In the other rooms of the little Western-style house.
The girls had all pricked up their ears, straining to catch the faintest hint of anything.
Although Nahida had told everyone to turn in early, apart from Klee and Paimon, who had long since fallen asleep, everyone was still awake.
It wasn't until they heard a few faint, indistinct sounds that everyone finally set their hearts at ease.
"Looks like the plan succeeded!"
Keqing felt a little thrill of excitement; now she could finally rest with peace of mind.
A long while later, Yae Miko let out a yawn.
She noticed that the sound had at last gradually died down.
She couldn't help but marvel at it—wasn't that going on for just a bit too long!?
She had seen it for herself when they were soaking in the hot spring earlier; by all rights he should have been worn out.
Yet to her surprise, it hadn't affected him in the slightest.
As a fox youkai, even she couldn't help wondering whether, if it were her, she'd be able to hold up.
And in the room next door.
Xiangling was panting a little, her gaze looking somewhat vacant.
At this very moment, she felt as if she were drifting through a starry sky, seeing countless stars.
Ye Xi, meanwhile, gazed at the starry sky beyond the skylight, holding the warm, soft jade of a beauty in his arms as he fell into thought.
He decided that tomorrow he'd have to reward the girls properly.
Just as he was thinking this, a crisp notification chime rang out in his mind.
[Ding~]
[Mission [Branching] complete!]
[Body Enhancement +16]
[Electro Elemental Power +18]
[Anemo Elemental Power....]
[....]
As always, the initial rewards were all numerical boosts to various attributes.
He opened up the system's semi-transparent panel; nearly every figure on it had already broken past a hundred.
Compared to before, his elemental power, mental power, physical strength, and Abyss Power had all seen marked improvement!
In truth, for him, nothing was more important than the value of his Abyss Power.
He fixed his gaze on the Abyss Power boost in particular.
[Abyss Power +27]
Looking at this tiny numerical increase, Ye Xi felt a touch of regret.
This single stat constrained his most crucial means.
Take, for instance, the two abilities [Abyss Core] and [Copy and Paste].
As things stood now, through [Drain], he had absorbed the [Karma] of the Conqueror of Demons, as well as the [Forbidden Knowledge] of the World Tree.
He had converted these energies into Abyss Power and stored them in the [Abyss Core].
These powers were like the charge in a battery—they would be consumed and used up, and once depleted, he'd need to absorb other powers once more to replenish them.
The Abyss Power value, on the other hand, was his own original power; even after being used, it could recover naturally.
What he needed to do now was rapidly raise the value of his Abyss Power.
At the same time, he had to seek out new, other powers to convert, charging up the battery.
Whether he wanted to Copy resources in the future, or Copy an entirely new world, it would all require an immense amount of Abyss Power.
This was what he most needed to boost.
Just as he was thinking this, as if the system had heard the voice of his heart, something that piqued his interest suddenly popped up in the reward list.
[Congratulations on obtaining the Attribute Value Doubling Card!]
[Attribute Value Doubling Card: Select one attribute of your choice and multiply its value tenfold (number ×10)!]
Seeing this reward, Ye Xi's eyes instantly lit up.
This was exactly the thing he needed most!
Pick any one attribute, and its value would be multiplied tenfold!
The improvement that would bring was enormous!
But with it came a problem.
Just which power should he double?
If he multiplied his physical strength tenfold, his body would become even harder and stronger, and his strength even greater.
If it were Electro Elemental Power, then the Electro Elemental Power he could wield would probably make even the Raiden Shogun jump in fright at the sight of it.
Anemo Elemental Power could let him fly for longer, and even summon raging gales that would leave Venti himself dumbfounded!
Dendro Elemental Power could make the vines he summoned longer and sturdier! It could also let him green the deserts, recreating the power of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata in those bygone days!
His mental power would surely undergo a striking change as well!
Just as he was torn over the decision, the system's reward chime rang out once again.
[Congratulations on obtaining [Cryo Elemental Power] affinity, Cryo Elemental Power +33]
Seeing the newly added bar-graph value, Ye Xi felt a flush of joy.
This was the fourth type of elemental power he had mastered!
Cryo Elemental Power!
Although gaining another ability was a good thing, it also meant one more option for the Doubling Card!
The more options there were, the more Ye Xi felt his head growing muddled.
[Forced Calm]
The skill activated, and the chaotic thoughts in his mind were instantly swept clean.
