"Oh, great hero, Chongyun, did you see that?!" Xingqiu tugged at Chongyun's sleeve after hearing the conversation between Dugu Shuo and Ember.
"I saw it~ If you don't go ask him soon, he's going to get busy with his own things."
Chongyun rubbed the lapel of his robe, which Xingqiu had just smudged dark, and reminded him after glancing at Ember walking towards the bookstall.
It seemed the "great hero" Dugu Shuo mentioned was interested in some of the books on the stall.
It wouldn't be good to disturb him once he truly got engrossed.
"Indeed, indeed!" Xingqiu mumbled a few phrases, shaking his head, then left Chongyun and quickly ran over.
However, Ember's attention had already been captured by a book on the stall.
Picking up "Please, My Fox Spirit Guuji-sama!" lying on the stall, Ember began to flip through the pages.
It wasn't that he liked reading novels or had any special quirks. It was purely because of the words "Fox Spirit" and "Guuji" in the novel's title.
In Ember's limited understanding, these two terms should be closely related to Inazuma.
It was frustrating; Inazuma's Sakoku Decree was incredibly thorough. There hadn't been a single piece of news from that land in recent years.
Otherwise, Ember wouldn't be using this seemingly improper book to search for information about Inazuma.
"Welcome home! General-sama…"
"Dinner first? A bath first? Or…?"
Ember stroked his chin. He felt there was a problem with the plot development. Both protagonists of this book were female, but why did it feel like they were in love?
Ember didn't know about the fox, but that General was definitely not as shy as depicted in the book.
Just based on her giving him a slash without a word, Ember knew this woman was definitely in a state of menopause.
Ember estimated that for her to be in the state described in the book, Raiden Shogun must have eaten some large Mushroom that could intoxicate a god, causing her to hallucinate.
Scratching his head, Ember didn't quite understand. But it didn't stop him from continuing to read, as there were many customs of Inazuma within, which could help him better understand the archipelago shrouded in thunderstorms.
"Uh… Chongyun, do you think the great hero would read this kind of book?" Xingqiu quietly approached Ember. He had intended to discuss martial arts with him after he finished reading, but as soon as he saw the title, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
The great hero actually reads "Please, My Fox Spirit Guuji-sama!"? This made Xingqiu wonder if he was seeing things.
"Aren't all great heroes in stories said to have special quirks? Maybe he's one of them." Chongyun nodded. Anyway, he wasn't too concerned about great heroes or anything. Whatever Ember did wouldn't discourage him at all.
"This isn't a special quirk. Only by embracing everything can one transcend one's individual self."
Ember closed the book in his hand and turned his head to speak to the two youths in front of him.
"Hehe, did I disturb you?" Xingqiu said, a little embarrassed, seeing Ember close the book.
"No, I've finished reading." Ember returned the book he held.
From this novel, which was neither too long nor too short, Ember still gained a lot.
For example, the Guuji is the head of the Grand Narukami Shrine, in charge of Inazuma's rituals and suppressing evil spirits.
Another example is the existence of a special race of Youkai in Inazuma. And because of their special abilities and small numbers, generally speaking, Youkai seem to hold a higher status in Inazuma.
Yet another example is that he could have Morgott act as a Youkai, allowing him to sneak through and openly enter Inazuma… These were all inspirations this book gave Ember.
"Great hero, do you think this book is good?" Besides upholding justice, Xingqiu also had a hobby of writing.
Although his debut work, "Records of the Autumnal Sword," was hardly read by anyone.
"I'm not sure. This is my first time reading something like a novel, so I don't know if it's good or bad." Ember replied with an uncertain tone.
These words, upon reaching Xingqiu's ears, naturally transformed into Ember being too engrossed in martial arts to have time for leisure.
Now, having mastered his divine skills and descended the mountain for travels, it was probably his first time encountering such a wondrous thing.
Thinking this, Xingqiu's eyes almost glowed as he looked at Ember.
In a way, although the process of Xingqiu's guess wasn't quite right, the outcome wasn't far off.
"He's never even read a novel before, he truly is a great hero!" Xingqiu exclaimed, his eyes shining.
Ember shielded his eyes with his hand. Why did he feel a dazzling light?
"Just call me Ember. As for 'great hero'… I guess so!" Ember recalled Liyue's definition of a "great hero" and felt that a great hero could totally be equated to the knights in his impression.
Ember's chivalry was quite good, provided he wasn't blinded by the power of 'Chai Ha'.
Win with all your might, win by any means necessary! This is the forbidden power of 'Chai Ha'! Under the influence of this power, Ember would spare no effort to achieve victory.
This included but was not limited to using the Wet Small Scythe, Ringed Knight Straight Sword, Great Goat Set, Seppuku Hound's Step Twinblades, treating people to Chocolate, and other methods Ember would normally never use.
In short, it was extremely terrifying, a power that must never be touched.
"Senior Ember! Senior Ember!" Xingqiu pulled Ember back from his memories.
Snapping back to reality, Ember immediately shivered. It was truly terrifying; he had almost been consumed by the power of 'Chai Ha' just now.
"What is it?" Ember asked Xingqiu. Just for pulling him out of the power of 'Chai Ha', he had to help Xingqiu!
"Senior Ember, that book… that book…" Xingqiu scratched his ears and cheeks in a hurry. He had been so focused on the content that he forgot the title. What a miscalculation.
"The Nine Wisdom Warrior Training Guide." As Xingqiu's close friend, Chongyun naturally had to step in to help him at this moment.
"Right! That's it. I heard you wrote it?" A hint of expectation appeared on Xingqiu's face.
"Hmm…" Ember lowered his head in thought, and after a good while, he realized Xingqiu was talking about the book he gave to Dugu Shuo.
"Yes, I wrote it."
Ember nodded. This time, he finally knew where the inexplicable glow from earlier came from—it was from Xingqiu's eyes.
"Could it be that Xingqiu also knows magic?" Chongyun couldn't help but quip upon seeing this scene.
If Xingqiu could maintain this state, then there would be no need to worry about lighting when subduing demons and monsters in the future.
"Great hero, truly a great hero!" Xingqiu kept muttering something.
Ember indicated he didn't want to talk to him and tossed him a copy of "The Ten-Intelligence Warrior Cultivation Guide."
"Senior, why is the title of this book different from the previous one?" Chongyun's eyesight was excellent; he immediately recognized the difference between this book and Dugu Shuo's.
The intelligence on the cover had increased by one point!
"Because I think he's a little smarter than that kid Dugu Shuo." Ember said to Chongyun, pinching his thumb and forefinger together.
Then he raised his hands, fingers spread. Several extremely similar books appeared as if by magic between his fingers.
"Chongyun, do you want this 'Ten-Strength Mage Cultivation Guide' or 'Ten-Strength Priest Cultivation Guide' or perhaps 'Ten-Strength Sorcerer Cultivation Guide'?"
In Ember's opinion, Chongyun didn't lack intelligence, and given that his magic leaned towards professions like mages.
So Ember decisively pulled out his newly compiled Mage Cultivation series for Chongyun to choose from.
As for whether there would be Assassin Cultivation series, Archer Cultivation series, Little Knight Cultivation series… Ember didn't know either.
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