After claiming his rewards, Su Han arrived at the manga shop.
With the official authorities recommending it, coupled with the Melusines serving as sales staff, it would have been difficult for the manga not to become a sensation.
By the time he reached the street, it was already packed shoulder to shoulder with people.
An endless stream of customers competed to buy manga.
"Give me one set of Adventure King and Fate!"
"I want the complete deluxe bundle!"
"One set of Naruto, please. I'm really interested in Inazuma's culture."
"I'll take Under One Person and Fox Spirit Matchmaker."
One set after another was sold.
Whether adults or children, everyone wore joyful smiles after receiving their manga.
Although people had sold manga before, the prices had been far too expensive.
For ordinary citizens, they simply weren't affordable.
Now, however, there was no need to worry.
At just 2,000 Mora per volume, practically everyone could afford them.
Su Han walked behind the warehouse and found the person in charge, informing him about the new manga.
"What? There are actually two new series? I'll have people start promoting them immediately!"
"Good. Go ahead."
The warehouse itself wasn't very large, but it contained a spatial artifact for storage.
The staff only needed to retrieve the manga from inside the artifact.
Paimon and Lumine were busy renovating the second shop, so they hadn't come with him.
After storing away sixty thousand manga volumes, Su Han began strolling around.
Unexpectedly, the moment he stepped out of the building, he ran into Venti and Hu Tao.
Looking surprised, Su Han asked, "Director Hu, are you here to expand your customer base?"
"Hehe, you know me well. Things have stabilized over in Inazuma, so I figured I'd come wander around, enjoy Fontaine's scenery, and by the way, you're really sneaky. You left without even telling us."
Hu Tao looked full of resentment.
Su Han immediately felt embarrassed.
He could only hurriedly explain what had happened with Focalors.
After hearing the story, Venti and Hu Tao were both stunned.
"Wait. You killed the Hydro Archon? So the one managing Fontaine now is still that human?"
"That's right."
Su Han nodded gently.
Earlier that morning, he had gone to speak with Furina.
After hearing the whole story, she had ultimately decided to continue serving as the Hydro Archon.
Her exact words had been:
"If I step down now, a lot of people might become afraid. Until there's a truly capable successor, let me continue serving as the Hydro Archon."
Since she had already said that, there wasn't much Su Han could say.
He could only use the limited time available to teach her a great deal.
Since she wanted to remain the Hydro Archon, she naturally needed strength worthy of the position.
It wouldn't do if she showed fear every time she encountered one of the Fatui Harbingers.
Venti gave Su Han a thumbs-up.
"You're truly a savior."
"Please don't say that."
Su Han shook his head.
"I don't care about empty titles. I just don't want to see certain people carrying such heavy burdens."
Since he had the ability, he was willing to lend a helping hand.
After all, Fontaine was also a part of Teyvat.
In truth, Su Han himself hadn't realized that he had gradually begun treating this world as his own home.
But that wasn't a bad thing.
The three of them wandered through the streets together.
When they heard there were new manga releases, Venti and Hu Tao exchanged a glance before immediately dragging Su Han into a café.
"Honestly, if you had something like this, you should've told us sooner."
"Exactly! I thought those manga looked unfamiliar. Turns out they're brand-new series."
Unable to resist their persistent requests, Su Han took out the new releases.
One was The Legend of Xuanyuan Sword.
The other was The Legend of the White Snake.
Hu Tao looked them over before choosing the second one.
Venti followed her example and also picked up The Legend of the White Snake.
Compared to endless fighting...
Stories like these were much more interesting.
The Legend of the White Snake was one of the classic stories of Su Han's homeland before he transmigrated.
The version in his hands was adapted from the television drama, making it the newer version.
Bai Suzhen's character remained unchanged.
She still fell in love with Xu Xian.
Xiaoqing was still mischievous, willful, and playful.
The only major changes were Fahai and Xu Xian.
The former came to understand human emotions because of his disciple.
The latter was no longer timid.
Even when confronted by Fahai, he boldly declared:
"I know exactly what my wife is. Even if she's a demon, she's never once harmed me!"
Later, during the calamity of the Iron Tree, Xu Xian revealed his true feelings to the demon tree.
Everyone thought he was a fool.
Yet Xu Xian had never been foolish.
Perhaps he was a little slow at times, but he was actually quite intelligent.
Human emotions could be cruel and heartless.
Yet even more people came together because of those very emotions.
