Genshin x Minecraft: Building the Temple of Virtue

”You... do not know?”

At those words, it wasn’t just Diluc and his group who fell silent; even Ei and the others on the observation deck looked at each other in utter bewilderment.

Zhongli gave a slight nod, a soft smile playing on his lips. ”The matters of this world are merely defined by those who follow. In their essence, they hold no absolute meaning.”

”Are ’Momentum’ and ’Intent’ truly just Momentum and Intent? Why can they not be called ’Aura’ and ’Force’?”

”I was the first to reach this realm, and I am the only one in Teyvat to have taken this step. If everything is defined by me, will those who come after not simply retrace my footsteps? How then are they to forge a path of their own?”

Hearing this, Diluc’s expression turned solemn. He bowed slightly and said in a deep voice: ”The Martial God’s righteousness is profound!”

While the others might not fully grasp the weight of those words, Ei felt a sudden, fleeting moment of clarity.

Zhongli chuckled softly. ”If you must insist on a name, then I suppose... this step is the ’Dao’.”

”The Dao...” Jean murmured, her eyes vacant.

Zhongli didn’t expect them to understand it right away. There might be an opportunity in the future, but for now... they had only just crossed the threshold of Momentum. To speak of the Dao was far too distant.

”The Dao is not one, the Dao is not two, the Dao is not the myriad things, yet the Dao is the myriad things.”

Zhongli casually gave his Trident a light flick.

The crowd watched in sheer astonishment. In that singular microsecond, the Trident in Zhongli’s hand seemed to transform, shifting seamlessly with the form of a sword, a blade, a warhammer, and a spear. He utilized no flashy, superficial techniques; it was a simple, effortless swing. Yet that profoundly abstract sensation gave everyone a splitting headache just trying to process it, let alone figuring out how to strike back against such an attack.

Venti subtly stuck out his tongue, channeling a microscopic trace of his divine power to alleviate the suffocating pressure mounting in his chest. Zhongli cast an annoyed sideways glance at him. Their divine power was already heavily restricted within the MC World; this blockhead was wasting a perfect opportunity to study the martial path, choosing instead to use divine power to cheat his way past the pressure.

Venti merely shrugged. He knew Zhongli meant well, but he genuinely had zero interest in learning these intricacies. Wasn’t it much better to just rely on brute force to override everything like Ryen did? The MC World was filled with so many miraculous treasures. Frankly speaking, even Zhongli’s personal staff was far more terrifying than any martial finesse.

Zhongli shook his head and spoke softly: ”I do not know how to define this realm, nor am I entirely certain how I stepped into it myself. Everything is abstract, flowing as if it were entirely second nature, as if it were always meant to be.”

”The Dao exists within heaven and earth, yet heaven and earth exist within the Dao.”

”Transcending heaven and earth while existing within them, it is impossible to grasp, yet impossible to clarify. This step requires personal realization; I cannot describe even a fraction of it to you.”

”You may have an opportunity in the future, but as for right now...” Zhongli offered a light laugh. ”The war must come to an end.”

With a single thought, he opened a channel to Xiao.

In the next instant, an earth-shattering blast echoed from Liyue’s main island. Xiao’s silhouette shot into the heavens like a rocket. Waves of fireworks ascended from his hands, painting the sky above the Bed Wars Sky Island with a brilliantly vibrant display.

The crowd watched in awe as Xiao traced a graceful arc across the horizon, descending directly toward Mondstadt’s main island. A bucket of water materialized in his hand; the moment his feet touched the surface, he executed a flawless water bucket drop, completely negating any fall damage. Landing precisely beside the bed, he spun around, drawing his iron sword and bringing it down in a clean sweep.

Mondstadt: Eliminated!

The opening match of Bed Wars: Liyue Claims Victory!

An increasingly dense array of fireworks blossomed across the night sky. The Bed Wars match had lasted for quite some time, and darkness had long since fallen over the world. Five maximum-level beacon beams shot up from the ground, interweaving with the fireworks to turn the starry canopy into a magnificent spectacle.

Ryen picked up the microphone, his face overflowing with a cheerful grin.

”With a total elapsed time of two hours and thirty-four minutes, the Bed Wars exhibition match has finally come to an end! Let us offer our congratulations to Liyue, who secured the final victory of this opening match through spectacular coordination and execution!”

