Genshin Impact's Incense Burner Of Liyue [538]

Flames flickered into existence.

Gu Sanqiu clutched his chest, staring at the thin veil of fire in front of him.

Finally, he let out a breath of relief.

Great. Just the worst possible outcome.

All the recovery he had gained after his battle with Dainsleif? Completely depleted. He had even overdrawn on his reserves. Not to mention the wound on his chest—if he weren’t so tough-skinned, that last hit would have gone straight through him.

Bracing against the ground, Gu Sanqiu forced himself to his feet. He had to see for himself what had just ambushed him.

"This thing?"

His gaze fell upon a pile of mechanical wreckage.

For a moment, he could hardly believe it.

These were Ruin Machine remains, ones that had already been destroyed by his Cataclysmic [Calamity]—yet somehow, its attack core was still operational!

"So you're telling me… it could have fused with the Ruin Grader to boost its firepower, but instead, it just played dead the whole time—just waiting for the moment I'd drop my guard to land a sneak attack?"

A suffocating frustration gripped Gu Sanqiu.

So these Ruin Machines really were being controlled by someone, huh?

Don’t even try to tell me this was just part of some ancient Khaenri’ahn combat program.

Even a dog wouldn’t believe that!

Enraged, Gu Sanqiu kicked the wreckage into dust.

If Ruin Machines really had this level of combat intelligence, there was no way the Seven Nations would still be standing intact!

"Challenge complete. Calculating rewards."

"You have received 18,000 Ancient God Coins."

…That much?

Gu Sanqiu blinked.

This was enough to recruit a full-fledged Narshuss.

Then his expression darkened.

If he followed the usual pattern—where each battle at this difficulty level awarded 1,000 Ancient God Coins—then did that mean he had just fought the equivalent of eighteen battles in one go?

From what he had gathered earlier, golden Ancient God Coins were already the highest tier of rewards.

The max payout for any battle was 1,000 per fight.

This only confirmed one thing—someone was definitely screwing with him from behind the scenes.

Instead of making him fight one or two Ruin Machines per round, they had just thrown everything at him at once.

Are you serious?!

How is this even fair?!

Shaking his head, Gu Sanqiu immediately sat down to recover.

By the normal tournament structure, beating those Ruin Machines should have only brought him to 72 consecutive wins.

But thanks to some unseen hand pulling the strings, he had been forcefully bumped up to 90.

And based on the patterns he had noticed—every time he hit a milestone in this tournament, something unexpected would happen.

Like how that Fatui guy used Ancient God Coins to buy elemental buffs.

Now, with Match 91 about to begin, Gu Sanqiu refused to believe there wouldn’t be some kind of twist.

He had been burned too many times already.

But strangely, this time… the portal didn’t open.

Instead, a crimson orb descended from the sky.

Its searing heat healed his wounds.

"…What’s going on? Did I just get a bye round?"

He shook his head.

There was no way the people running this tournament couldn’t find him a worthy opponent.

This had to be another abnormal event.

---

Across from Zhongli, a young man with a small hat sat at the table, playing a game of Go.

The former Geo Archon sipped his tea, his expression calm as ever.

"If you don’t focus, you’ll lose in three moves."

"Ah, come on! I came to drink with you, not to sit around in some old-man gathering, sipping tea and playing board games!"

Venti slammed the table in protest.

If this weren’t a private room, his loud complaints would have definitely earned him glares from every scholar in the teahouse.

"You have a job, don’t you? You’ve been hoarding mora for centuries. You telling me you can’t even afford to treat an old friend to a meal? With some fine Liyue wine, no less?"

Venti crossed his arms.

"I swear, your kid treats me better than you do. Every time I see him, he at least pays for drinks. Why can’t you learn from him?"

Zhongli calmly placed his piece on the board.

"From a rational standpoint, he simply hasn’t figured out the right way to deal with you yet."

"Tch. Stubborn old fossil."

Venti scoffed.

"Guess that’s the difference between a young and charismatic leader like me and a rigid old rock like you. There’s just no bridging the generation gap."

Zhongli glanced at him.

"Drunken bard, you still think of yourself as a leader?"

"Of course! I’m the God of the Thousand Winds! If even I can’t lead Mondstadt, who else is qualified?"

Zhongli delivered a precise verbal stab:

"Decarabian seemed like a decent candidate. At the very least, when Dragonspine had an issue, he actually did something about it. Looks far more responsible than you."

"Bullshit!"

Venti’s hair practically stood on end.

"That windstorm buffoon?! He’s a brain-dead brute who only knows how to charge in headfirst! There’s no way he can compare to the great Barbatos!"

Zhongli twisted the knife deeper.

"You do realize gods can freely change their forms, right? That’s just the form he chose when dealing with you. Maybe he simply couldn’t be bothered to play nice."

"You wanna fight, old man?!"

Zhongli calmly placed another piece.

"Rationally speaking, you’re not my match."

Venti twitched, fingers tightening around his teacup—as if considering whether to throw it directly at Zhongli’s face.

"You know, I suddenly miss my nephew. At least he doesn’t go out of his way to piss me off."

Zhongli sighed.

"That’s because Gu Sanqiu is too softhearted."

His gaze lifted toward the sky.

"It’s starting over there. This is why you came, isn’t it? I must admit, your timing is rather precise."

Venti rested his chin on his palm, idly toying with a game piece.

"Ancient God Arena, huh? More like the Pyro Archon’s Trial Grounds. That troublesome woman."

His tone was casual, but his eyes sharpened.

"With your contract coming to an end, are you finally letting loose? Are you really okay with letting your nephew walk right into another Archon’s line of sight?"

Zhongli’s expression remained indifferent.

"The one in Natlan isn’t interested in him."

His voice was calm, as if stating an undeniable fact.

"Sending Gu Sanqiu there… A hundred consecutive wins is indeed a difficult task."

"But for him, it is not impossible."

"This trial already has a hidden solution."

---

Gu Sanqiu wiped his forehead.

Cold sweat.

Because sitting in front of him was a humanoid figure made of flames.

He had only seen Zhongli unleash a [Celestial Phenomenon] once.

Venti? That guy never took anything seriously.

But he had personally fought the Serious Mode Stove God before.

And the presence coming off this fire-wreathed figure was identical to that moment.

The flame-cloaked entity reached for a cup of blazing fire, placing it beside Gu Sanqiu.

Then, it produced a set of game pieces.

"Let’s play a game of chess."

"This… is your final trial."

---

This is a fan translation of 原神之璃月奉香人 by 淡白蛋清. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!