"Eh? You want me to come over?" Ganyu looked at the messenger, feeling a bit confused.
"Yes, Miss Ganyu. Lady Ningguang requests your presence."
Ganyu sighed. "Has something happened again? Well, if Ningguang is looking for me, it must be important."
She then summoned a few unfortunate souls and unceremoniously dumped all the unfinished documents she had on hand into their arms. Afterward, she followed the messenger to the Jade Chamber.
The moment Ganyu saw Ningguang, she hurried forward. "Has something happened, Ningguang? Why summon me so late at night?"
Ningguang's expression was solemn. Without a word, she handed Ganyu the photographs and documents spread across the desk.
"Take a look at these. I want to hear your thoughts."
Ganyu took the file and flipped through it quickly. The more she read, the more peculiar her expression became. By the time she reached the end, a look of pure disbelief was written across her face.
"Is... is this all true?" Ganyu stammered.
"I have no reason to fabricate false intelligence in the middle of the night just to deceive my own secretary." Ningguang sounded weary. "I am not like you. Even with a Vision, my constitution doesn't allow me to go days without sleep. Of course, even for a half-illuminated beast like yourself, I would personally suggest you get some rest. Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule leads to better work."
Ganyu ignored the advice to sleep and asked for confirmation once more. "Is this information verified?"
"Absolutely. There is no possibility of it being false." This time, Ningguang stayed on topic. "Not only did our own people see it, but the Conqueror of Demons can be considered a partial witness he arrived at the scene immediately after the battle concluded.
Furthermore, we have photographs from the site, including ones of the Harbinger leaving for Mt. Tianheng with that mysterious individual. I believe the evidence is more than sufficient."
Ningguang paused, watching Ganyu closely. "From your expression, I take it you know him?"
Ganyu nodded, still visibly dazed. "Yes. In terms of status, he is my junior fellow disciple. However... in my memory, he shouldn't possess such overwhelming strength.
Forget a Vision; he couldn't even sense Elemental Power. If I had to say, his martial arts were his only outstanding trait, but that alone shouldn't have caused such a massive disturbance."
"It seems your understanding of your junior is incomplete," Ningguang noted. "But more than his hidden strength, I am concerned about his current stance. As a disciple of the Adepti and a powerful one at that his strength and status are enough to influence the aftermath of Rex Lapis's passing."
Ganyu didn't answer directly. Instead, she said, "During last year's Lantern Rite, I returned to Mt. Aocang to visit Cloud Retainer. That day, she happened to mention Rex Lapis's opinion of Su Ming.
Master said the Lord once remarked that Su Ming hails from beyond the Sea of Stars and is not a native inhabitant of Teyvat. Because of that, I cannot be certain of his views. In fact, it seems more likely to me that he would choose to remain a bystander."
Ningguang was momentarily stunned before asking gravely, "Could you invite your junior to the Jade Chamber? I wish to speak with him face-to-face."
Ganyu nodded. "That shouldn't be difficult. He's actually quite reasonable. As long as you don't provoke him, he is generally an easy person to get along with."
"Understood. Thank you for the warning. I will be mindful of my attitude."
"If there's nothing else, I'll be heading back. There are many more documents at Yuehai Pavilion than I anticipated, especially with the Rite of Parting approaching..."
"Take care. Do you need me to assign you more staff?"
"If you could, that would be wonderful."
Late into the night, Su Ming sat by the small pond in his courtyard, watching the ornamental fish swim to and fro. He was wondering if it would count as an exploit if he caught these fish, threw them back, and caught them again.
The pond was tiny. Combined with his 'Never Returning Empty-Handed' buff and some bait, wouldn't he be able to game the system?
Just as the thought surfaced, the System stepped in to derail his plan.
[Fish caught repeatedly will not trigger the reward mechanism.]
"Tch."
Su Ming clicked his tongue dismissively at the mechanical voice in his head, turning his attention to the previous reward notifications instead.
[Congratulations to the Host for significantly deviating from the plot. Luck has been permanently increased by 30 points, and an Enhancement Card has been awarded.]
[Enhancement Card: Upon use, reinforces a target selected by the Host, including but not limited to: weapons, abilities, constitution, skills, etc.]
[Congratulations to the Host for unlocking a new mechanic: When the Host deviates from the plot to a significant degree or higher, a variable number of Enhancement Cards or Ascension Cards will be awarded.]
[Enhancement Cards can increase the power of a selected target without altering its original characteristics.]
[Ascension Cards can trigger a positive evolution in the selected target.]
Su Ming carefully reviewed the rewards he hadn't had time to check earlier, a grin slowly spreading across his face. An Enhancement Card was, quite literally, pure reinforcement. It could provide a substantial boost to the powers he currently possessed.
As for the Ascension Card though he hadn't obtained one this time it seemed far more useful and precious than its counterpart. After all, evolving a skill was vastly superior to simply making it stronger.
"Talk about timely rewards."
Although he had won the fight against Tartaglia, the battle had highlighted his shortcomings. His mana pool was too small, and his output was insufficient. In short, he felt physically drained. His skills might be powerful, but his energy reserves weren't deep enough to sustain high-tier techniques.
Even with the Dragon Factor providing rapid regeneration, his maximum capacity was the bottleneck. Su Ming's current situation was like having a regeneration rate of 300 mana per second, but a maximum capacity of only 500 when his ultimate move required 1,000 to cast.
"Which ability should I reinforce?"
Su Ming fell into deep thought before finally setting his sights on the Dragon Factor.
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