Chapter 46 Departure

"Hey, big brother, how strong are you? Are you even stronger than the strongest forest ranger in Avidya Forest?!"

Lin Feng: "......"

Faced with this completely unexpected question, Lin Feng was momentarily at a loss for how to reply.

Ultimately, taking Tighnari's reputation into consideration, Lin Feng merely chuckled and said with a somewhat embarrassed expression:

"Oh, please, how could I ever compare to Tighnari?"

"This little strength of mine is at most enough to deal with a few Hilichurls, barely sufficient for self-defense."

As expected, upon hearing Lin Feng's reply, Franchi's face displayed a look of absolute certainty—just as I thought, our Avidya Forest rangers are so amazing! Even though the big brother in front of us is also very strong, he could never possibly be a match for Lord Tighnari.

"Lin Feng, stop pulling the wool over a child's eyes. Excessive modesty is terribly impolite to your audience, you know."

Nasreen glanced speechlessly at the young man before her and said with utmost seriousness:

"Although I'm not entirely sure who is stronger between you and Senior Tighnari, your strength has been unanimously recognized by all of us rangers! Calling yourself that weak makes us Avidya Forest rangers sound utterly incompetent!"

Seeing Nasreen's puffed-up cheeks, which vaguely reminded Lin Feng of a hamster, he made the rare decision to be completely honest:

"Alright, alright, don't be mad. Since you put it that way, I'll secretly tell you my true level, but remember not to spread it."

Nasreen and Franchi's eyes filled with anticipation—

"—Actually, just a couple of days ago, I became a deity just like Lesser Lord Kusanali!" the young man declared with a proud expression.

Nasreen: "......"

Her younger brother: "......"

—See? Even when I tell the truth, nobody believes me.

......

After the farcical episode, Nasreen insisted on paying for Lin Feng's meal as a reward for introducing her to such a divine establishment. Unable to refuse, Lin Feng could only accept her kind gesture.

Thinking of the Adventurers' Guild and its mortality rate—which practically made them premium clients of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—

As a token of gratitude for the meal, Lin Feng left an imperceptible trace of power within both of them.

It wasn't particularly useful, just a protective barrier that would activate for half an hour should they encounter danger. Generally speaking, it would be enough for them to escape from perilous situations.

After finishing the meal, preparing the desserts to bring to Lesser Lord Kusanali, and purchasing a pile of travel-friendly food,

he called back Little White, who had been off playing somewhere, and bought an extremely large amount of non-perishable provisions to serve as snacks for the little fellow.

Although he lamented that his mora was not quite stretching far enough, before setting off for Vanarana, Lin Feng still made every preparation possible to enhance his quality of life.

......

Standing on the path to Avidya Forest for the third time, Lin Feng's mindset carried a subtle difference.

—The first time, he had followed Farbod through the damp and treacherous rainforest, arriving in Avidya Forest for the very first time.

Back then, the feeling had been the joy and relief of finally escaping alive and returning to civilization.

—The second time, after staying in Avidya Forest for a few months, he had embarked on a journey to Vanarana at the behest of Lesser Lord Kusanali.

At that time, the feelings were the reluctance of parting ways, alongside the freedom and ease of plunging into the vast open world.

—The third time, which was right now, after enduring the initial trembling apprehension and the helpless encounters with the Withering zones along the way,

having finally acquired the strength sufficient to resolve everything, Lin Feng's heart was filled with the boundless freedom and peace of mind that came from knowing the world was vast enough to go anywhere.

Much like owning a luxury car can cure most people's inferiority complexes,

possessing power capable of rivaling the gods was naturally an exceptional remedy for a lack of a sense of security.

With the thought that once he resolved the Withering avatar on this trip, he could finally take a stroll through Sumeru City—having never visited a major metropolis since his transmigration—Lin Feng felt a faint, inexplicable sense of anticipation.

......

During their conversation just moments earlier, right before parting ways, Nasreen had nervously mentioned a strange person she had encountered while on patrol.

