Chapter 34: Do You Dare Take a Blow From Me?
Tn: This chapter is re-written at 5 / 20 / 2025
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A crimson blur streaked through the air like a bolt of lightning, closing the distance in an instant. To many spectators, it was as if a red flash had suddenly appeared before the Raiden Shogun.
But the Shogun was even faster.
Electricity coiled once more around Musou Isshin, her blade of dreams and eternity.
Since there were no members of the Tri-Commission stationed near the sakura tree, she unleashed her strike without hesitation.
Though it was a casual swing of her sword, the sheer power behind it was something no ordinary person could hope to withstand.
The blade, crackling with thunder, effortlessly tore into the mysterious figure—cleaving his body in two.
A roaring serpent of lightning followed, slamming into the ground behind him and leaving a deep scar in the earth.
But then—
"…Huh?"
Raiden Shogun's eyes narrowed in surprise.
Even though her blade had clearly bisected her opponent, the two halves of his body began to stitch themselves back together right after the slash.
He caught the now-floating Vision mid-air, flipped backward, and landed gracefully on the ground.
The Shogun's gaze sharpened, a flicker of killing intent dancing in her thunder-lit eyes. She stared coldly at the mysterious figure now clutching the Vision in his hand.
Their clash had lasted only a moment, but to someone of her caliber, that moment was enough to notice something… odd.
Just before Musou Isshin struck, something had changed in his body.
It had been a clean cut—his torso was split apart—but there was no blood. No torn flesh. No burnt wounds from the lightning.
It wasn't that her strike had vaporized the blood or cauterized the wound.
No.
What she had sliced through… was something not even native to Teyvat.
Quantum.
=+=
Elemental Burst: [White]
Passive Effect: Attacks against non-Vision users have a 5% chance to quantumize (instant kill). Against Vision holders, there's a 5% chance to deal triple damage.
Active Effect: After charging for 2 seconds, the user becomes quantumized and teleports directly to the target. The next normal attack is a guaranteed critical hit. (45-second cooldown)
If used without charging, the user quantumizes in place, entering a brief invincibility state. (5-second cooldown)
Note: Quantumization comes with unpredictable side effects. Repeated use is not recommended.
=+=
Put simply, it was similar to Logia-type intangibility from One Piece.
Bai Luo had narrowly avoided Raiden Shogun's lethal strike by exploiting that brief moment of invincibility granted by quantumization—like a perfectly timed i-frame dodge in a game.
The Vision in his hand radiated heat, but he held onto it tightly, refusing to let go.
Truth be told, risking his life like this wasn't Bai Luo's usual style.
If the mission hadn't given him a prompt, he would've probably stayed hidden up in the trees, watching the duel unfold from a safe distance.
But everything changed the moment that young man died.
The activation condition for his second class—previously displayed only as a row of question marks—finally revealed itself:
=+=
[Second Class: Battousai (Awaiting activation)]
Activation Conditions:
1. Obtain the target's Vision.
2. Hold it for over 30 seconds.
3. Cannot use teleportation during this time.
4. Must remain within the arena.
(Note: Must be personally held—teammates cannot hold it for you.)
=+=
The "TARGET" marker that had previously hovered over the young man head had now shifted—now floating above the Vision.
If the conditions had remained unknown, Bai Luo wouldn't have taken the risk.
After all, he was usually a very cautious person.
But now? The path to success was clear. The chances weren't bad. And so—for once—he decided to go all in.
[30]
[29]
The moment he touched the Vision, a glowing red timer began counting down—just outside his field of vision, never obstructing it.
Bai Luo could feel it—some kind of foreign energy was coursing through his body.
And this power… would take exactly thirty seconds to spread through every corner of him.
"Protect the Shogun!" someone cried out.
Raiden Shogun raised her blade once more, ready to strike again—but just then, a furious shout cut through the tension.
"Glory to the Shogun and her everlasting reign!"
It was Kujou Takayuki of the Tenryou Commission.
At his command, both Tenryou soldiers and the Oniwaban shouted in unison and surged toward Bai Luo.
'Beautiful move.'
Since arriving in Inazuma, Bai Luo had never liked Kujou Takayuki.
Even though the man had always tried to curry favor with him, something about him just rubbed Bai Luo the wrong way.
But this one act?
It almost made Bai Luo think he looked… kind of handsome.
Did he recognize Bai Luo's identity?
Of course not.
He was simply inspired by Kamisato Ayato's earlier bold play.
Raiden Shogun had spent most of her recent years secluded in Tenshukaku.
Takayuki hadn't seen her step outside in years.
The first chance to stand out had already been snatched by Kamisato Ayato.
There was no way he was letting the second chance fall to someone like Hiiragi Shinsuke.
The swarm of soldiers converging on Bai Luo forced Raiden Shogun to hesitate. She now had to swing carefully, ensuring her blade's thunder wouldn't harm her own people.
This interference bought Bai Luo precious seconds—perhaps even tens of them.
"Stand down! Don't interfere with the Shogun-sama!"
From the sidelines, Kujou Sara had already drawn her bow. She was the first to realize what was happening.
The Tenryou soldiers, save for the Oniwaban, instinctively paused.
While Takayuki may have held the title of clan head, Sara, as the active general of the Tenryou Commission, clearly commanded more authority on the battlefield.
Takayuki frowned, but said nothing.
As the Tenryou soldiers wavered between obeying their clan head or their general, Bai Luo had already begun clashing with a now slightly more restrained Raiden Shogun.
Well, "clashing" might be generous.
In reality, it was Raiden Shogun dominating the fight, with Bai Luo barely surviving by dodging and using quantumization to avoid lethal hits.
If it came down to a real fight, Bai Luo could probably drag things out for a while using his skills.
But the problem was his style.
Once he started using anything beyond stealth or intangibility, his real identity would immediately be exposed.
As a Snezhnayan envoy, now was definitely not the time to start a war with Inazuma.
So Bai Luo made his choice—he would stall until the thirty seconds were up and his new class, Battousai, was unlocked.
At the same time, the Oniwaban, under orders from their officers, pulled back to a safer distance.
Kamisato Ayato, meanwhile, subtly led Kaedehara Kazuha away from the epicenter, a quiet show of coordination to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
And so, on the battered, ruined dueling ground, only two figures remained:
Raiden Shogun.
And Bai Luo—the crimson-robed stranger wearing a cat-faced mask, standing calmly at the center.
. . . . . . . . .
[25]
Raiden Shogun's combat instincts were as sharp as ever.
Even during the Archon War, she had stood at the top.
Now, in less than half a minute, she had already discerned the cooldown of Bai Luo's quantumization ability.
After forcing out his last use of it, she raised Musou Isshin again, its blade pulsing with thunder.
"Wait!"
The crackling lightning in her eyes grew ever brighter, but Bai Luo suddenly raised his voice—deliberately lowering his tone to sound serious.
Raiden's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Any last words?"
She had already unraveled his gimmick.
Even if he survived this five-second gap, she was fully confident she could slay him in the next one.
"Huff... huff..."
Bai Luo panted dramatically, clearly buying time.
As the final seconds ticked away, he reached down and grasped the broken blade that had once belonged to the fallen youth.
Then, mask facing her, he tilted his head slightly.
"Do you dare take a blow from me?"