He could now think and deliberate with rational clarity.
In the end, he made his choice.
After turning it over and over, boosting his Abyss Power was still the surest bet.
Any single type of elemental power brought an enormous boost.
But by the same token, it was also very limited.
Boosting his Abyss Power was a different matter.
Abyss Power was an entire system, with many branches.
[Stand], [Drain], [Bestow]...
Boosting this one power could raise the strength of the whole system—clearly the most fitting choice.
With that thought, he selected that card.
The system panel popped up a prompt window.
[Use the Attribute Value Doubling Card?]
Ye Xi selected the [Yes] option.
[Please select the attribute to double....]
Just as he'd anticipated, he chose [Abyss Power].
Right after, that attribute's bar graph underwent an enormous change.
The [Abyss Power] bar graph soared straight upward, instantly towering over all his other powers.
[Abyss Power: 1020]
The original value of 102 had instantly skyrocketed to 1020!
At the same time, the system popped up a new prompt window.
[Abyss Power increased. Congratulations on obtaining a [Stand] draw chance!]
[Draw now?]
Ye Xi was slightly taken aback.
He hadn't expected that, even after unlocking [The World], he could still have a chance to obtain a new [Stand]!
If he drew now, wouldn't that mean he alone could control two Stands!?
He immediately selected the [Yes] option.
The draw interface began to scroll at once.
Before long, a card appeared within the panel.
[Congratulations on obtaining the Stand User—Weather Report!]
[Weather Report: Meteorological manipulation, controlling the weather, with a scale of control that can be large or small! As well as the use of....]
Ye Xi never would have imagined it would actually be this Stand.
Weather Report was a Stand that the audience had dubbed the strongest of the top tier.
Close combat, defense, wide-area attacks—simply invincible.
It was just that this Stand had far too much depth to it, requiring a bit-by-bit process of exploration.
And yet, even the most rudimentary basic ability—controlling the weather—was already utterly broken!
With that thought, he immediately tried to summon the new Stand.
[Weather Report]
At his summons, a hazy figure appeared before him.
In the original work, Weather Report had a humanoid form.
But the Stand before his eyes was, of all things, a fluffy white cloud.
It looked rather adorable, even.
Such a tiny little cloud, yet it possessed the power to shake the entire world—just thinking about it was terrifying.
The power of this new Stand had, without a doubt, given him one more trump card for victory!
Besides the new Stand, his other Abyss abilities had all been strengthened to varying degrees.
After he had grasped all the enhancements, the system popped up one final reward.
Ye Xi took a closer look—it turned out to be the very thing he'd been longing for!
[Obtained the aircraft carrier construction blueprints and operation manual!]
An aircraft carrier!
He'd been thinking about it all day, and never imagined he'd have it by nightfall!
This was a ship twice as large as the cruiser!
Placed in Teyvat, it would deliver a dimensional-reduction strike against all other ships!
This truly was a wonderful surprise!
Xiangling herself was one surprise, and she'd brought along so many more.
At the thought of all this, Ye Xi held the warm, soft beauty in his arms a few notches tighter.
Feeling those powerful arms, Xiangling's heart filled with an ever greater sense of security.
She pressed herself tightly against Ye Xi and drifted off into her dreams.
Her little face was full of contentment and happiness.
Ye Xi, too, soon forgot all about the string of rewards, closed his eyes, and sank into a deep slumber.
.....
The next day.
Early morning.
Dehya and Alusha had risen bright and early for their morning training.
Because some birds and fowl had been caught the day before, a great deal of chirping and twittering drifted in from outside.
Quite a few of the girls were woken by these early-morning calls.
Without these birds, beasts, insects, and fish, the Serenitea Pot would be eerily quiet.
But with these animals around, it felt awfully noisy.
Xiangling had long since formed the habit of rising early; being a cook was hard work, requiring her to prepare ingredients well ahead of time.
So upon hearing the sounds of crowing roosters and chirping birds, she opened her eyes.
Seeing Ye Xi's sleeping face before her, Xiangling's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
What had happened last night felt just like a dream.
When she opened her eyes and saw Ye Xi, she had a feeling of reassurance.
She could be certain that what was before her was no illusion.
At the thought that from now on she could open her eyes and see Ye Xi, she felt so happy.
Ye Xi faintly sensed the girl in his arms growing restless, and so he woke up.
