Faced with the mighty Shouki no Kami, Nahida could only keep dodging. Now that Shouki no Kami had entered its complete form, its attacks were even more ferocious.
It also had a great many moves, each with an awkwardly long name.
Nether Thunder-Grinding Seal, for instance, was a strike with a cube condensed from Electro energy. Wind-Fury Dragon-Roar Water-Howl fused Anemo and Hydro into a waterspout. Path of Chasm-Ice Chisel was Shouki no Kami charging forward, leaving a trail of attacks infused with both Cryo and Pyro.
Shouki no Kami had plenty more attacks like those. By comparison, Lesser Lord Kusanali looked helpless and weak.
All she had with her was a Traveler and a green flying thing whose purpose was anyone's guess.
The people of Douluo Continent had been drawn into the scenes on the Sky Screen. A war between gods was something they had never seen before.
They were all worried about Lesser Lord Kusanali, too. Watching the Sky Screen, Scaramouche could only offer a bitter smile.
He had gone through 168 loops without noticing a thing. That alone was enough to show the gap between him and Nahida.
None of the Seven Archons who sat upon their thrones was ordinary. The two old fogies, the Anemo and Geo Archons, were especially good at keeping their cards close to their chests. Thinking about it, when it came to smarts, Raiden Ei seemed like the weakest of the Seven.
She'd been kept in the dark by the Tri-Commission, and her Vision Hunt Decree had made the people furious. She'd also turned a blind eye to the Fatui's schemes. She was hardly a competent god.
At that thought, Scaramouche laughed again. He'd held the divine throne for only a short time, but he considered himself better at the job than Raiden Ei. That was enough for him.
On the Sky Screen, a beam of Electro energy blasted the Traveler away. Shouki no Kami brought its palm down on Lesser Lord Kusanali.
Many people's hearts clenched for Nahida. The next moment, Shouki no Kami lifted her up and held her in front of it, like a badminton shuttlecock.
"This was supposed to be a battle between gods, yet you hid behind a mortal. Now you've come out to put on this pathetic show of defending mortals. You really are a god who loves to make herself feel noble, Buer."
After saying this, Scaramouche reached into the Balladeer's chest and tore out his heart.
Many people couldn't bear to watch and shut their eyes. Others were convinced Lesser Lord Kusanali couldn't really be that weak, so they stared intently at the Sky Screen, waiting to see if there would be a reversal.
"Do you know how many times you've tried to take my Gnosis?"
Green light shimmered around Nahida, and a green diamond-shaped barrier appeared around her.
Scaramouche looked just as incredulous. He had thought he was in control of everything, yet he hadn't seen through Nahida's plan at all.
"The data collection is complete. This was the 168th time—the number of times the Akademiya trapped Sumeru's people in the Sabzeruz Festival loop to create you, a false god."
Crack! The scene on the Sky Screen shattered completely, then rewound to the moment Nahida and the others first encountered Shouki no Kami.
Most of the people watching across Heaven Dou Continent were baffled. They had no idea what had just happened.
At Canghui Academy, a teacher named Shi Nian was practically trembling with excitement.
"Dreams! This must be the power of dreams! I had no idea it was so incredible! Akademiya, Lesser Lord Kusanali, I, Shi Nian, am willing to become your most devoted follower!"
Nahida had no idea that the scene playing on the Sky Screen had earned her another devout follower.
On the Sky Screen, Shouki no Kami finally reacted.
"The power of dreams? When did you—could it be...?"
The scene rewound. Nahida had used Dendro energy, then been forced back by the burst of Electro energy from Shouki no Kami. The power of dreams had begun at that very moment.
In other words, everything since then had been a looping dream controlled by Nahida. It had looped 168 times, corresponding to the 168 Sabzeruz Festival loops.
Powerful figures from Douluo Continent, like Bo Saixi and Qian Daoliu, immediately understood how terrifying this dream authority was.
Even a god could be dragged into a dream loop in an instant. They, these so-called Titled Douluo, could be trapped in one and never know what killed them.
At the Akademiya's central campus and Lake of Life, Di Tian had the most to say on the matter. Nahida's dream authority had beaten him into submission.
Now, when Di Tian thought back to those endless dream loops, he still felt a chill crawl down his spine.
On the Sky Screen, though Nahida had led it around in circles with her dream loops, Shouki no Kami still refused to admit defeat.
"You couldn't beat me even in your dreams. What's the point of these little tricks?"
Nahida didn't waste any more words. Instead, she passed the Traveler the combat experience from all 168 dream loops.
"Using a god's name to gather the wisdom of the people—that was the Akasha's original purpose. I've sent the combat experience through the Akasha to the people of Sumeru. They'll find a way for you to defeat this false god."
"Now, Sumeru's wisdom is at your service!"
"Go forth, my first sage, Buer!"
The Sky Screen flashed through scenes of Nilou, Tighnari, Alhaitham, Collei, Cyno, and countless ordinary scholars from the Akademiya.
At last, the scene returned to Shouki no Kami.
Armed with the combat experience from 168 dream loops and the combined wisdom of Sumeru's people, the Traveler once again faced Shouki no Kami.
Shouki no Kami's attack patterns hadn't changed, but with the combat experience from 168 dream loops, the Traveler could easily dodge every attack.
While evading Shouki no Kami, the Traveler skillfully attacked with Anemo, Electro, Geo, and Dendro.
The little flying thing Nahida had created to follow the Traveler also gathered scattered elemental energy to charge itself.
Once fully charged, the flying thing unfolded a Four-Leaf Sigil and unleashed a powerful attack on Shouki no Kami.
Shouki no Kami roared when the blow struck, then began charging a finishing move.
"Instant Destruction: Arrival!"
A gigantic sphere of Electro energy appeared, and it kept gathering power.
The Traveler quickly destroyed the mechanical constructs surrounding Shouki no Kami, letting the flying thing beside them gather enough elemental energy.
Once it was fully charged, the little thing unfolded a Four-Leaf Sigil and unleashed another powerful strike. It interrupted Shouki no Kami's ultimate move and temporarily paralyzed it.
"How... can this be...?"
The Traveler seized the chance and rushed in, unleashing every attack they had on Shouki no Kami's core. At last, they completely paralyzed it.
Dendro energy shimmered around Nahida as she flew up to the utterly disabled Shouki no Kami. She shattered the casing around its core and reached for the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis inside.
Seeing Nahida about to take the Gnosis, Scaramouche could no longer maintain the so-called dignity of a god. Panic took hold of him.
"No! No! Anything but the Gnosis..."
But by then, he was already defeated. Nahida finally removed the Gnosis from Shouki no Kami.
Before you continue