At that moment—
Within the dust-filled air above them, a purple sphere of light descended.
Its shape was unclear through the smoke.
When the shockwave dispersed the dust, the figure inside finally appeared.
It was Tartaglia in his Foul Legacy form.
"How exactly does Tartaglia's brain work…"
"To actually suspect that I took the Gnosis."
Qiu Nian looked calmly at Tartaglia floating in the air, feeling somewhat speechless inside.
Ever since leaving Jueyun Karst, he had been taking the blame for things.
Now another accusation had fallen onto him again.
"You took the Gnosis, didn't you?"
"You stole it while I was fighting her!"
"Perfect coordination. You deliberately lured me into fighting the Traveler and took the Gnosis during the chaos."
"Or maybe the information about the Golden House was leaked to me on purpose!"
"Either way, hand over the Gnosis now… before I take it myself!"
Tartaglia raised his weapon and shouted angrily.
His voice had become distorted because of the Foul Legacy armor.
"Hmm…"
Qiu Nian closed his eyes slightly and sighed.
He looked somewhat helpless and said nothing.
"Good… very good!"
Seeing this, Tartaglia's anger reached its peak.
He rushed toward Qiu Nian at lightning speed!
But in Qiu Nian's eyes—
That lightning-fast movement looked no faster than a snail.
He simply took two steps to the left.
Tartaglia's attack completely missed.
A sharp gust of wind passed by Qiu Nian's ear.
Because of the momentum, Tartaglia slid forward a short distance before stopping.
How did he dodge that?
The thought flashed through Tartaglia's mind—
And his rationality seemed to slip further.
He turned and charged again!
Once again—
His attack slammed into the floor.
Meanwhile, Qiu Nian stood calmly beside Tartaglia's weapon, simply watching him.
Refusing to accept it, Tartaglia launched several rapid slashes in an instant!
The shockwaves from the strikes swept through the area like a violent storm.
Even Lumine and Paimon's hair fluttered slightly from the force.
Yet no matter how fast Tartaglia attacked—
No matter how many times he swung—
Qiu Nian, small compared to the towering Foul Legacy armor, continued dodging effortlessly.
To Lumine and Paimon—
He looked like a series of afterimages constantly appearing and disappearing.
So fast the human eye could barely follow.
"Oh my god…"
"So… so fast!"
Paimon's eyes widened in shock.
She could barely speak.
Lumine was equally stunned.
She even rubbed her eyes, wondering if she had seen wrong.
Even Xuehua, still streaming the gameplay, was left speechless.
"I'd like to see how you dodge this!"
Tartaglia suddenly jumped backward.
Hydro energy surged wildly around his weapon!
"Foul Legacy Art — Whale Devourer!"
A deep, hollow voice echoed from the abyss.
A massive whale formed from Hydro and Electro energy burst forth from Tartaglia's weapon and charged toward Qiu Nian!
Seeing this—
A white aura suddenly erupted around Qiu Nian.
Within the aura were faint traces of crimson.
His long hair and robes fluttered in the energy.
Combined with his calm, handsome face—
He looked almost immortal-like.
There was an indescribable holiness about him.
Almost divine.
The next moment—
Qiu Nian moved at incredible speed.
He passed directly through the whale.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Tartaglia.
Then—
He extended a finger.
And gently tapped the armor on Tartaglia's chest.
Crack.
A small fracture appeared.
From that single point—
Cracks rapidly spread across the entire Foul Legacy armor.
Dark star-like particles scattered into the air.
The armor shattered.
Tartaglia stood there—
Completely stunned.
Then his body was blasted backward.
BOOM!
He crashed heavily into a stone pillar.
After doing all that—
Qiu Nian calmly dispersed the aura around him.
"W-What?!"
Paimon screamed in shock.
Goosebumps covered her arms.
Lumine stood there with her mouth open.
The scene had shaken her completely.
She never imagined Qiu Nian's power could be this overwhelming.
Which meant…
Since the day she met him—
Had he been pretending the entire time?
But why?
Could it be…
That he really took the Gnosis?
If Qiu Nian was truly that mysterious foreign god…
Then perhaps he had assassinated Rex Lapis—
Approached them intentionally—
And finally seized the Gnosis?
Just thinking about it made Lumine's scalp tingle.
"Ah…?!"
Xuehua stared at the screen in total confusion.
The livestream chat exploded.
[Wait… WHAT???]
[Is this even real?]
[Qiu Nian finally stopped pretending]
[This guy is NOT human]
[How is that a normal person?!]
[He might actually be that foreign god!]
[If he really is, stealing the Gnosis makes sense]
[I think he's some ancient adeptus]
[HE'S SO COOL AHHHH]
[Childe got absolutely destroyed]
The chat was now flooded with question marks.
Meanwhile—
Qiu Nian ignored Lumine and Paimon completely.
I held back most of my strength just now…
Good thing he didn't lose consciousness.
Otherwise the plan for Tartaglia to release Osial would be troublesome.
He looked toward Tartaglia, who was kneeling in the smoke and gasping for breath.
Originally—
Qiu Nian hadn't intended to fight.
He expected Lumine alone to resolve the situation.
That was why he let her go first.
But he truly hadn't expected things to develop this way.
Tartaglia's train of thought really was… unique.
"Hah… hah…"
"My guess was right."
"You're the one hiding the deepest."
"It must be you who took the Gnosis."
The smoke cleared.
Tartaglia stood up unsteadily, clutching his chest.
His voice was weak.
Too strong…
The strength was overwhelming.
With a single casual move—
Qiu Nian had completely crushed his Foul Legacy form.
Who exactly was this man?
Even facing his master, he had never felt such despair.
"Hmm… I admit your guess is somewhat reasonable."
"But I really didn't take Morax's Gnosis."
"As for now, I have some matters to attend to."
"So I'll take my leave."
Qiu Nian spoke slowly.
Then white and crimson energy surged around him again.
A flash of light—
And he vanished from the spot entirely.
"This… what just happened?"
Paimon felt like her brain had completely stopped working.
"Qiu Nian…"
"He might really be that foreign god…"
Lumine took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
"No… no way…"
"The Qiu Nian who's been helping us prepare the Rite of Parting…"
"…is actually the foreign god the adepti talked about?"
"My head is spinning…"
Paimon held her forehead.
Her brain felt completely overloaded.
Enjoyed these chapters? Access advanced chapters 60+ahead and exclusive content by visiting my patreon.com/WillOFD129?