”Just when everyone believed Zhongli would single-handedly suppress Mondstadt and break the bed himself, he chose to hand the final glorious maneuver over to Xiao. By utilizing the Redstone Cannon launchpad constructed by Cloud Retainer, Xiao was launched with surgical precision onto Mondstadt’s Sky Island.”

”This maneuver can truly be described as a god descending unto the mortal realm, absolutely brilliant. But I am confident that the most spectacular display today wasn’t the fishing rod play, nor was it Childe’s desperate mid-air recovery. It was Zhongli’s final solitary standoff against Mondstadt, charging forward without fear while taking the time to pass on his martial insights.”

”The Martial God, Zhongli, has truly shown us the textbook definition of a solitary warrior holding a pass against ten thousand enemies. At the same time, every nation needs to take note: with the exhibition match concluded, we will enter a tense week of domestic qualifiers within the five nations. Once each nation has selected their strongest one hundred soldiers, the final championship will be staged on our largest map yet. Today’s tactics from Liyue have given everyone a profound lesson. In the upcoming championship, figuring out how to deal with Zhongli is going to be your biggest hurdle.”

Ryen spoke a massive stream of words in a single breath before taking a cup of tea from Ganyu to moisten his throat.

”I declare the Lantern Rite Bed Wars exhibition match officially closed! Will the spectators inside the stadium please exit in an orderly fashion, and keep an eye out for monsters on your way back.”

The screens slowly faded to black, but the roaring enthusiasm inside the stadium didn’t waver for a moment. Even though Liyue had claimed the ultimate victory, the other nations were completely thrilled by the display. This match had been spectacular; every single high-level play was something they would be analyzing over and over again.

Ryen didn’t pay much attention to the commotion outside. Once Zhongli and the others returned on their dragons, the group teleported back to the courtyard villa.

Sitting in the main hall, Ryen looked at Zhongli with a wide grin. ”Congratulations to you guys. This Bed Wars kickoff went perfectly, and your execution was incredibly clean. Especially that final ’god descending from the heavens’ play with Xiao.”

”But given that you could have easily broken Mondstadt’s bed yourself, using a move like that means you’ve exposed one of your trump cards early. You’re going to be heavily targeted in the finals, you know.”

Zhongli shook his head with a light laugh. ”It matters not. Since it was an exhibition match, it was only natural that the conclusion should be spectacular. As for the tactics... it is well if the others learn from them; it will only make the future matches more engaging. Furthermore, how can you be certain that this was the extent of our trump cards?”

Ryen burst into laughter and spoke softly: ”You all heard him, right? This guy is still sitting on a hoard of trump cards. Keep a close eye on him from now on.”

The room erupted into laughter, though everyone privately raised their guard against Liyue. Liyue already possessed an overwhelming number of powerhouses, making a victory through numbers incredibly difficult in the final championship. And worse yet, Liyue had Zhongli... Everyone had witnessed his performance in the final clash. He was absolutely unstoppable; suppressing an entire nation single-handedly looked effortless to him. Realistically speaking, the highest probability of victory still remained firmly in Liyue’s grasp. They had to figure out a way to keep him in check.

But truth be told, looking around the room, if they relied purely on martial skill, throwing everyone together probably wouldn’t be enough to scratch him. Only a combined effort from Ei and the Shogun might manage to stall him for a brief window. It was going to be a massive headache.

”Zhongli! When are you going to find some time to give me some martial arts pointers!” Childe, completely unbothered by the big picture, leaned in with a face full of burning enthusiasm. ”Look, I’ve handsomely reimbursed quite a few of your bills over the months. Since you’ve already lectured Diluc and the others, guiding me a bit along the way is only natural!”

Hearing this, the others perked up as well. They weren’t like Ryen; they cared immensely about the martial path. A boost from martial arts offered a massive enhancement to their overall combat effectiveness.

Zhongli took a sip of his tea and spoke calmly: ”True martial arts cannot be taught. I merely laid bare the fundamental essence of the path. The remaining road is one you must walk yourselves; otherwise, if you follow my path completely, you will never reach my depth. The essence of the martial path has already been given to you: Momentum, Intent, and Dao. Proceed step-by-step.”

”Suppress the enemy with Momentum, supplant heaven with Intent, and stabilize the world with Dao. Everyone’s Momentum is unique to them; how can it be taught? Would that not be misleading the younger generation?”

Saying this, Zhongli turned his gaze toward Diluc and his companions. ”You should be well aware that during our clash just now, the Momentum you each realized possessed its own distinct qualities.”

