Check out my new translation!
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The North Wing's influence in Sumeru is extremely weak, all because of the existence of Sumeru's "Akasha Terminal." The Wingmaster once issued a command that anyone who has used the Akasha Terminal long-term cannot be recruited into the organization; using the Akasha Terminal seems to carry the risk of leaking secrets. Because of this, Sumeru currently doesn't even have a regional leader.
"It really looks like I'll have to operate alone…"
"Speaking of that—if you hadn't come looking for me, I would've been looking for you. The Wingmaster recently sent a message. She hopes you can help the organization find a suitable regional leader in Sumeru."
"Me?"
Victor Wang pointed at himself, thinking he must have misheard.
"That's right. Aren't you heading to Sumeru?"
"I mean—the Wingmaster specifically wants me to do it…?"
"'Kunpeng' is indeed your codename, right?" Ye Caizhen countered, though she clearly didn't expect Victor Wang to answer. The term 'Kunpeng' had never appeared before; aside from Victor Wang, there was no one else it could refer to. She immediately continued: "Then there's no mistake. Don't be surprised—ever since you joined the organization, you've already helped accomplish several major tasks. It's not strange that the Wingmaster would pay attention to you."
Now that he thought about it—finding the dragon remains, snatching Osial's flesh, capturing the Awakened Precepts, slaying the cursed blade, exposing the South Wing's conspiracy—those really weren't things ordinary people could do.
Victor Wang gave himself a little credit, then cautiously asked, "Actually, I'm really curious about something… Where is the Wingmaster? Is she an Archon? Or some other kind of being?"
"Classified—" Ye Caizhen replied. "Though I'd like to say it like that, I honestly don't know either. I've only ever heard the Wingmaster's voice—never seen her."
"Only heard her voice… only heard… her voice? Male or female?"
"Female."
At that answer, something sparked in Victor Wang's mind.
A voice only, and a woman at that—the one who guided him in lifting his curse, gaining power, and even obtaining that perfectly tailored anti–Battle Technique Hunter Khaenri'ahn artifact… Could that voice really not be Nicole of the Hexenzirkel, but rather the North Wing's Wingmaster?
How could Victor Wang not grow excited? He pressed urgently, "Can you describe her voice for me?!"
"How do you expect me to describe it? Pleasant?" Ye Caizhen hadn't expected such a strong reaction. She shook her head helplessly and offered a compromise: "If you want to hear the Wingmaster's voice, then work hard. Once you become a regional leader yourself, you'll naturally get the chance."
True—unless a voice is very unique, describing it always ends up with the same few vague words…
Letting out a disappointed breath, Victor Wang remembered that Sumeru still needed a regional leader, and the responsibility was assigned to him… Should he just recommend himself? But he couldn't stay in Sumeru permanently just for the sake of hearing a voice…
Ye Caizhen seemed to see through his thoughts and reminded him from the side, "Don't treat this like a joke."
"I won't… but I still need to know how to report back to the Wingmaster once I pick a leader, right?"
"That's simple. Just issue an official appointment notice. The Wingmaster will naturally contact the chosen leader herself."
"She contacts them directly? Looks like that won't work then… I get it. Let's leave it at that for now."
Sumeru's situation had never been good. It seemed to be the first battlefield of the Khaenri'ah war, and because of the Forbidden Knowledge, Eleazar and the Withering were born. The Dendro Archon was even the first among the four preceding nations to be imprisoned by humans, with her own followers attempting to create a god in her place.
And now, the North Wing had no powerhouse stationed in Sumeru for him to rely on—everything depended on him alone.
Over this period, in order to focus on breaking the bottleneck of his mental strength, he skipped Mondstadt's Windblume Festival this year, declined the fake Albedo's research invitation from Dragonspine, and even hardened his heart to refuse Fischl's island invitation. Only Inazuma's Irodori Festival forced him to attend for a day thanks to Yae Miko's "persuasion."
All this spare time was mostly thanks to Lumine and Paimon… well, mainly Paimon—who kept saying they were going to Sumeru but kept getting distracted by festivals and events.
And through such effort, he had improved. From two months to comprehend a sword intent, to one and a half, then to one month, then half a month—the progress was obvious. He had grasped the sword intents of Yunlai Swordsmanship, Guhua Style, Ancient Sword Art, Foreign Bladework, Ceremonial Bladework … even claymore techniques and spear forms had provided inspiration.
But he was still one step short of truly entering the realm of sword intent.
Sumeru had canned knowledge, which seemed to directly enhance sword techniques.
"Mental strength hasn't stopped growing. It's just that your usable range is only this wide for now—everything beyond is temporarily out of sight." Zhongli's words were the only reason he persisted with self-training instead of relying on canned knowledge.
So even if he hadn't broken the bottleneck yet, his daily practice wasn't meaningless. His mental capacity was growing, and once the bottleneck broke, everything would naturally surface.
But time waited for no one. The Sabzeruz Festival was approaching.
Should he try canned knowledge?
Victor Wang recalled his earlier conversation with Ningguang.
…
"I heard you'll be heading to Sumeru soon?"
"Our two products—the chewing gum is popular in the Akademiya. The scholars seem to enjoy chewing a piece while they ponder. But bubble gum, on the other hand, was deemed inelegant by the upper echelons of the Akademiya. They even rejected my application to host a bubble-blowing tournament in Sumeru, which is why the bubble gum that sells the best in other regions still can't break into the Sumeru market."
"Since you're going to Sumeru, and you're both the inventor of bubble gum and my business partner, for our shared interests—try persuading the Akademiya for us."
"Even if you fail, it's fine. Others will handle it. Just give it a try."
…
Ningguang's delegation set out by water. Their route: from Liyue Harbor around to Port Ormos, then northward, through Vimara Village, and finally to the docks of Sumeru City.
Port Ormos was where canned knowledge could be bought; Vimara Village had the Aranara's'Aranyaka.' Both were teleport points he needed to unlock anyway, so Victor Wang didn't refuse the offer to accompany the delegation.
The delegation's leader was also a familiar face.
"This mission is difficult. Honestly, with normal methods, I don't think we can convince the Akademiya."
Standing on the ship's bow, Victor Wang glanced sideways at the confident Qi Xiuming. "I think so too. But from your tone, it sounds like you have… unconventional methods?"
"There are always methods."
Qi Xiuming beamed, speaking freely:
"For example, we could bribe whoever handles event approvals. Offer a high enough price, and they won't cling stubbornly to such a trivial issue. The only downside is—it costs Lady Ningguang money…
"Or we could bring a Kamera and bribe them with an irresistible 'offer'—then once they agree, switch to threatening them with the footage. That way we don't spend a single Mora~
"At worst, we could forcibly host the tournament in Port Ormos. It's far enough that Sumeru City can't control it. We just pay a fine afterward—
"The problem is that contestants would also be affected by the distance. And if we do this, we'd better keep Lady Ningguang completely uninvolved. We can't tarnish the Qixing's image. As for who should take her place…
"Let me think—someone with enough reason. 'The bubble-gum inventor desperate to open the Sumeru market' sounds perfect."
"…That's why you called me here, isn't it?"
"Sorry—slipped out. I was just speaking off the top of my head."
Victor Wang's mouth twitched. Didn't this man once say he wanted to be a gentleman?
Following the delegation north, Port Ormos was unlocked, Vimara Village was unlocked, and Sumeru City was unlocked…
Because they were part of Ningguang's delegation, upon reaching Sumeru City they were even received by the Akademiya—though once the Akademiya learned their purpose, their enthusiasm waned considerably.