The Weapon Master Shall Never Die Bare-Handed in Genshin Impact [427]

Jia Changjiang was channeling nearly all his focus toward Azhdaha at this moment.

In the past, whenever he faced enemies of this scale, Jia had always found backup—

Be it fighting Dvalin as Aatrox, or borrowing the might of all Liyue to battle Osial...

But this time, behind him stood only Zhongli and Lumine.

And oddly enough, that made him feel...

Safer?

Watching as Azhdaha’s relentless blows were effortlessly absorbed by the shield Zhongli had placed on him, Jia Changjiang fell into a moment of contemplation.

Do I really need this spear and shield?

He’d brought them out intending to challenge this enormous Geo dragon as a mere mortal.

But now, with Zhongli’s shield protecting him, he felt like he could take down Azhdaha with nothing more than a pocketknife.

Still... things weren’t quite so simple.

Each of Azhdaha’s stomps sent tremors through the ground. Jia could clearly see the way the shield around him trembled, warped by the impacts.

And then there was something else—

He was curious.

Jia Changjiang wanted to know: what exactly was the relationship between Zhongli and Azhdaha?

A grudge lasting a thousand years... What did that even mean?

That blue-haired girl, Jiu—and the one possessing Kun Jun...

How were they connected to the enraged dragon before him?

Just as those thoughts began to take shape, a long-silent voice echoed in his ear: the system.

[Mission: Defeat Azhdaha]

[Heaven stirs all things; the mountains and seas take form.]

[Stars rise from the barren earth, radiant as the blazing sun.]

[A dragon as ancient as the mountains, once stood shoulder to shoulder with a friend in eras now forgotten...]

[With eyes of stone, he chose in the end to be sealed away by that friend, before memory could erode entirely—and left behind only the title of ‘Calamity Dragon’.]

[Even stone, in time, forgets… Now, the Geo Dragon remembers not their final pact. And yet—]

[Some fragments of memory… will never fade.]

[Reward: Weapon draw 1 upon completion]

[Optional objective…]

[Condition: Battle against Morax]

“Ah…”

Listening to the system’s voice, Jia Changjiang began to piece together the truth between Zhongli and Azhdaha.

He turned to look at Kun Jun. Though Kun Jun hadn’t joined the battle, his eyes had been following every moment.

Thinking back to Kun Jun’s odd behavior along the way—and Zhongli’s reactions—

A lot of things suddenly made sense.

Meanwhile, Zhongli’s shield around Jia Changjiang was starting to show signs of strain.

Zhongli himself had already drawn his spear and was approaching, clearly prepared to step in.

“So this is what you didn’t tell us before, huh, Zhongli?”

Jia Changjiang glanced at him.

Azhdaha saw Zhongli draw his spear—and roared with renewed fury.

“Morax!”

But in the next instant, Azhdaha sensed that the Geo element in the area was shifting—being drawn elsewhere.

At first, Azhdaha assumed it was Morax seizing control over the element...

Until he looked and saw someone else entirely.

A golden-haired girl clad in black armor had plunged her Geo blade into the earth, siphoning elemental energy away from him.

Another insolent mortal!

With a furious roar, Azhdaha surged forward to crush Lumine—but before he could reach her, his path was cut off.

By someone small—by mortal standards—but unshakable.

“Azhdaha,” Jia Changjiang grunted, having just slammed into him, gouging deep ruts in the ground beneath his heels, “as long as I’m still standing... you won’t lay a finger on anyone else.”

“ROAR!”

“Hey!”

Behind Jia, Lumine had finished charging her Geo power.

“Azhdaha—no. Jiu!”

From beneath Lumine’s hand, the stone she’d summoned had risen—a massive construct of pure Geo element, now staring Azhdaha down.

“I remember you! You’re that Jiu from before, aren’t you?!”

She called out, and Azhdaha actually paused, before unleashing a savage roar.

Clearly, his intent wasn’t solely revenge.

Right now—

Lumine and Jia Changjiang were unexpected obstacles. Interferences Azhdaha hadn’t accounted for.

But...

What stirred Azhdaha’s deepest anger—

Was still Zhongli.

Even with his immense power, under the combined pressure from Zhongli, Jia Changjiang, and Lumine, Azhdaha began to falter.

“MORAX! Are you really going to destroy me?!”

Azhdaha roared in anguish.

But Zhongli only sighed.

And at last—

Azhdaha began to collapse.

Zhongli moved to end it, gathering elemental energy in his hand.

“Heaven stirs all things…”

As Zhongli, Jia Changjiang, and Lumine pressed their advantage, more and more stone spikes rose from the ground—symbols of the sealing formation.

And finally, Azhdaha was sealed once more beneath the earth.

In the center of the formation, the figure that appeared was the one who had attacked Zhongli before—Jiu.

A fragment of Azhdaha.

Jiu, his other self.

“Morax! A thousand years ago you sealed me beneath the earth—and now, a thousand years later, it’s you again?!”

Jiu screamed in rage.

Zhongli looked at her in silence, then sighed.

“You should call it destiny, Azhdaha.”

“Destiny?”

Jiu laughed—wild, bitter laughter.

“DESTINY?!”

“So this is the wisdom of gods? Destroy what you don’t need, unleash butchers to ravage the land?!”

She glared at Zhongli with eyes full of scorn.

“No…”

A voice interrupted them—unexpected.

“You’re the one who forgot.”

Everyone turned—and there stood Kun Jun, now radiating with a soft white light.

“I knew it…”

Jia Changjiang rubbed his chin. “Knew you weren’t just some ordinary guy…”

Kun Jun stepped forward, standing at Zhongli’s side.

“It’s been a long time, Morax.”

“Azhdaha...”

“Who are you?!” Jiu shouted, furious.

Kun Jun answered.

“I am you—as you see before you, Azhdaha.”

He crossed his arms. His body was ordinary, but his presence carried a weight that silenced the battlefield.

“Kun Jun is also Azhdaha? There are two of them?!”

Lumine was stunned.

She’d only just accepted that Jiu wasn’t a tree spirit—and now Kun Jun was part of Azhdaha too?

Kun Jun gave a helpless smile. “Forgive me for not revealing the truth sooner. Some things…”

“I only came to understand beneath the tree. It wasn’t intentional concealment.”