Diluc gave a firm nod.

Childe wasn’t discouraged in the slightest. He countered: ”You shouldn’t put it like that! While personal realization is indeed the path to progress, having a powerhouse to spar with accelerates that growth immensely. You fought them for just a brief moment, and they immediately grasped the Momentum. Meanwhile, I had to toil desperately down in the Abyss and risk my life across Teyvat just to barely scratch the surface of it. You fully unlocked it for them in a single battle, can you blame me for feeling a bit of an existential crisis here!”

Diluc’s face darkened slightly, though a wave of realization washed over him. No wonder during his previous pure martial duels with Childe, he always felt that Childe’s attacks were uniquely suffocating. Strikes that were clearly right before his eyes, visible and tangible, were somehow impossible to dodge. It turned out this guy had mastered the Momentum long ago. Every time Diluc asked him about it, Childe would vaguely change the subject; Diluc had assumed it was just a quirk unique to Childe’s specific style.

Casting a sideways glance at Childe, Diluc didn’t hold it against him. It wasn’t a malicious hoarding of secrets; if Diluc had discovered something through life-and-death struggle, he wouldn’t easily hand it out either. Giving away a truth you bled for that easily? It would be an absolute loss. Diluc was in a great mood; though they had lost the match today, his martial path had reached a higher tier. It was a massive win.

”The three of them possess exceptional natural talent. It was simply that they hadn’t experienced as many perilous battles as you have,” Zhongli said, shaking his head. ”They were already standing directly before the gates; a tiny nudge was all it took to clear the threshold. It wasn’t difficult.”

”Your mastery of Momentum is indeed at its peak, but you are still a long way from reaching the True Intent of Martial Arts. Currently, the only ones who have reached the level of Martial Intent are Beizhebubu, the Raiden Shogun, Xiao, Yixiao, Bosacius, and Ping’er. Even Moon Carver and the other Adepti aren’t necessarily much stronger than you in pure martial finesse. Within Teyvat, you are already considered a supreme master of the martial arts.”

Childe curled his lip. ”What about Azhdaha then? Isn’t his strength comparable to yours?”

Hearing this, Zhongli turned his head to look at Azhdaha. The massive man into whom the dragon had manifested offered a thoroughly innocent, booming grin.

Zhongli shook his head helplessly. ”He hasn’t even grasped the concept of Momentum...”

”???”

Seeing the bewildered expressions on everyone’s faces, Zhongli explained with a sigh: ”Azhdaha and Ryen belong to the exact same archetype of combatant. They rely solely on brute force to override everything. As long as he stands upon the earth, Azhdaha’s raw power far exceeds my own. Furthermore, as a creature born of the elemental ley lines and the embodiment of the mountains, he cannot learn the martial arts.”

Azhdaha laughed proudly. He didn’t feel that his lack of martial arts was embarrassing in the slightest. Just look at Ryen. The truly terrifying powerhouses were all about using raw force to crush everything! Clearly, he, Azhdaha, belonged to the tier of true powerhouses!

”I don’t care about all that!” Childe pouted, crossing his arms firmly. ”I’ll put up five hundred million Mora. Fight me!”

”It is not a question of Mora...”

”One billion!”

”...Pick a time.”

Watching the whiplash-inducing shift in Zhongli’s tone, the crowd felt their emotions enter a thoroughly complex state. It was genuinely difficult to connect this version of Zhongli with the terrifying Martial God who had just suppressed the heavens in the arena.

Childe offered a triumphant grin before turning his head toward the Tsaritsa. ”Your Majesty...”

The Tsaritsa let out a thoroughly helpless sigh. ”Find a way to pull it from the Northland Bank’s accounts.”

Childe’s smile widened. ”My deepest thanks, Your Majesty!”

The Tsaritsa had no intention of stopping Childe from learning from Zhongli. In this world, elemental and divine powers were heavily restricted. Unless one possessed a force like Ryen’s, everything came down to pure technique. If Childe could learn more and make progress, it would only give Snezhnaya a greater advantage in the upcoming championship.

Seeing Childe successfully secure a duel with Zhongli using Mora, Ei’s heart instantly fluttered. She turned a face full of burning anticipation toward Makoto.

”Sister...”

Makoto’s heart skipped a beat as she met Ei’s longing gaze. She understood immediately: Inazuma’s treasury was about to take a massive hit.