"Alright. Since you want to prove yourself, so be it. Let's have a spar. Use that sword technique you're so proud of."
"And remember, you have to use your full strength. Otherwise, you will fail miserably."
Su Han wasn't deliberately trying to provoke her; he just truly felt that Eula's sword technique was all flash and no substance.
However, his tone, when it reached Eula's ears, became a form of mockery.
"Hmph. How dare you look down on me? This grudge, I will remember. Although you are a great hero of Liyue and have even sealed an Archon, I am not afraid of you. Take this!"
Ice bloomed beneath Eula's feet, and the Spindrift Knight launched her attack.
This was the Knights' private training ground, and its confidentiality was very good. There was no need to worry about secrets being leaked by sparring here.
In an instant, Eula arrived in front of Su Han. She had intended to strike at his weak point, but when she got close, she was astonished to find that the man before her had no weak points to speak of. His gaze was even completely calm, as if he didn't care about her attack at all.
The longsword descended.
Su Han merely tilted his shoulder and easily dodged it.
Not only that, but all of Eula's remaining attacks were also easily dodged.
For a full five minutes, she did not touch Su Han, not even a single strand of his hair.
Ellin swallowed hard, shocked. "Is this the pinnacle of Observation Haki?"
"Observation Haki? What's that?" Glory and Barbara both looked at her at the same time.
Ellin, her eyes glued to the battle, explained, "It's a power of perception. Even if you close your eyes, you can know the direction of the enemy's attack. And at the pinnacle of Observation Haki, you can even see the future! Clearly, Lord Su Han is already a person of that level."
See the future? Mortals can do that?!
The two of them were incomparably shocked.
At this moment, Eula said angrily, "Do you only know how to dodge? Then how about you take one of my strikes!"
"Oh? And if I take it, what then?" Su Han stopped moving and smiled leisurely.
Eula gritted her teeth. "I want to prove to you that my sword technique is absolutely not just flashy and impractical!"
"Alright, then. I won't dodge. Come on. Use your strongest power."
"Then you should draw your sword, too!"
From the beginning until now, the sword at the man's waist had never been unsheathed. This was simply an insult to her.
Su Han said calmly, "The Tessusaiga is not necessary. Wait until you've learned Haki, then you can challenge me."
"Hmph! You're the one who said it! Sword of Condensing Waves!"
The icy-blue greatsword in Eula's hand was instantly condensed with countless layers of frost, forming a giant light-infused sword, which she then swung forcefully at Su Han.
The ground was instantly frozen, and the sky also began to condense with frost.
But Ellin could clearly see that when the frost crept to Su Han's feet, it slowly stopped.
BOOM!
The longsword was blocked by a single arm.
The two did not make contact, yet a terrifying sonic boom erupted.
"Th-that's impossible!" Eula couldn't believe her eyes.
Her own elemental secret art, the Sword of Condensing Waves, had actually been blocked by a bare hand. What is this power? My sword and my Cryo element didn't even touch his body!
Su Han gently closed his fist, and the light-infused sword instantly shattered.
The spar came to an abrupt end.
"Your sword technique is not bad, but in a real battle, the enemy will be faster than you, and you might not even be able to use your elemental power. What will you do then? Eula, I am not trying to discourage you, I am just telling you that flashy sword techniques are meaningless."
"Then what about you? What is your sword technique like? Let me see."
At this point, Eula also understood the gap between the two of them, but she still wanted to see just how great that gap was.
"Alright. Since you insist, then come over here."
Su Han walked to the outer wall of the training ground. Below them was Cider Lake, and across from it was the Stormbearer Mountains.
Su Han drew his Tessusaiga. Icy-cold chakra bloomed in his hand.
"Wind Scar."
He swung the sword forward.
A massive blade of sword energy instantly froze the surface of the lake and tore into the mountain on the opposite shore before it finally stopped.
And that was just one slash.
Eula was speechless. "That kind of slash… that's not something a human can do, is it?"
Only now did she truly understand the gap between the two of them.
Defeating Stormterror, sealing an Archon… those weren't just empty words.
"Alright. You've seen my sword technique. Now it's time to teach you all how to cultivate Haki. I hope you will listen carefully," Su Han said, sheathing his Tessusaiga.
Of course, just explaining wasn't enough. He also had to teach by example, telling them where they were wrong, and even where the flow of their meridians was incorrect.