As Hu Tao read the manga, she didn't fully understand it at first.
But when she reached the part where Fahai schemed against Bai Suzhen, she became so angry that she nearly shouted.
"He's absolutely horrible! He's actually trying to steal someone else's girlfriend! How can someone like that exist? Can a person like him really become a Buddha? Then the Buddha must be blind!"
Bai Suzhen was gravely injured.
When Xu Xian learned that his own actions had brought disaster upon someone else, he immediately went to seek out the Iron Tree Immortal.
Trying to move the immortal was incredibly difficult.
Only when he was forced to confess that the woman he loved was a demon...
Did everyone present become utterly shocked.
They had all assumed he had never known.
Yet Xu Xian had known from the very beginning.
Bai Suzhen's beauty was simply beyond what any mortal could possess.
From that alone, he had already understood who she was.
She never spoke of it.
And he never asked.
Sincerity was repaid with sincerity.
Because of that, the Iron Tree finally blossomed.
The entire story was completely different from the manga they had read before.
Its worldbuilding was grand, while the story of Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen was deeply heartbreaking.
And this was only the beginning.
After finishing it, Hu Tao still wanted more.
"So what happens afterward? Does Fahai keep finding ways to torment them? Su Han, do we have to wait a long time for the next part?"
Facing the director's question, Su Han smiled.
"Yes. It's a story where true lovers eventually find happiness together. But they'll have to go through many hardships first. I can tell you one thing, though. Only those with true perseverance can ultimately achieve a happy ending."
"Mmm, that makes sense. But let me read the other one first."
Hu Tao set down The Legend of the White Snake and picked up the second manga.
The Legend of Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky.
The first volume was titled "The Kunlun Mirror."
It told the story of the fall of the Kingdom of Chen and the appearance of the Xuanyuan Sword.
Tens of thousands of soldiers were annihilated by a single young man.
The terrifying weapon left Hu Tao speechless.
"Wow! That's unbelievably powerful! If only we had that sword. We'd wipe out the Abyss in one go."
"Mhm. But Director Hu, something like that probably isn't easy to obtain. Though I wonder if Su Han's father has one."
Seeing Venti's sly grin, Su Han rolled his eyes.
Everyone used to believe that excuse.
But as more and more miraculous treasures appeared, they had gradually become numb to it.
One or two world-saving artifacts might still be believable.
But constantly producing treasures capable of saving the world was simply absurd.
Unless Su Han's father was an unimaginably powerful Creator God.
Someone even greater than the Heavenly Principles.
Otherwise...
No one would believe it anymore.
Seeing that Su Han ignored his question, Venti shrugged helplessly and lowered his head to continue reading.
Restoring a fallen kingdom was never easy.
But with powerful divine artifacts, it might become possible.
To achieve that goal, Chen Jingchou continued traveling everywhere.
Along the way, he met Taba Yu'er.
Unexpectedly, an accident drew both of them into the formation sealing Taotie.
Facing the ferocious monster, everyone fought a fierce battle.
Meanwhile, Yuwen Tuo, the man responsible for destroying the Kingdom of Chen, also arrived to seize the artifact.
Fortunately, everyone ultimately escaped the danger safely.
The first volume ended there.
The second volume centered around another divine artifact.
As Chen Jingchou's master had explained, the divine artifacts resonated with one another.
Once one appeared, the others would soon reveal themselves as well.
Thus, the aura of the next artifact had already surfaced.
Using the divination of the Heluo Stone, Taba Yu'er determined its location.
The next divine artifact...
Was in Moon River City, a place currently plagued by demons.
Even hearing about it sounded dangerous.
Meanwhile, Yuwen Tuo was also searching for the remaining artifacts.
However, this particular artifact was the Nuwa Stone.
Only someone with a truly kind heart could obtain it.
Yuwen Tuo had killed countless people.
There was no way he could claim it.
So Dugu Ningke devised a plan.
She would use the Blood Spring to cleanse Yuwen Tuo's sins.
His soul would be split apart.
One portion would remain under Dugu Ningke's control.
The newly born personality, known as Jian Chi, would search for the remaining artifacts.
After enduring numerous hardships, the group finally reached Moon River City.
Yet something strange had happened.
The entire city was covered in blooming flowers.
The magnificent scenery captivated everyone.
At that moment, however, Jian Chi warned them that the flowers were poisonous.
Unfortunately...
He spoke too late.
Large numbers of people were poisoned.
