A short while later, at the Knights of Favonius training grounds.
Sunlight poured over the fine sand covering the field. Dust and sweat hung in the air as Yichen and Kaeya stood facing one another.
Kaeya looked utterly lazy—hands clasped behind his head, letting out an exaggerated yawn as if he still hadn't fully sobered up from last night's drinking.
His gaze flicked toward the freshly issued recommendation letter in Yichen's hand—still faintly scented with Lisa's signature perfume—and his lips curled into their usual teasing smile.
"Well, well. With Miss Lisa's very powerful recommendation, you've skipped quite a few tedious procedures…"
"But even so, some formalities can't be avoided. After all, the gates of the Knights of Favonius aren't something just anyone can stroll through."
His eyes swept over Yichen casually—then suddenly froze on Yichen's waist.
There, hanging quietly, was a pure Anemo Vision, gleaming softly in the sunlight.
"…Wait."
"When did you get that?"
Yichen followed his gaze, glanced at the Vision, and grimaced as if it were a troublesome accessory.
"Oh, this thing?"
"It rolled out of me last night for no reason. Probably Barbatos got drunk and tossed it randomly—just happened to bonk me on the head."
"No need to worry about such trivial details!"
Yichen looked up, stuffed the recommendation letter into his clothes, and fixed Kaeya with a dangerously 'friendly' smile.
"Compared to that, Captain Kaeya… I've heard that certain events from last night have already been enthusiastically exaggerated and spread across all of Mondstadt?"
"Apparently even Diona at Cat's Tail knows about it now?"
His fist clenched with a loud crack, his smile radiating both sunshine and murderous intent.
"Perfect. I'll use you to test my strength for this trainee knight assessment!"
"I'll repay your promotional efforts—with an elbow!"
Kaeya looked at Yichen's eager, very obviously personal vendetta-filled expression.
Instead of panicking, he laughed.
"Oh? You've only had that Vision for a few hours—probably don't even know how to use elemental energy yet—and you're already threatening me?"
"Yichen, you're getting a bit too—"
Before the word "full of yourself" could leave his mouth—
Kaeya's pupil shrank violently.
In his single-eyed vision, Yichen—who had been several steps away—blurred.
Not elemental movement.
Not acceleration.
It was more like… space itself shifted for a split second.
No warning.
No elemental fluctuation.
No wind-up.
A high-speed elbow appeared directly in front of him, as if it had skipped distance entirely.
The speed.
The suddenness.
"Wha—?!"
Kaeya's relaxed expression shattered into pure horror.
His battle instincts screamed at him to retreat—but his brain didn't even have time to finish sending the command.
Too fast.
Too unnatural.
Then he heard a word—one that sounded like it carried the authority of some unknown law.
"Man."
BOOM—!!!
A dull, bone-rattling impact slammed into Kaeya's chest.
He didn't even see how Yichen twisted or generated force.
Only that an utterly unreasonable, overwhelming power crashed through the elbow and straight into his torso.
"UGHH—!!!"
All the air was violently squeezed from his lungs as his vision went black.
Kaeya was launched off his feet like he'd been hit head-on by a rampaging Ruin Guard.
His cavalry cloak whipped wildly as he flew several meters back, then—
THUD!
He crashed flat on his back into the sand, dust exploding around him.
"Cough—! Cough cough—!!"
Curled on the ground, clutching his chest, Kaeya looked up in a daze at Yichen, who calmly finished his motion.
And that inexplicable "Man" echoed in his mind.
What the hell was that?!
His combat experience—and his worldview—had just been pulverized harder than his dignity.
Yichen lowered his arm, shook out his wrist, and looked at the stunned Kaeya sprawled in the sand.
A satisfied smile spread across his face—equal parts "that felt great" and "this move is busted."
He rolled his shoulders, then began walking toward Kaeya with a disturbingly warm smile.
"Looks like one experience wasn't enough."
"I think I should let you really understand just how terrifying elbow strikes can be."
He cracked his neck lightly, eyes locked onto Kaeya like he was selecting the next impact point.
At his waist, the Anemo Vision swayed gently—almost cheering for the coming storm.
Kaeya took one look at Yichen's 'I barely tried' demeanor—and remembered the explosive pain in his chest.
Cold sweat ran down his temple.
That strike was impossibly fast.
The power was absurd.
No warning. No defense.
This wasn't sparring.
A few more hits and his skeleton would need to file for early retirement.
"W-wait! Hold on! Pause! Time-out!"
Kaeya raised both hands and backed away, forcing a smile full of survival instinct.
"I suddenly feel this training duel format is a bit too… violent! Not very elegant! Doesn't match the Knights' civilized image!"
"And besides, you just got your Vision—you're not used to elemental control yet. Fighting now wouldn't fairly assess your potential!"