—That individual wore a bird-beaked mask and merely glanced at her as they passed each other by, yet it filled her with a sense of danger as though she were being targeted by a wild beast.

In her innocence, Nasreen simply assumed the person was a dangerous criminal and advised Lin Feng to stay far away should he ever run into them.

However, after asking for the specific clothing details, Lin Feng reluctantly confirmed the person's identity—the Fatui Harbinger, Second of the Fatui, "The Dottore".

Although he had long anticipated the collaboration between Dottore and the Akademiya from the storyline,

it was clear that the sages' god-creation project was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but something long since colluded upon with the Fatui.

Foreseeing that his upcoming trip to Sumeru City wouldn't be entirely smooth sailing, Lin Feng pulled his thoughts away from Dottore and dutifully made his way through the rainforest.

......

Although he had already mastered short-range ley line teleportation, this ability was much like Flash in a MOBA game—very convenient for quickly crossing obstacles over short distances, but not terribly practical for long-distance travel.

Thinking carefully, even the Seven Archods in the game did not all possess the divine skill of map-wide teleportation.

Some deities and adepti still had to travel on foot, and somehow they weren't even as carefree as Aramuhukunda.

Unfortunately, this was tied to the racial traits of the Aranara, something Lin Feng could not learn just yet.

—I should find Xiao sometime and see if I can learn Lemniscatic Wind Cycling.

As this alternative option crossed his mind, Lin Feng quickly shifted his sights toward the Yaksha.

Bypassing the main roads meant Lin Feng had no need to conceal his abnormal speed.

Coupled with his newfound short-range ley line teleportation, the supreme truth Lin Feng always believed in—"the shortest distance between two points is a straight line"—was fully put into practice.

Lin Feng intended to set out from the wetlands northwest of Avidya Forest, skirt around Devantaka Mountain to the east, cross the Pardis Dhyai and Avidya Forest regions directly toward the Aaru and Vissudha areas, and plow straight through mountains and rivers alike until he reached his final destination of Vanarana.

Having mastered teleportation and able to ignore the vast majority of obstacles, Lin Feng practically turned into a flash of lightning within the forest.

And for someone wielding the authority over plants and vegetation, the rainforest was undoubtedly his home turf.

Even without intentionally exercising that power, the ley lines within the rainforest behaved as though possessed of their own consciousness, proactively providing convenience for their master.

Under this inexplicable influence, not only would the animals in the forest consciously step aside, but even the wind resistance during his advance became negligible.

Despite traveling forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye, the gentle breeze blowing against his face made Lin Feng feel as though he were merely taking a leisurely stroll through the woods.

Noticing this defying spectacle of nature, Lin Feng couldn't help but sigh; true to Teyvat's reputation for having its own unique rules, the bizarre phenomena generated by ley line anomalies were truly numerous.

Reducing wind resistance like this was probably nothing more than an ordinary Anemo-related buff in the game.

Yet with the accumulation of various favorable factors, even though Lin Feng had chosen a path that was practically impossible,

by virtue of brute force and sheer dominance, he genuinely managed to carve a straight line right through the rugged mountains and ridges.

The vast majority of rainforest creatures couldn't even perceive Lin Feng as he passed by.

Only a handful of creatures born with exceptionally sharp five senses could faintly sense a large, dark blur flashing past them.

Ignoring those little lives that were left feeling paranoid in his wake,

Lin Feng estimated that without actively employing his power, it would still only take him a few hours to traverse a good half of the Sumeru rainforest.

Having let loose a little during his rapid advance, he remained entirely oblivious to the fact that his mischievous nature had also been proportionally amplified along with his newfound strength.

Casually plucking a tail feather from a chattering Dusk Bird as he rushed past, and playfully pinching the heads of passing Slimes and Fungi,

leaving chaos in his wake, Lin Feng had never felt the beauty of power quite as clearly as he did right now.