This space station really was a gathering place for monsters among monsters.
First the Raiden Shogun, then the Dendro Archon of Sumeru.
And above them all—Su Ran, plus that puppet girl who existed on the same tier as him.
All of them were beings who surpassed the Seven Gods.
Just this single place alone already eclipsed everything Keqing had ever seen before.
"So… his relationship with the Lesser Lord Kusanali is that good too?"
Keqing's heart was filled with shock.
Whether it was Inazuma's Electro Archon, Snezhnaya's Cryo Archon, or Sumeru's Dendro Archon—
They all seemed to have fairly good relationships with Su Ran.
Only their own Geo Archon had been tied up by him.
"Good relationship? Not really," Ningguang replied calmly.
"The Lesser Lord Kusanali is simply being detained here."
Ningguang had already learned about Nahida's circumstances.
How could she possibly think the Dendro Archon had a good relationship with Su Ran?
That misunderstanding only existed because Keqing didn't know the full story yet.
"Why? Did the Dendro Archon offend him too?"
Everyone else was desperate to come here.
But the Lesser Lord Kusanali had been locked up instead?
What had she done wrong?
Or was it because she looked cute, so Su Ran decided to imprison her?
"Because she was an intruder."
If not for the fact that the Lesser Lord Kusanali had trespassed into this place, Ningguang couldn't imagine seeing Sumeru's Archon here at all.
Sumeru's Akasha Terminal was indeed powerful.
But precisely because of it, dealing with Sumeru was extremely troublesome.
Their scholars valued knowledge far more than profit.
That led to a simple result—
Ningguang wanted to open markets in Sumeru, but Sumeru's hard currency was knowledge, and the knowledge she held couldn't compete with the Akasha.
Doing business in Sumeru was actually worse than doing business in Inazuma.
At least Inazumans, no matter how rigid, could still clearly judge gains and losses with the Akasha's help.
But times had changed.
Sumeru's market was no longer something Ningguang needed.
In fact, business within Teyvat itself was no longer her focus.
She had already set her sights on doing business across the universe.
She lacked experience—but she had a reliable backer.
"But this is beyond the skies, isn't it?" Keqing frowned.
"How did the Lesser Lord Kusanali intrude? How did she even find this place?"
If it were on Teyvat, intrusion would make sense.
But this was beyond the firmament.
How could the Dendro Archon possibly discover it?
Wasn't the sky sealed, such that even the Seven Gods couldn't peer beyond it?
Keqing had every reason to suspect Ningguang was lying.
And given how advanced this place was— how could anyone just barge in?
"Because Su Ran invaded Sumeru's Akasha and opened a channel.
That's how the Lesser Lord Kusanali found an opportunity."
Thinking about how the Akasha—once a massive headache for her—was now casually controlled by her superior,
Ningguang couldn't help feeling a quiet sense of satisfaction.
No matter how highly they thought of themselves, weren't they still completely suppressed by the space station?
The Akasha?
Here, it wasn't even worth mentioning.
"Oh! So you were the ones who provoked the Lesser Lord Kusanali first?"
Hu Tao finally understood what was going on.
"Aren't you afraid of causing a diplomatic incident?" Keqing asked.
She shared the same concern Ningguang once had.
After all, this involved gods.
Back when Keqing learned that the Geo Archon had been imprisoned, she had almost fought Su Ran on the spot.
Even the adepti had nearly lost control.
If Su Ran hadn't been overwhelmingly strong—
Liyue, Inazuma, and Snezhnaya would've ended up in an extremely dire situation.
Thankfully, Su Ran's fist was strong enough.
And with Ningguang acting as mediator, the matter remained confined to the upper echelons.
Otherwise, things would've exploded.
"If you knew the Lesser Lord Kusanali's situation—and her way of thinking—you wouldn't be worried," Ningguang said.
"Then tell us," Keqing urged.
Even with beings beyond gods right in front of her,
Keqing was still curious about the stories of the Seven.
"She's probably the least visible of all the Seven Gods…"
Ningguang sighed, rubbing her temples.
She explained how the people of Sumeru had treated their Dendro Archon.
The moment Keqing and Hu Tao heard it, they were furious on Nahida's behalf.
"This is… too much!
That's a god! Their own god!
Don't they have even the bare minimum of respect for a deity?!"
Keqing was livid.
A god—who looked no more than a child—
Imprisoned in a cage like a bird, for five hundred years.
Five hundred years from birth until now.
Those sages were utterly inhuman.
Hu Tao agreed wholeheartedly.
But she also felt something was… off.
After all, thinking back to last year's Rite of Descension, Keqing herself hadn't exactly shown much reverence toward the Geo Archon either.
She had even questioned whether it was reasonable for him to continue governing Liyue.
Compared to Sumeru's sages, Keqing was far better—
But hearing such words from her still felt a bit strange.
"But a god who isn't firm enough truly isn't suitable to rule a nation," Ningguang said calmly.
Though she believed the sages had gone too far,
She also didn't think Nahida possessed the ability to govern a country.
She was too soft.
Unlike Keqing and Hu Tao, Ningguang had seen more and lived through more.
She could sympathize with Nahida—
But she wouldn't acknowledge her capability.
Sumeru might not be as prosperous as Liyue,
But over five hundred years, it had proven one thing:
Even without a god, its people could still survive.
Yes, there was darkness—
But it also proved that in an age of peace, gods were not strictly necessary.
And now that the Geo Archon no longer ruled Liyue,
Humanity was beginning to take governance into its own hands.
"Doesn't this prove something else as well?" Ningguang continued.
"Without gods, humans can still live on.
Isn't that exactly what you wanted to see, Keqing?"
Keqing nodded slowly.
Ningguang wasn't wrong.
If godless Sumeru could survive—
Then Liyue had no reason to lose to them.
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