Before Tenshukaku, the Final Battle Against the Electro Archon!

"I still don't believe the Sword Saint can beat the Raiden Shogun!"

On the Jade Chamber, Keqing stubbornly stood by her judgment.

Of course, this was mainly because she couldn't accept losing two bets in a row to Ningguang.

If that happened, she would make a complete fool of herself in Liyue, dancing in public in a cat-eared maid outfit.

Ningguang calmly replied, "There is indeed a gap between humans and gods, especially when it comes to the Raiden Shogun. Even among gods, she is one of the most powerful. But what will the final outcome be?"

"Do you really think the Sword Saint can win?"

Keqing looked at Ningguang with wide eyes. She hadn't expected her to actually imagine such an incredible outcome.

Ningguang smiled. "Keqing, have you ever considered something?"

"What?"

"How does the timeline of this A Hundred Lifetimes of Reincarnation video series progress?"

"The videos' timeline?"

Hearing Ningguang's words, Keqing froze for a moment, then instinctively began reasoning it out.

If a new reincarnation occurred after every interval of time, then the timeline of A Hundred Lifetimes of Reincarnation should progress forward. In other words, the closer it was to the present, the later it fell on the timeline...

"Wait... You mean?"

At that thought, Keqing realized something and instinctively looked at Ningguang.

Ningguang immediately smiled. "It seems you've figured it out. If the timeline of the A Hundred Lifetimes of Reincarnation series follows the real timeline, then, for the Temporal Traveler himself, the Sword Saint at this point in Inazuma's history could almost be said to be one of his last few reincarnations... And judging by the earlier videos, the Temporal Traveler can retain the memories and abilities he gains in each reincarnation to some extent."

"Y-you think the Temporal Traveler at this point in time already has the ability to fight a god?"

Keqing couldn't help dropping her jaw, trembling at the terrifying thought.

"It's only a deduction." Ningguang smiled. "After all, as the Knight of Boreas, he was already able to defeat the God of Tornadoes. And as the Asura Yaksha, he could even use the Law of Time to defeat the Yaksha God outright."

"How could I have forgotten that?!"

Keqing felt as if she'd been struck by lightning, her heart sinking to rock bottom.

She really hadn't considered that the timeline might progress in order.

She had thought that no matter how powerful the Temporal Traveler was, he could fight only ordinary gods at best. There was no way he could defeat the powerful Raiden Shogun.

But if the Temporal Traveler at this point was at the peak of his strength and abilities, with all the experience accumulated from his previous reincarnations, then perhaps he really could defeat even the mightiest Raiden Shogun?

In that case, wasn't she going to lose the bet!?

Surely she couldn't be that unlucky!

As Keqing gritted her teeth, already on the verge of despair, Ningguang gave her a radiant smile and said slowly, "There's no need to draw conclusions so early. The Temporal Traveler is powerful, but the Raiden Shogun's strength is nothing to scoff at either. Let's keep watching."

"..."

Faced with Ningguang's less-than-comforting words of comfort, Keqing could only silently swallow her complicated feelings.

Now she could only pray that the Raiden Shogun was powerful enough to crush the Temporal Traveler completely and effortlessly!

No, you have to win, Shogun!

For a moment, Keqing might have been the person in the world who most wanted the Raiden Shogun to win.

If the Raiden Shogun, currently inside Tenshukaku and surrounded by rebels on all sides, knew she had a supporter in a foreign land who believed in her so fervently, she might have found comfort and salvation in it.

In the video.

After the Sword Saint had stirred up all the people of Inazuma City to resist the Raiden Shogun and sparked a nationwide rebellion, the Shogun inside Tenshukaku could finally sit still no longer.

She had already been deeply dissatisfied with the rebel army's existence. It was only because the instructions Raiden Ei had given her in advance did not cover how to respond to an unexpected event like "rebels fighting their way into Tenshukaku."

Now that the Sword Saint had personally fought his way to Tenshukaku's gates, the Raiden Shogun could finally activate the most direct response instruction—

Kill everything that threatened Tenshukaku.

Thus, wielding a long naginata, she slowly walked out of Tenshukaku, one step at a time.

"So you've finally come out, heartless puppet." The Sword Saint showed no panic at the sight of the Raiden Shogun. Instead, he grew even more excited. "Is that brat Raiden Ei still shutting herself away? I've already fought my way to her doorstep, and she still won't come out to meet me herself?"

"Hmph. The likes of you aren't worthy of meeting her."

"That's right. Someone like me isn't worthy." The Sword Saint calmly chose to accept the Raiden Shogun's cold mockery. "But what about the people behind me? Are they not worthy of seeing their true god either? Can they only see a false puppet like you?"

"..."

"When it comes down to it, how many people in Inazuma today still truly acknowledge her as the Electro Archon, or as the Shogun? They only stand in awe of her military might and fear her strength! The moment they have a chance to resist, the people's will shall spread like a spark and set the entire nation ablaze!"

The Sword Saint's words rang out with unshakable conviction, speaking the truth of the nation of Inazuma as it stood today.

The god's authority had long since depended solely on sheer force and violence to be maintained, and the people had already lost their respect and reverence for their god.

"So what if that's true?"

If Raiden Ei had heard those words, she might have been shaken, but the Raiden Shogun was not.

She had no heart; she was merely a puppet executing a program.

She coldly watched the rebels who had reached her and slowly said, "Rule achieved through force is still rule, and eternity built on terror is still eternity. Rebels, if you retreat now, no one will be hurt. Otherwise, you will all die here!"

The Raiden Shogun's voice rang out across the scene like a thunderclap.

Many of the soldiers taking part in the rebellion were suddenly gripped by fear and panic, their legs beginning to go weak.

Amid the chaos, the Sword Saint stepped out ahead of everyone, drew the longsword at his waist, and faced the god.

"Enough posturing! Now that things have come to this, let's settle it with the weapons in our hands, you false puppet god!"

"Just what I wanted!"

The Raiden Shogun, too, seemed to have long since lost interest in meaningless words.

She decisively swung her long blade. The terrifying aura around her set the entire battlefield ablaze in an instant, and enormous dark clouds appeared in the skies over Inazuma.

Then thunder rumbled, and lightning struck ten thousand times!

[Holy crap, so this is a god!?]

[She hasn't even attacked yet, and there's already a phenomenon like this. The power of a god is beyond imagination!]

[Can a mortal really slay a god?]

[You have to win, big brother Sword Saint!]

[Don't lose, Sword Saint! Show the arrogant god what human strength can do!]

All the viewers grew excited, eager to see the final outcome of this earth-shaking battle!