Noticing Xiangling's ardent gaze, he smiled and said, "What's the matter? Feeling peckish this early in the morning?"
"Eh!?"
Hearing Ye Xi's words, Xiangling hurriedly shook her head: "Spare me, please—I promised everyone I'd make something delicious today!"
"If we go another round, I won't even be able to walk..."
Seeing Xiangling's pleading, pitiful look, Ye Xi laughed: "I'm just teasing you."
"But if you're uncomfortable, I can use healing magic to fix you right up."
"Don't!"
Xiangling said with a blushing face, "Th-this kind of experience is important too.... I have to keep it in mind."
"You little rascal...."
Ye Xi let out a sigh; he'd discovered that the girls all seemed to have this same notion.
Whether it was Collei or Keqing, or even Ningguang.
Even though it could be healed to spare them the suffering, they insisted on having some unforgettable, deeply etched memory.
Perhaps this was just the way a young girl's heart worked.
Just as he was thinking this, Xiangling suddenly gave him a good-morning kiss and said gently, "I'll go make you a meal. What would you like for breakfast this morning? How about ramen?"
Ye Xi nodded: "Something light in the morning sounds good."
Only then did it occur to him—with a treasured wife like Xiangling, his household would be dining out at a fine restaurant every single day from now on.
He was in for a real treat from here on~!
.....
"Okay~ then I'll hurry and get up to cook for our master~!"
Xiangling gave a giggle and wriggled out from under the covers.
That fair skin, that smooth back, and those soft, rosy shoulders—the sight of them made Ye Xi unable to resist reaching out and pulling the girl back in.
"Yah!"
Xiangling was given a fright, but she soon felt Ye Xi's doting affection for her.
This feeling left her heart thoroughly thrilled.
"Hehe, no more fooling around—everyone's going to go hungry in a bit."
Though she said this aloud, Xiangling didn't put up the slightest struggle.
After holding her a while, Ye Xi finally let go.
Xiangling, her face flushed, smoothed out her clothes.
Suddenly, from within her clothes, she happened to feel an icy-cold glass bead.
When she picked it up and took a look, she discovered that it was, astonishingly, a Dendro Eye of God glowing with a faint green light!
"Eh!?"
"There really is an Eye of God! And a Dendro one at that!"
Xiangling's face was full of astonishment.
Although she'd been mentally prepared, actually having a second Eye of God still made her unable to help being amazed.
And what's more, it was a Dendro one!
Her little junior sister Yaoyao had a Dendro Eye of God!
Beside her, in Ye Xi's mind, an ethereal notification chime also rang out.
[Ding~]
[Branch [Mao Xiangling] has obtained a Dendro Eye of God!]
[Reward distribution complete. Please continue to complete the subsequent [Scattering Leaves] mission!]
Ye Xi was very satisfied with this Eye of God's attribute.
With a Dendro Eye of God, Xiangling could now use elemental power to trigger reactions, and the damage was not to be underestimated.
Just as he was thinking this, Xiangling suddenly leaned in close to his ear and whispered softly, "Good big brother, you're so good to me~ mua~"
Hearing this term of endearment, Ye Xi felt his heartbeat quicken a few notches.
Just as he was about to grab the little rascal back, Xiangling dodged in a flash, changed her clothes, and fled.
'This girl... runs off the moment she's done flirting.'
He got up, freshened himself up, then dressed neatly and headed downstairs.
There was no small amount to do today.
In the morning, Beidou and Yae Miko were to head to the harbor to arrange the cargo ships bound for Inazuma.
After that, Beidou would set out to sea.
At noon, all of Liyue's projects were to break ground, and he still had to bring Klee along to the site to arrange the demolition tasks.
By the time all that was done, it would surely be evening again.
At this thought, Ye Xi always felt as though he'd forgotten something, but he couldn't recall what it was.
Arriving in the parlor, a wave of fragrance hit him in the face.
The girls were all gathered around the kitchen, exclaiming in admiration.
"Xiangling, you're amazing! I can't even find a way to help!"
Originally, everyone hadn't wanted to watch Xiangling toil away all on her own.
But Xiangling worked far too fast, doing everything in one smooth, seamless motion.
It left people in awe—truly worthy of being a cook from a grand restaurant.
In just a few deft moves, bowl after bowl of ramen came out of the pot.
The aroma alone was enough to make one's mouth water!
"Hehe! Come and try our Wanmin Restaurant's signature breakfast ramen!"
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