In truth, compared to the provocation of a mortal, Raiden Makoto and Zhongli paid it no mind; their mentalities were quite similar.
But Raiden Ei did not see it that way. She was going to make a big show of it. Ningguang and Keqing had both said that even if an explosion occurred, it wouldn't be much of a problem for her.
Especially doing it right in front of Morax, blowing up Liyue—wouldn't that be even more interesting? She had blown up the kitchen so many times that she had discovered something interesting: art is... Raiden Makoto, as the older sister, recognized the look on Raiden Ei's face; it was the exact expression her sister wore when she went to fight in the past.
"Keqing, my suggestion is to evacuate the crowd..." Raiden Makoto said calmly. "Since he doesn't believe it... then we'll show him."
Raiden Ei understood Raiden Makoto's hidden meaning. Raiden Ei felt her sister was definitely hinting at her, "Since he doesn't believe it, then blow it up for him."
She became even more excited. Her Esteemed Elder Sister supported her.
"Yanfei, evacuate the masses..." Keqing thought that if an explosion really happened, the problem would indeed be serious. She nodded afterward. "I hope nothing happens."
Naturally, the crowd didn't know what was about to happen, but they retreated a good distance following Yanfei's instructions.
At this moment, only Raiden Ei and Ye Zixiu remained on the field. As for Uncle Tian, Ningguang, and Keqing, they watched seriously.
Ye Zixiu didn't even trust Raiden Ei; he walked directly next to the stove. He wanted to see it for himself.
He didn't believe an Inazuman could be better at cooking than him. If he hadn't been affected, how could he have failed?
"Judges, please rest assured, I won't interfere with her cooking!" Seeing Yanfei about to speak, Ye Zixiu quickly said, "I just want to observe her culinary skills."
"How could cooking using a Stove Fire possibly explode? She must be cheating by using that strange stove!"
And just as Ye Zixiu was intently watching Raiden Ei cook, the audience below was abuzz with discussion. Centered on the stove in front of Raiden Ei, an explosion suddenly occurred.
That moment even saw a small cloud spread across the sky, and Ye Zixiu was directly blasted backward by the explosion, falling unconscious a short distance away, his face covered in blood.
As for the audience members off the field, they also retreated several steps because of it... it startled quite a few people.
"What happened? Why did it just explode!" The audience below didn't know what Ye Zixiu had said on the stage; they only thought the competition needed to restart for fairness.
The result was a massive explosion?
The violent explosion spread outward, centered on Raiden Ei. Dust covered the sky and ground, and the masses fled even further backward.
The judging panel, located closest to the center of the venue, was also hit by the impact. A pale yellow shield immediately appeared in front of Ningguang, blocking the shockwave.
...
Keqing hadn't expected it; Raiden Ei's cooking really caused another explosion, and the power was even greater than what she had witnessed that day.
When the dust from the center of the explosion cleared, the previously somewhat luxurious venue had been completely reduced to ruins. All that remained in that spot was a cracked round stone.
"Guoba... why do you look so excited?" Xiangling was confused, noticing that Guoba next to her was very excited. "Are you happy about the explosion?"
Although Xiangling was also quite happy, since that Ye Zixiu had dared to question Raiden Ei, she was still a little worried seeing such a terrifying explosion.
"Sister Ei won't be in trouble, right?"
Paimon, however, was very happy, even excitedly waving her fists. "Sister Ei did great! That was so satisfying!"
"It would be great if that Ye Zixiu was blown to death! That Ye Zixiu's face is truly hateful." Paimon was extremely delighted now.
"Sister Ei will definitely be fine."
When the dust cleared, Raiden Ei was seen standing there blankly, feigning confusion.
After all, she had done it on purpose, but she couldn't let others know it was intentional, especially since Morax was currently present.
"I really didn't mean it... I won't have to pay compensation, right?" Raiden Ei looked innocently at Ningguang and Keqing. Her innocent look made Ningguang regret her decision. Was it really the right thing to ask Raiden Ei to cook again?
However, just as the crowd was in chaos, all the Millelith soldiers who had been guarding the perimeter rushed in. They immediately sealed off Liyue Plaza.
