But after a few moments, the struggles ceased.
The monstrous Lucas gulped loudly.
To the horrified spectators, it looked as if he had actually devoured her alive.
And at that moment, Bi Yan's HP dropped to zero.
The duel officially ended.
Instantly, the virtual battlefield dissolved into nothingness, as the simulation from both players' Seven Saints Discs vanished.
Of course, Bi Yan hadn't actually been eaten.
Lying on the ground was the red-haired woman, her eyes closed, seemingly unconscious.
As the duel came to an end, the surrounding crowd hesitantly approached to get a closer look.
Among them was Bai Ye, who had come to the tournament alongside Bi Yan. She stepped forward and carefully examined Bi Yan, only relaxing once she confirmed that Bi Yan was not in any real danger.
"It seems that this duel was a bit too much for our dear Miss Bi," Lucas approached with a grin. "Are all you divine beast descendants this fragile?"
Unlike the hot-tempered Bi Yan, Bai Ye was far more composed. Throughout the entire duel, she had remained hidden, silently observing every moment.
As a descendant of the Bai Ze, Bai Ye possessed an innate ability to recognize all kinds of exotic beasts. Though she wasn't sure whether Lucas had transformed himself or merely summoned that monstrous creature, she had recognized its identity—it was none other than the fearsome Gluttony.
"Bi Yan was reckless. She only lost because of your underhanded tricks," Bai Ye said coolly. "That said, I have to admit, you're more capable than I expected. To think that you could control a beast as fearsome as the Gluttony so effortlessly."
So, even Bai Ye assumed the Gluttony was simply a creature summoned by Lucas.
"No need for more small talk," Lucas stretched out his hand toward her. "Since she's unconscious, I'll trouble you to hand over the wager for her."
Bai Ye frowned slightly. "Why don't you take it yourself?"
Lucas replied with a perfectly serious expression, "Miss Bi is a beautiful, innocent young lady. If I were to touch her here and there while retrieving my winnings, wouldn't that be improper?"
For a brief moment, Bai Ye was caught off guard. She had never expected this shameless trickster who deceived Ganyu and cheated Bi Yan out of victory to have such a gentlemanly side.
However, Lucas then continued, "If she woke up and falsely accused me, insisting that I had taken responsibility and must marry her, wouldn't that be an even bigger loss for me?"
Bai Ye's brief moment of admiration immediately soured. Yep, he's still a scoundrel.
With an irritated frown, she retrieved two Mora Tokens from Bi Yan's belongings and handed them to Lucas. "Which card do you want from her deck?"
"Forced Bloodline Awakening," Lucas answered without hesitation.
Bai Ye couldn't help but feel puzzled. Forced Bloodline Awakening was a decent card, but its applicability was quite limited. More importantly, Bi Yan had much rarer and stronger cards in her deck—especially Phoenix Wing Ascension, a core card for many Pyro-based decks that countless duelists would kill to obtain.
Nevertheless, Bai Ye pulled the Forced Bloodline Awakening card from Bi Yan's deck and handed it to Lucas. "Don't get too cocky. This round of the tournament is only just beginning."
Taking the bet winnings, Lucas casually remarked, "Honestly, I'm really curious—do you people hate me this much? To the point that you'd rather fight to the death than let Ganyu marry me?"
"You don't understand anything," Bai Ye replied calmly. "Tell me—what do you think of Bi Yan's strength?"
"The Bifang bloodline is impressive," Lucas admitted. "But ultimately, she's just stronger than an average human. I know plenty of Pyro Vision wielders whose strength isn't below hers."
For example, Diluc, the owner of Dawn Winery and his sworn brother, wouldn't necessarily lose to her.
"It wasn't always like this," Bai Ye sighed. "In the past, Bi Yan's father, grandfather, and ancestors were all exceptionally talented and incredibly powerful. But with each passing generation, as their bloodline became increasingly diluted, their strength weakened."
This wasn't just a problem for the Bifang lineage—it was an issue for all of Liyue's mixed-blooded immortal beast descendants.
Bai Ye gave Lucas a pointed look. "If Ganyu were to marry one of us, her bloodline's advantages could be preserved for future generations. She is the hope for the revival of all half-immortal bloodlines in Liyue. How could we allow her lineage to be 'tainted' by human blood?"
"First of all," Lucas's voice turned cold, "Ganyu is not some kind of breeding machine."
"Secondly, as mixed-blood descendants, I'm sure that somewhere in your family lineage, your parents or grandparents were human, weren't they? Using the word 'tainted' seems rather inappropriate. The human bloodline is not necessarily inferior to that of immortal beasts."
Bai Ye's expression remained unchanged. She cradled the unconscious Bi Yan in her arms and said, "Different perspectives lead to different conclusions. But I'll give you a warning."
Lucas smirked. "I'm all ears."
"If you stay with Ganyu, your enemy won't just be me or Bi Yan," Bai Ye said, turning away. "It will be the entire community of mixed-blood immortal descendants in Liyue."
"Ganyu possesses the purest immortal bloodline, and they will never allow a mere human to 'stain' it," she continued. "Tell me—don't you find it strange that, in Liyue's thousands of years of history, not a single person has ever pursued Ganyu?"
Bai Ye didn't elaborate further.
But Lucas understood exactly what she was implying.
It wasn't that no one had ever pursued Ganyu.
It was just that… every single one of them had been "dealt with" by these half-immortal clans.
Whether that meant warnings, threats, or outright elimination… was unclear.
Ganyu wasn't the only half-immortal in Liyue. Even Yanfei was a mixed-blood descendant—her father was a purebred Xiezhi.
However, not all immortal beasts were considered equal. The Qilin were at the top of the hierarchy, revered among the immortal clans.
If a family could claim Ganyu as their own, they wouldn't just revive their bloodline—they would also secure dominance over all other immortal beast descendants in Liyue.
"So what you're saying is…" Lucas grinned mischievously. "I'd better hurry up and have five, six, seven, or even eight kids with Ganyu."
"I wonder what kind of faces they'll make when that happens?" he chuckled.
Bai Ye shook her head wordlessly and walked away with Bi Yan in her arms.
For the first time, Lucas realized that he might have stirred up a serious problem.
"Hey!"
Just then, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
"Do you feel… strange anywhere?"
Lucas turned to see Shenhe, her brows furrowed as she scrutinized him.
He laughed. "Why would I? My body feels just fine."
"Idiot," Shenhe snapped, her frown deepening. "You just… ate something really weird."
She clearly hadn't forgotten the events in the simulator—Lucas had once been the child of a Gluttony.
Which meant that she also knew the truth—the monstrous Gluttony from earlier wasn't some summoned creature.
It was Lucas himself.
"Huh?"