In just one afternoon, Eula had already grasped some of the essentials. Although she hadn't yet been able to turn her greatsword black with Hardening, she had mastered the basic method of using Haki.
But the true genius was not Eula. It was Glory, who was cultivating for the first time. Because the young woman had been blind in the past, her senses were extremely powerful. In less than four hours, she had already awakened the power of Observation Haki.
And while they were cultivating, in the distant Snezhnaya, Il Dottore had received La Signora's letter.
"Tch. That crazy woman, she really can't accomplish anything. To think she'd ask me for help."
"However, Mondstadt… it is indeed worth a trip. I can take the opportunity to pay them back for the loss I suffered last time. Hehehehe." The Doctor, wearing his mask, laughed maniacally.
Previously, he had wanted to lure the evil dragon Ursa, but his plan had been stopped in advance by the people of Mondstadt, and it had all gone up in smoke.
But this time, with Tartaglia and La Signora there, he should be able to obtain the Anemo Gnosis.
"My lord, are we going?"
"Go? Of course we're going! This time, not only are we going, but we're also going to give Mondstadt a big gift! Let those two idiots see what a true Fatui Harbinger is. Tartaglia is too soft. Hmph, if he were as ruthless as I am, Liyue would have been taken down long ago!"
Il Dottore's eyes were filled with contempt.
A black, mechanical bird appeared before him. This thing was extremely strange; it could attract the evil dragon Ursa! Of course, this thing alone was definitely not enough. The man currently in Mondstadt was not someone a single dragon could solve!
Therefore, Il Dottore also had a second method!
If the plan succeeded, he could plunge Mondstadt into an unprecedented state of despair.
Imagining the scene of people crying and howling in the flames of war, Il Dottore couldn't help but laugh with excitement.
For the next day, Barbara and the others continued their arduous training, until the day of the Ludi Harpastum finally arrived.
Mondstadt was decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, and the streets were filled with a festive atmosphere. Jean and the others also put down their work and walked onto the streets.
Ningguang, Ganyu, Hu Tao, and the others also came over from Liyue to experience the atmosphere of the festival.
"Wow, I didn't expect Mondstadt's festival to be just as amazing as our Lantern Rite! It's so beautiful!" Hu Tao said, looking at the various game stalls set up on the street with great curiosity, playing with this and that, having the time of her life.
Ningguang, on the other hand, had brought Baiwen to a chess game, while Ganyu was at a balloon-shooting stall, where she had set a record of shooting 26 balloons in three seconds, completely winning all the prizes the stall owner had.
"Th-that's too terrifying! She's even better than Lady Amber!"
"Old brother, don't look so sad! That's an adeptus disciple from Liyue! For her to grace your stall is an honor!"
"That's true!" The stall owner, realizing this, quickly put up a new advertisement in front of his stall.
[New Record! Liyue's Adeptus Disciple, 26 Balloons in 3 Seconds!]
Sure enough, when this advertisement appeared, it attracted many new customers. An adeptus disciple has even graced this stall? It must be fun!
Su Han looked at Ganyu, who was hugging a bunny-type stuffed animal, and asked with amusement, "Where did you buy that?"
"I just saw someone holding a small game, so I went and played. What do you think? This rabbit is very cute, right?"
"Mm, it's very nice."
Ganyu smiled sweetly. "I'll give it to Klee later. I've known her for so long, but I've never given her a gift." She's always calling me 'Big Sister.' It's not right if I don't give her a gift.
When Ganyu gave the doll to Klee, the little loli jumped with excitement. The rabbit was snow-white and very cute. And the most important thing was that the material was very good; it was very comfortable to hug.
"Thank you, Sister Ganyu! Klee loves it so much!"
"Mm. From now on, it can be a companion for Dodoco."
Seeing Klee so happy, Ganyu also felt very happy.
At this moment, a figure ran over from a distance, his expression anxious. "Lord Su Han, you have to come quickly! The Cardinal of the Church of Favonius, Calvin, wants to put you on trial! And he's praying to the Anemo Archon right now!"
"Oh? There's such a good thing? Come on, let's go and see." Su Han was a little surprised. He didn't expect this Cardinal to be so brave as to dare to put him on trial. He absolutely had to support this.
Because he also wanted to see how the "Lord Barbatos" that he respected so much would "punish" him.
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