Urged on by the flood of comments, the stream finally moved.
The music stayed the same, but the visuals shifted to Liyue Harbor at night—streets strung with lanterns, color and bustle everywhere. It was all in-engine capture. To let players feel the New Year through the screen, Mo Li had even done a light remodel of Liyue's city scene.
The camera skimmed down the main avenues as the lilting flute of "Liyue" played. Ten seconds in, countless Dragon Nation players were already trembling a little with excitement.
[66666… this really is New Year]
[Is this the new Liyue Harbor? Gorgeous QAQ]
[AAAAA… I'm hyped!]
[Whoa—Nian Beast!! That mini-game looks so good!]
[Never change, MiHoYo!!]
[I swear I just saw opera on the street]
[Can't wait to log into the new Teyvat already…]
After a sweep of the holiday Liyue, the camera cut to Mo Li.
Chat was still exploding from the city preview—then exploded differently when they saw what he was wearing.
[HELLO?? "Otto in a dress"!! (jk)]
[That armor is sick!!]
[I want it… my wallet doesn't]
[Why are you wearing the immortal's outfit (shy)]
Mo Li stood there in Shadow Knight: Luna Kindred armor, smiling into the lens. Beside him: Rita and Himeko in festive outfits. Two stunners on screen, yet most eyes stayed glued to Mo Li—black hair, clean handsome lines, and that suit… fit too well.
"Welcome to the Genshin Impact Spring Festival version preview~"
"I'm… mm, for today I'm MiHoYo's boss—Mo Li."
"I'm Himeko~"
"I'm Rita~"
Introductions done, Mo Li went straight in:
"I think you all caught that refreshed Liyue Harbor just now…"
Rita's smile deepened, voice soft and elegant: "You've watched flowers and moons, walked thunder and snow, seen full and new—traveler, perhaps pause your journey and enjoy the scenery along the way… like Liyue's festival."
Himeko picked it up: "In this version, Teyvat welcomes Liyue's Lantern Rite."
"Boss, why don't you walk everyone through it?"
"With pleasure," Mo Li said—and the feed flipped to the event pages.
"During the Spring Festival window, across the month-long patch, there'll be a 30-day login reward—"
"—plenty of leveling mats, and 20 pulls in total."
"And a special lineup of Spring events."
The login board flashed on screen. In other games, this would just be a 'keep you logging in' excuse. Here, the rewards were real. Mo Li never worried about Genshin's daily actives anyway.
"The event has five phases:
Farewell to the Old
Guests from All Quarters
Fire to Drive the Beast
Riddles by Lantern-light
Ten-Thousand Lights at Dusk
"Across the celebration, travelers can earn ~3,000 Primogems plus heaps of ascension and talent materials."
The first theme rolled.
"Farewell to the Old brings traditions like house-cleaning, stocking New Year goods, and writing couplets. You'll take commissions and earn Mora and Primos."
"In Guests from All Quarters, under the company of Ningguang and Keqing, you'll experience Liyue customs and hear a few secret tales."
"Fire to Drive the Beast—you probably know the legend of the Nian, also called Xi: at the year's turn it raids the villages; people set off firecrackers and paste red couplets to drive it off. Liyue likewise has a monster called Xi. We've built a playful co-op mini-game around it—join in, earn Primos."
"Riddles by Lantern-light takes you to temple fairs and lantern walks…"
"And Ten-Thousand Lights at Dusk is the finale. I'll hold that surprise for later."
Players listened to "Liyue," listened to Mo Li—and by the end, countless Dragon Nation viewers were flushed with excitement.
[This is amazing… it's our New Year traditions QAQ]
[MiHoYo you absolute legends!!]
[New Year outside the game, New Year inside the game—immersion maxed!]
[Say no more—I'm a shameless shill now]
[First time a game's captured so much Dragon Nation flavor QAQ]
On screen, Liyue unfurled in peak splendor: lanterns lifting into a velvet night, then fireworks blooming in layered color. Ying, Xiao, Keqing, Ningguang—Liyue's cast appeared one by one, all looking up at the same sky.
[AAAAAAA]
[I'm losing it this is too pretty!!!]
[It's festive, the music is joyful, and yet I'm… crying??]
[QAQ Genshin goated, MiHoYo goated]
[Low-key curious what overseas players think seeing this]
Overseas chats were basically the same sentence in every language:
[ohhhhhhhh my god]
Not just domestic players—everyone watching felt the warmth and fullness of it.
[I lived in the Dragon Nation for a few years—the Spring Festival is unforgettable]
[So beautiful. The scale of this event!]
[FYI, the festival's roots are deep—blessing, warding off evil, reunion, celebration, food—it's a whole world]
[Didn't think a game could make me smell the New Year again]
[MiHoYo!! Patch when!!]
[Can't wait!!]
Studios across the industry were also watching—and stunned. They'd simply never considered weaving traditional Dragon Nation festivals into their worlds. Backgrounds were always Western by default. Now they all saw the lever: do this, and you win every Dragon Nation heart. But first… their games would need a Liyue of their own.
…
In a luxury villa, Yunjin watched with widened eyes, tears bright. In the closing montage, Liyue's vistas resonated with her soul—then she spotted touches of opera woven into the scenes.
"Are they really going to write this in? Wonderful…"
…
Back to the stream.
"Of course, besides the festival, we've got a new banner character," Mo Li said.
"And," Rita added with a playful lilt, "Zhongli will rerun."
Originally this slot belonged to Childe and Xiao, but Mo Li reconsidered—Spring Festival should spotlight Liyue. He shuffled the lineup: launch one Adeptus, rerun Zhongli, and give Keqing a limited banner as well.
Himeko: "So, Boss—who's the new face?"
Mo Li's smile turned secretive. "Liyue's adeptus—Xiao."
The girls cued the trailer:
Character Demo — "Xiao: Conqueror of Demons."
A full moon. Xiao, polearm in hand, stands upon the tiles. A cold, killing flute splits the night. He leaps—three ruthless flips, a storm of spear-flowers, lands like lightning. The key art blooms: jade lines up the arm, blue mark at the brow, gaze like a blade.
Vigilant Yaksha — Xiao
Adeptus guarding Liyue, title—Conqueror of Demons
The chat detonated.
"Those who bring chaos… begone."
The voice was cool and reserved—ascetic to the hilt. Orchestration swelled, like enemies on eight sides. The edit cut through normal attacks, then a machine loosed a salvo of missiles; Xiao slipped through on tiptoe and steel.
"Hmph. Parlor tricks."
Mask close-up—those ghost-blue eyes glowed. A furious montage; then silence, as Xiao knelt, warring with the pain inside.
Everyone knew: karmic debt.
"This is the price… the weight of a thousand slayings…"
"All things change. All is suffering… but…"
"I have long been ready."
"Sever—"
"—Karma!"
Camera swung low; Xiao soared, fist cocked, and crashed down.
"Scatter!"
Every musical hit landed like a punch. Goosebumps everywhere. The flute returned; the final close—Xiao turned, looked into the lens, cool face, distant eyes, hearts hammering in sync. Quick flashes: mask on; the twin blue lights burned.
Chat? Absolutely feral.
[AAAAAA (brain broken)]
[Don't do that in the barbershop—AAAAA]
[He's too handsome!!]
[His pain, his cold, his duality… must pull!!]
[That low, cutting score with those moves… lethal]
[MiHoYo trailers never miss]
[The music wants me DEAD]
[My dog is about to backstab me]
[Then counter with the folding chair]
[My brother said Xiao isn't handsome; anyway I'm an only child now]
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