Ayaka and Beidou had imagined this place—Liyue's deepest secret—to be something incredibly serious and profound.

But right now, the atmosphere was unexpectedly… lively.

Venti was slumped dejectedly over the table, occasionally glancing at Ryen with a pout, muttering complaints under his breath before turning his head away dramatically.

Zhongli, on the other hand, sat calmly sipping his tea with ease.

Tartaglia and Rosalyne were each holding a dragon egg. They had just divided them up and hadn't even had the chance to begin incubation when Ryen suddenly called them out.

Still, neither seemed in a hurry. After all, it would only take a day.

Everyone was doing their own thing, yet the mood was harmonious and pleasant.

Ryen clearly seemed to be in high spirits, cuddling Klee and Nahida in his arms and occasionally playing with them, making them giggle.

After a while, Venti finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He jumped up in frustration and complained:

"Ryen! You've got some serious patience, huh? How could you keep such big news like a new module to yourself for this long?"

"Aren't good news meant to be shared with everyone immediately?!"

Ryen looked at Venti with a cheeky grin.

"Oh? So that's why you turned Zhongli's little mishap into a full-blown poem and spread it all over the city in a day?"

"Good news must be shared right away, right?"

Venti froze in place, then awkwardly turned to look at Zhongli.

"Old man, he's talking nonsense! I swear I didn't do anything inappropriate!"

Zhongli took a slow sip of his tea and replied calmly:

"Whether you did or didn't, I believe you know best. Come to think of it, it's been a while since we had drinks and a chat."

"Let's meet tonight at Mt. Aozang."

Venti instantly wilted.

Zhongli inviting him for drinks had two very different outcomes.

If it was at a restaurant or near Tianheng Mountain, it was just drinks and conversation.

But if it was Mt. Aozang…

That meant fists were going to fly.

After all, that place was desolate and remote—perfect for burying people.

Venti gave Ryen a resentful look.

"Are you happy now?"

"What goes around comes around," Ryen said with a sly smile. "Besides, it was just a short wait. No need to get so impatient! Ningguang and the others should be arriving soon."

"I told them to come no matter what—if they miss this, Ningguang will definitely get mad."

He had already been away for five whole days. Not seeing Ningguang that whole time, she was likely already upset.

And if she missed this too, she might not let him even touch her afterward.

Sure, he still had Ganyu and Hu Tao, but Ryen prided himself on being fair and just—

Every woman deserved equal affection.

Speaking of the module, once he had slain fifty Ender Dragons, the system had already notified him.

To be honest, Ryen found the whole thing a bit mystical.

Not that it was bad—on the contrary, the rewards were so good it made him suspicious of his own luck.

The system had given some pretty substantial rewards.

Of course, in return, the difficulty of the next mission had more than doubled compared to the Ender Dragon task.

At the very least, Ryen thought, this would take a long time to complete.

Ganyu glanced at the time and leaned in beside Ryen, whispering softly:

"Ryen, should I go call Ningguang and the others?"

Ryen shook his head and pointed toward the door.

"No need. They're here already—looks like they even brought two newcomers."

Just as he finished speaking, Ningguang and Keqing entered the room one after the other, followed closely by Beidou and Ayaka, who were curiously glancing around at their surroundings.

The moment she saw Ryen, all the complaints Ningguang had prepared on the way instantly vanished into thin air.

She didn't care who was watching. She rushed straight into Ryen's arms.

"Why were you gone so long…? You didn't even send word once."

"Do you know how much I missed you…"

Ningguang clutched Ryen's clothes tightly. Ryen wrapped his arms around her and gently said:

"I'm sorry… I was busy crafting some big treasures over there and lost track of time."

"It won't happen again."

Ningguang responded with a muffled "Mm," her voice stuffy from emotion.

Then she tiptoed closer and whispered in his ear:

"Tonight—no! Come to my place this afternoon! And don't even think of leaving before noon tomorrow!"

Ryen couldn't help but chuckle.

"You missed me that much?"

"What do you think?!"

Ningguang rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyway, if you don't compensate me properly, I'm not letting you take one step outside the Jade Chamber!"

"Then you'd better prepare for wobbly legs," Ryen teased, patting her back.

He released her gently and explained:

"We've been slaying dragons in the End for the past few days. You know how the environment is over there—we completely lost track of time."

"So, did the new module unlock?" Ningguang asked thoughtfully as she looked at Ryen.

He nodded.

"That's right. Let's take it one step at a time."

Calling everyone to sit down, Ryen began:

"First of all, we've constructed the Orbital Dragon-Slaying Cannon. It can now collect dragon eggs at a near-instant, production-line speed."

"Which means, the prerequisite for forming a Dragon Rider Legion… has now been unlocked for you."

Upon hearing this, Ningguang's eyes widened in surprise and delight as she looked at Ryen.

"You mean the one you told me about—the most powerful redstone technology?"

"Exactly. We failed more than twenty times just trying to get it right. It definitely took a lot of time to build."

Ryen nodded again, recalling the exhausting process of building the Orbital Dragon-Slaying Cannon, with all its repeated failures.

He couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"It's not only one of the most powerful peak redstone technologies… but also one of the most complex ones…"

~~----------------------

Patreon Advance Chapters:

patreon.com/Dreamer20