"The Seven Stars are Assassinated!"
"The Seven Stars are Assassinated!"
"Lock Down the Entire Venue!"
Because the explosion was too loud, and the ground even began to shake the moment it happened, the Millelith soldiers all assumed it was an enemy attack.
But the Millelith Captain leading the charge looked bewildered after finding Keqing and Ningguang completely unharmed.
"Lady Ningguang? What happened... wasn't there an enemy attack?" He had initially thought it was an enemy attack, feeling remorseful, self-reproachful, and somewhat terrified, as an enemy attack had occurred under his watch.
It was entirely his dereliction of duty.
"Maintain order in the area. It is not an enemy attack." Ningguang was already starting to regret it. She really should have listened to Keqing and should have just ruled Raiden Ei as the winner immediately.
After all, the right of interpretation for the Culinary King Competition belonged to the Liyue Seven Stars; they were the organizers.
But she was genuinely curious why cooking would cause an explosion. How could an ordinary person's cooking cause an explosion? That was why she asked Raiden Ei to cook again.
And the result was a real explosion.
Looking at Raiden Ei's innocent expression, she roughly understood that Raiden Ei had done it intentionally, but even knowing that now, she couldn't punish Raiden Ei, as she had already spoken her words.
She roughly understood the principle behind why Raiden Ei's cooking caused an explosion.
But even Keqing, using the Electro element to trigger an Overloaded reaction, wouldn't have such tremendous power, would she? Raiden Ei only leaked a tiny bit of Electro element, yet it had such great power.
She then looked at Raiden Makoto, who offered a helpless smile. "Ningguang, my sister's cooking really does cause explosions... You didn't..."
"No... I was just curious..." Even if Ningguang regretted it now, she had to bear it herself. She immediately said to the Millelith Captain beside her, "Go check on that Ye Zixiu..."
"Yes, ma'am."
Zhongli watched Raiden Makoto with great interest. He was fully aware of everything that had just happened, knowing what occurred from the beginning to the end.
"You two sisters are truly becoming more and more like humans." Zhongli said calmly. Since only Raiden Makoto could hear his words, he didn't bother concealing anything.
"Lady Ningguang... he... he only has one breath left..." The Millelith Captain ran over anxiously. "Should we send him to the medical ward?"
"Quickly send him to the medical ward."
Raiden Ei walked up with her head lowered, deliberately putting on a very innocent act.
"Sister... I was already trying my best..." Raiden Ei said cautiously. If Raiden Makoto didn't know Raiden Ei well, she would truly believe her sister was admitting fault.
But her sister's expression wasn't one of admitting fault; she was intentionally putting on a show.
"Yanfei, evacuate all the audience members as well... As for the follow-up to the Culinary King Competition, arrangements will be made later." Ningguang felt a headache coming on; dealing with this would be extremely troublesome.
"Understood."
The perfectly fine Moonchase Festival had undergone such a huge change due to her curiosity. The site of the Culinary King Competition had even been directly blown into ruins.
"Ningguang won't ask me and Sister to pay compensation, right?" Raiden Ei cautiously inquired, but she was extremely happy at this moment.
Blowing up Morax's plaza right in front of him was truly, truly satisfying.
Who told Morax's people to dare question her and her sister? She wasn't Morax, who would completely disregard Ye Zixiu's provocation.
If it weren't to make things easier for her sister to handle, given her temperament, she would have directly struck Ye Zixiu down with her blade.
"No." Ningguang pondered briefly, then looked at Raiden Ei with some confusion. "Are you... a Vision holder of the Electro element?"
"Something like that."
Ningguang knew why the explosion happened, she just didn't know why such a massive explosion occurred.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to either..." Raiden Ei gave an innocent smile. "I was also trying my best to use the Stove Fire to cook..."
Uncle Tian thoughtfully scrutinized Raiden Ei and Raiden Makoto, the sisters. He then nodded; he mostly understood.
What happened in Inazuma had spread to Liyue. Uncle Tian had heard that the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma was assassinated and died, but given the Raiden Shogun's status as one of the Seven Sovereigns of the World, how could she be easily harmed?
