Hearing this, Tartaglia's face went pale with shock.
"A punch? With Mr. Ryen's strength—a punch?"
"Is Sumeru… still standing?"
Tartaglia never expected such explosive news.
Just yesterday, he had witnessed with his own eyes Ryen part the skies of Teyvat with sheer force. With that kind of power, never mind punching the Akademiya—even if he gave the whole nation of Sumeru one punch, it would be enough to obliterate everything.
Ningguang shook her head.
"Ryen knew how to hold back. After all, that place is still Nahida's home."
"He restrained his power and only struck where the Grand Sage was."
"According to Ryen, the Grand Sage was protected by a Gnosis and managed to escape."
Rosalyne froze for a moment, surprised.
"Nahida's Gnosis? The Grand Sage took it?"
She had always assumed the Gnosis was with Nahida.
But neither the Cryo Archon nor Rosalyne had ever considered asking Nahida for it. Compared to the near-impossible "Gnosis plan," this strange and unpredictable world was what they truly needed to pay attention to.
Totems of Undying, the Twilight Forest… all of this had appeared in such a short time.
This was the real treasure for resisting Celestia. And they knew it well.
Just look at how much Ryen dotes on Nahida—it was obvious.
If you offended Ryen himself, maybe he wouldn't care much. At worst, Liyue and Mondstadt would demand answers.
But if you provoked Klee, Nahida, or even Paimon…
That was when disaster would truly strike.
Ryen would never care who you were. In the next instant, he'd punch you straight into the ground.
And no god or ghost could save you. Even if you hid in the Abyss, he'd drag you out and beat you to death.
Just think about that Abyss Lector yesterday—wasn't he forcibly dragged out of the Abyss by Ryen punching through space, only to be crushed to death in an instant?
As for Nahida's Gnosis, they had never even considered taking it.
The Cryo Archon didn't care for such things anymore.
She would even return the Anemo and Geo Gnoses if Zhongli and Venti asked.
But neither of them had ever brought it up.
It was clear—they didn't want those things at all.
Of course, both were immensely powerful, not needing the Gnosis' blessing. But Nahida had only been born five hundred years ago.
The power of a Gnosis was still quite important to her.
And yet the Grand Sage had taken it?
If that man wasn't tortured to death, it would mean in his past life he must have saved all of Teyvat.
"Is the Grand Sage dead?"
Tartaglia asked curiously.
Ningguang gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
"No, but death would've been better…"
"Ryen destroyed all his experiments, then left a few zombies behind—infecting him with the zombie virus."
"According to our intel, the Grand Sage is now a rational, man-eating monster."
"For him, it's like grinding his dignity into dust."
"Ryen once said, people like him aren't afraid of death. To him, death isn't worth caring about, so…"
"Ryen will make him complete his experiment, and then let the person he looks down on the most shatter all of his research results."
"He'll trample his dignity and the wisdom he prided himself on into the mud, and then force him to live forever as a monster, surviving in ugliness."
"From a great sage revered by all, he'll become a creature everyone despises, everyone curses, paraded through the streets every day like a prisoner."
Tartaglia swallowed hard, stealing a glance at Ryen, who was tenderly doting on Klee and Nahida in front of them.
He never expected that the Ryen, who always looked as if he cared about nothing, when ruthless—was far more terrifying than anyone he had ever seen.
Killing a man was just a single blow, no more than a burial. Even the brutal Doctor, at most, conducted human experiments that ended in death.
But Ryen…
He crushed people's pride, destroyed their dreams, cast down an undead curse like that of a zombie.
And then strung them up day after day, so millions could spit on them.
Just imagining that feeling—it was truly worse than death.
Indeed, no matter what, one should never provoke those little girls around him…
"This is what he deserves."
Rosalyne shook her head. She wasn't bothered by it.
Although it sounded cruel, when she thought of the treachery that so-called Great Sage had committed, everything seemed acceptable.
"By the way, regarding Sumeru's situation, you should at least be aware of some things."
Ningguang suddenly added softly:
"Your former colleague—the Doctor—was actually the most crucial piece of the God-Creation Plan."
"The Doctor?!"
They truly hadn't known this. Shock appeared on their faces as they looked at Ningguang.
Moments later, Rosalyne snapped irritably:
"That damned thing! I knew that bastard never had any loyalty to Her Majesty!"
"To dare commit something that tramples on the dignity of the Seven Archons—I'll report this to the Tsaritsa!"
Tartaglia sighed helplessly and said:
"Save your breath… The Doctor is working closely with the Jester. The two are extremely powerful, and they hold sway over the vast majority of the Fatui's forces."
"For the time being, it's almost impossible to deal with them. Even if you tell Her Majesty, it would only bring her more worries."
Hearing this, Rosalyne fell silent for a moment, a trace of melancholy in her eyes.
"…For now, let's focus on this world instead. There will always be a chance for things to turn around."
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