes of Judgement, along with Miko's affection skill, gazing back at the beast.
Its body was pitch-black, dotted with huge maws and tail stingers.
An unimaginably vast insect, its diameter five or six times that of its own stomach. Above its head glowed a golden identifier:
[Level: 136]
The moment he saw its level, he didn't even bother reading the detailed feedback from Miko's skill.
Without a second thought, Nolan teleported straight back to the Wonderland Space.
"Phew—scared me half to death."
In the living room, he exhaled deeply. Level 136—beyond even the mightiest Archons.
Who knew what powers it possessed?
He had plenty of life-saving methods, but there was no need to risk them. Better to run while he could.
[Great True Stinger: The largest of the swarm, but its status does not match its size. It generally serves as a 'vessel' for the swarm to traverse the starry seas, obeying the orders of the 'King.']
Recalling the feedback just now, Nolan realized this so-called Great True Stinger was merely a transport beast. Behind it existed a Swarm King.
He had assumed this was the ruler itself.
But no—it was just a subordinate. And if even a "subordinate" was that strong, how terrifying must the King be?
Wary of attracting the Swarm King's attention, Nolan decided it was best to leave sooner rather than later.
As for farming Adventure EXP, Nolan decided it was better to wait a while before trying to sneak back into the Great True Stinger's stomach.
Next time, he would just send in the Sword God of Lumine instead—it was much safer. That monster was simply too powerful, and it was best not to provoke it in person.
If it came to a real fight, Nolan certainly wouldn't stand a chance. To avoid accidents, it was wiser to lie low for now.
After fighting in the Great True Stinger's stomach for so long, noon had already turned into night.
By then, Lumine and Paimon had returned from visiting Ningguang to ask about Fontaine. Lumine looked at him and said:
"We found out that the fastest route from Liyue to Fontaine is to take a ship from the port of Yilong Wharf in Chenyu Vale to Fontaine's Port Romanthe."
"This is currently the most convenient route."
Chenyu Vale was famous for its tea, home to countless tea merchants. Its teas were known across all of Teyvat.
Nolan knew of the place, though he had never adventured there.
"Alright, as long as we know the general direction, I can teleport us there directly," he replied with a nod.
"There's no need to rush. We've never been to Chenyu Vale before. If we teleport straight there, we'll miss the scenery along the way. That's not what a Traveler should do."
Paimon spread her hands as she spoke.
"Yilong Wharf is close to Port Romanthe anyway—it's possible to make the trip in a single day," Lumine added.
"That's true. I don't really mind either way," Nolan said with a smile.
Because of the situation with the Great True Stinger, the next two days passed with Nolan accompanying the girls during the day to stroll the markets, and at night spending time "training" closely with them.
This pushed his cultivation progress further:
[Lv.107 (1,025,462 / 17,000,000)]
Including his six million remaining Adventure EXP, he only needed about ten million more to level up again.
But that would have to wait until the Great True Stinger lowered its guard so he could slip back into its stomach to farm again.
Otherwise, gathering ten million Adventure EXP would be troublesome—he would have to rely on daily "training" with the girls.
Still, half a month of that would be enough for another level up, far faster than ordinary cultivation.
Soon, two days had passed, and the lively atmosphere of the Lantern Rite in Liyue Harbor had begun to fade.
That day, Nolan, Lumine, and Paimon prepared to depart for Fontaine.
They packed lightly—thanks to Nolan's Wonderland Space, they hardly needed to carry anything.
First they headed to Qingce Village, then took a bamboo raft across the river, officially entering Chenyu Vale.
Walking along the paved roads, the three strolled leisurely.
Carriages carrying tea leaves occasionally passed by, and the surrounding mountains were lush and terraced with tea plantations, making for a beautiful scene.
Since it was morning, a faint mist lingered over the mountains, adding to the beauty.
They encountered no monsters or Treasure Hoarders along the way, arriving safely at Qiaoying Village.
It was one of the two major settlements in Chenyu Vale, the other being Yilong Wharf.
Nolan, Lumine, and Paimon explored Qiaoying Village for a while to get familiar with it, even buying some tea to store in the Wonderland Space.
After leaving the village, they continued along the main road.
Not long afterward, they came across a group of hilichurls robbing a merchant caravan.
A black-haired youth wielding a greatsword stood against two Hilichurl Berserkers.
"Uncle Yuanming, you all fall back! Leave these monsters to me!"
Though he didn't turn his head, the youth's voice was steady, showing no fear despite being outnumbered.
Nolan activated the Golden Eyes of Judgement and saw that the youth, though still young, was already over level 40. A Vision hung at his waist—he was indeed a Vision bearer.
"Jiaming, there are too many of them. Why don't we abandon the goods? They can't carry much anyway. We'll fetch help later."
The middle-aged man in glasses behind him, clearly frightened, urged caution.
"Don't worry, Uncle Yuanming. I can handle them. As an escort, I cannot allow our client's goods to be lost!"
The youth named Jiaming shook his head firmly.
"Roar!"
The Hilichurl Berserkers, sensing his strength, had hesitated for a moment. But seeing he refused to surrender the cargo, their patience snapped, and they charged!
"He's going to be attacked! We have to help!"
Paimon's eyes widened with urgency.
"Mm."
Lumine summoned her many-times-strengthened sword, her white knee-high boots kicking off the ground as she dashed forward with a whoosh.
She closed the distance instantly, her silver-white blade flashing.
Shhk!
Two small hilichurls with crossbows fell before they could fire, followed by one of the berserkers.
"A-amazing!"
The youth fighting a berserker couldn't help but gape at Lumine's swift strike.
Before he could recover, the two berserkers before him crashed to the ground with a thud.
"H-huh? That's it?" he muttered, stunned, still gripping his greatsword.
"Hehe, are you alright?"
Paimon floated up, relieved now that the monsters were defeated.
"We're fine, fine—thank you. Without you, this shipment would have been lost," said the bespectacled man in a white robe with a grateful bow.
"It's nothing, really," Paimon smiled, waving her hand. "When we see injustice, we step in—that's just our way!"
"Thank you again for your help!" Jiaming sheathed his weapon, then asked curiously, "I don't think I've seen you in Qiaoying Village before. Did you come from Liyue Harbor?"
"Yes, that's right."
Nolan walked up and nodded, explaining:
"We're heading to Fontaine, and thought we'd pass through Chenyu Vale for a look."
"I see! If you're going to Yilong Wharf, please allow me to guide you there—as thanks for your help!"
The youth named Jiaming offered earnestly.
(End of Chapter)
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