Many even began suffering hallucinations.
For example, Zhang Lie saw Yu'er within the illusion.
At the same time, the demoness of Moon River City appeared.
She was the true culprit behind the city's destruction.
Ru Yan.
Although her name was beautiful, her appearance was anything but.
After a fierce battle, she fled in terror.
An elderly woman then told everyone the truth.
Ru Yan had once been a woman with a birthmark covering her face.
Later, by chance, she gradually developed feelings for the lord of the city.
Yet her birthmark filled her with overwhelming inferiority.
Then the Western King repeatedly gave her gifts.
Eventually, she was deeply moved.
She decided to confess her love.
But unexpectedly...
The Western King was preparing to leave.
Her heart shattered.
Ru Yan became twisted.
At that very moment, monsters from the Scarlet Comet contacted her.
Moon River City was transformed into a living hell.
Many people were dragged into dreams by Ru Yan.
To awaken Nuwa's descendant, only the Emperor of the Earth could do so.
Yet the first to find her was Jian Chi.
Because his soul was incomplete, no matter how he called to her, Nuwa's descendant gave no response.
Left with no other choice, Jian Chi carried her away.
Meanwhile, on Dugu Ningke's side...
She was actually the daughter of the Demon King.
The real princess had died long ago.
Thus, her desire to obtain the divine artifacts was simply to complete her father's mission.
However, one of Dugu Ningke's maids reminded her of a problem.
If all of Yuwen Tuo's evil were removed...
What if Jian Chi no longer recognized them?
That concern was soon proven correct.
The protagonists were all drawn into the dream world.
Only Jian Chi remained unaffected.
So he voluntarily entered the dream himself.
Outside the dream, Ru Yan was vicious and merciless.
Inside the dream, however...
She was gentle and kind.
After a series of efforts, Jian Chi realized he lacked the power to shatter the dream.
The one who truly needed to do it was Ru Yan herself.
So he handed her the Dream-Shattering Blade.
Reality...
Or dreams?
Unable to bear watching everyone remain trapped forever, Ru Yan finally chose to leave the dream.
Afterward, they met Nuwa.
She told them that only the Emperor of the Earth could awaken her descendant.
However, the situation was urgent.
Using a special incantation could also awaken her.
With the awakening of the Nuwa Stone, everyone finally left that place.
After finishing the manga, Hu Tao looked even more unsatisfied than before.
Turning to Su Han, she asked,
"So this is like Naruto, right? A story with two main protagonists?"
"Yes, that's right. Director Hu is really sharp."
Su Han praised her.
Hu Tao grinned proudly.
"Of course! Who do you think I am? But I just thought of something. Do you think there's some kind of treasure that can stabilize space? If we had a lot of things like dragon veins, then you wouldn't have to work so hard anymore."
She herself didn't mind.
The one truly suffering was Su Han.
To be honest, every time she saw him pushing himself so hard, her heart ached.
Faced with Hu Tao's concern, Su Han remained silent for a moment before taking out a small pot.
Venti immediately sensed an unimaginably powerful aura emanating from it.
It was obviously a supreme treasure.
Far beyond every artifact Su Han currently possessed.
"What is that?"
"The Demon Refining Pot."
"It is a treasure capable of creating heaven and earth, giving birth to worlds and life itself."
Su Han's words left both of them staring with wide eyes.
Then he continued explaining.
"I've actually considered bringing everyone away with me."
"But... would that really be the right thing to do?"
"Could everyone truly abandon this world and their homeland?"
"Let's put everything else aside. If we entered the Demon Refining Pot, I can guarantee that every one of you would be safe, and I'd be perfectly fine as well."
"But another problem would remain."
"If we all left, then Teyvat and the Heavenly Principles would be completely doomed."
"And then there's Snezhnaya."
"I have a feeling that the Tsaritsa may have been deceived as well."
"What do you two think?"
Su Han's speculation wasn't baseless.
The biggest reason was that Snezhnaya had one of Khaenri'ah's survivors, the Jester.
His true identity remained a complete mystery.
If he were eventually proven to be a villain...
Then everything Snezhnaya had done would have been a terrible mistake.
Trying to correct it afterward would be unimaginably difficult.
And in Su Han's opinion...
The chances of the man being one of the good guys were rather slim.
Understanding Su Han's concerns, Venti sighed softly.
"At least the five nations we've been to all support you."
"As for Natlan and Snezhnaya... that's another matter entirely."