Chapter 1: There are many people here, save some face!

【The cycle has ended, a new life lies ahead, please explore it yourself.】

Teyvat Continent.

Mondstadt, Windrise.

Looking at the row of words visible only to him, Gu Chen was overjoyed.

"Great, finally finished grinding!"

Gu Chen was not a native of Teyvat; he was a transmigrator.

In Teyvat's terms, he was a "descender," or what they called an "outlander."

He still remembered how he had pulled an all-nighter in his dorm grinding the Aranyaka quest, only to die suddenly and transmigrate to Teyvat.

Upon arriving in Teyvat, he was bound to a Reincarnation System, with cycle after cycle of missions laid out before him.

Gu Chen hadn't wanted to grind, nor did he want to repeat the same mistakes, but the system offered too much, so he went down the path of grinding missions and never looked back.

And now, all the system missions were completed, and he possessed terrifying power within his body, which left Gu Chen feeling extremely satisfied.

"With this, I should have the power to protect myself in Teyvat, right?"

Feeling the power within him, Gu Chen was in a pleasant mood.

He had no idea just how strong he truly was; in one lifetime, he had fought against the Heavenly Principles, and his impression was—the Heavenly Principles didn't seem like much.

And now, with all the powers he had ever obtained stacked together, Gu Chen felt even more secure.

"Awesome!!"

"Hey, little brother, how awesome? Tell me in detail!"

Suddenly, a voice came from afar, drawing closer.

Gu Chen was surprised; after looking toward the sound, he was slightly stunned.

The newcomer was a youth, and the first thing he noticed was the white silk stockings on the youth's legs beneath his Baroque-style attire.

The youth wore a green cape, a Cecilia flower pinned to the brim of his green hat, and short black hair with a small, green-gradient braid hanging down on each side.

The newcomer was none other than Mondstadt's Anemo Archon, Barbatos!

"Venti?"

Should he call it a surprise or a matter of course to meet Venti at Windrise?

"Yo, little brother, looks like you've heard of my great name~"

Seeing Gu Chen recognize him at a glance, Venti paused for a moment, then said with a smile: "I am Mondstadt's best bard. Little brother, do you want an autograph? You could sell it for a lot of Mora! It only costs three thousand Mora to get my signature!"

"Are you serious?"

A bard who doesn't do his job can sell his autograph?

He'd never heard of such a thing!

Gu Chen said with a strange expression: "If your identity as Barbatos were exposed, your autograph might actually sell, but since your identity isn't exposed, forget it!"

Venti's smile gradually faded, his expression turning serious as he scrutinized Gu Chen: "Who exactly are you?"

In his memory, he had never met Gu Chen, and his identity shouldn't have been leaked!

"Ehe!"

"What do you mean by 'Ehe'?!"

Venti widened his eyes.

He felt inexplicably annoyed by those two words!

Yet, he happened to like doing that himself, and Venti felt a headache coming on.

Just as Venti was about to say something else.

Boom!

A deafening sound came from the sky.

Gu Chen and Venti instinctively looked up, both stunned.

【Exposure System has arrived!】

【This system will expose many secrets to all living beings in Teyvat!】

【Please note, this system will update with an exposure video every seven days. The first video will officially play in ten minutes!】

【Group chat is being established—currently divided into: Ordinary Group and Extraordinary Group!】

Huge gold-leaf characters appeared in the sky, and immediately after, a light screen appeared before both Gu Chen and Venti.

【Extraordinary Group Chat】

【Hu Tao】: Hello, hello? Is anyone there? Can we really chat?

【Klee】: So magical! Even more convenient than what Mom gave Klee~

【Kaeya】: Looks like real-time communication. The Ordinary Group next door is already chatting away. Who could be behind letting the citizens of the seven nations join a real-time chat?

【Jean】: Could it be Lord Barbatos? No, the probability is low...

【Zhongli】: By general rational standards, the Seven Archons of the mortal world likely do not possess such great power.

【Mo Na】: Ah... so hungry...

【Klee】: Sister Mo Na, what's wrong! Klee is coming to see you right away!

【Venti】: Friends, let me grandly introduce myself, the three-time consecutive champion of Mondstadt's most beloved bard—Venti!

【Zhongli】:...

【Paimon】: Wow, so many acquaintances, the tone-deaf bard is here too!

【Lumine】: There are many people here, save him some face.

【Paimon】: Oh, oh, the best bard is here too!!

【Venti】:...

【Zhongli】:...

【Hu Tao】: Alright, alright, this Hall Master will also grandly introduce herself. The 77th Generation Hall Master of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the Dark Alley Sect's dark doggerel poet, that is me!

Windrise.

While chatting and laughing in the group, Venti's face carried a look of solemnity.

Such great power to connect all living beings; he could not imagine what kind of existence this was.

Was it the Heavenly Principles?

Venti glanced at the island hanging high in the sky from the corner of his eye and denied this thought in his heart.

The Heavenly Principles had no reason to do this, and doing so wouldn't bring any benefits, right?

Liyue, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Zhongli, who was just about to head out, looked at the light screen before him and fell into deep thought.

"Such great power, it is definitely not the Heavenly Principles... Then, what kind of existence has descended upon Teyvat?"

Zhongli frowned slightly, feeling a faint sense of worry in his heart.

Inazuma, Tenshukaku.

The Raiden Shogun watched all of this with indifference.

"Only eternity is closest to the Heavenly Principles. This is not the work of the Heavenly Principles; it is a power that transcends them, and one must not become its enemy."

The Raiden Shogun gave her own judgment.

And Raiden Ei, within the Plane of Euthymia, also awoke from her meditation, looking at the light screen before her, feeling somewhat dazed.