The Raiden Shogun was the same as the Geo Archon.
He believed Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei were likely the Inazuma Archon Sisters. They shared too many similarities.
Since Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei were the Inazuma Archons, then the identity of Zhongli, who was judging alongside Raiden Makoto, was obvious.
The Geo Archon.
But Uncle Tian knew the Geo Archon had his own plans, so he kept all these speculations hidden in his heart.
He wouldn't say anything he shouldn't. Furthermore, his position as Tianshu was about to be taken over by a successor. He then got up, bid Ningguang farewell, and disappeared from the scene.
After the audience and the Millelith slowly retreated, only Xiangling, Lumine, Paimon, and Guoba remained on the field.
Guoba was still extremely excited at this moment.
"Marchosias was born in the first spark struck by the impact of a meteorite. He must have recalled something," Zhongli said with a hint of serenity, looking at Guoba.
Guoba was his old friend, and seeing him in this current state gave him complete peace of mind.
"Zhongli, I blew up the plaza, you don't mind, right?" Raiden Ei's question made Zhongli pause slightly.
"You two are truly becoming more and more like humans..." Zhongli's tone was very placid, but Raiden Makoto could detect the surprise in his voice.
Gods become less and less like "humans" due to erode. When the Gods were first born, most possessed "humanity," but over time, that "humanity" would gradually disappear.
Zhongli was rather surprised that Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei were becoming more and more like "humans."
"Hmm?" Raiden Ei was stunned because she understood the meaning of Zhongli's words. She then looked at Raiden Makoto again.
She didn't know why, but being with her sister had caused many changes in her behavior and demeanor, and her emotional fluctuations were much greater than before.
"Makoto, Ei, Mr. Zhong..."
"I apologize..." Keqing felt somewhat apologetic. She should have seriously defended Raiden Ei, so that this explosion wouldn't have actually happened now.
Although Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei showed no reaction, she could tell that Raiden Ei was a little angry.
"The Culinary King Competition was mainly hosted by Ningguang... so my words might not have been useful..." Keqing said apologetically.
"That Ye Zixiu was indeed pushing his luck... and..." Just as Keqing was about to continue, Raiden Makoto smiled. "It doesn't matter..."
"Besides, he received the punishment he deserved. Who told him not to believe it?" Given Raiden Makoto's temperament, she wouldn't truly care about the provocation and arrogance of a mortal.
In her long life, the lives of mortals were truly too brief; even the elderly were nothing more than children in their eyes.
"However, if you ask me, well done!" Keqing gave Raiden Ei a thumbs-up. She knew the explosion was intentional on Raiden Ei's part.
Doing that was very satisfying. She also disliked Ye Zixiu because of his aggressive manner, and he even cursed Zhongli in front of her. Keqing held the belief that Zhongli was very similar to the Geo Archon, and sometimes she even treated Zhongli as the Geo Archon.
Ye Zixiu cursing Zhongli felt like insulting the Geo Archon right in front of her.
However, Ye Zixiu's questioning was indeed within the rules. In her capacity as yuheng star, she couldn't say much.
But in her capacity as Keqing, if she met someone as aggressive as Ye Zixiu, she would absolutely punish them lightly.
"But speaking of which, who exactly are you people?" Keqing was curious. She had observed closely: the Electro element leaking from Raiden Ei's hands was very minimal, yet such a small amount of Electro element caused an Overloaded reaction with the fire, leading to such a massive explosion.
Based on her own strength, she would have to exert her full power to cause an explosion of that magnitude.
She knew asking Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei directly was a bit impolite, but she was still very curious.
"Also, from the first moment I saw you, I felt a great sense of closeness... that feeling is really strange." Keqing felt a little embarrassed. "I even asked the Traveler how to interact with you."
"They said Makoto is a gentle person and very easy to get along with."
"And I found that Makoto is indeed a very gentle person and easy to get along with." Keqing looked earnestly at Raiden Makoto. "As for Ei... although the start was a little unpleasant... she's also quite easy to get along with."
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