Everyone in the story fell silent, suppressing the anger in their hearts.
The god was right there, yet they wanted to use the lives of Sumeru's people to create some unreliable new god. In the end, it was all for the Akademiya's selfish desires!
They wanted an omniscient god of wisdom, but they didn't want to be punished.
They were all scholars—how could Sumeru's sages be so cowardly?
Other scholars couldn't understand his thinking, like Xianyun and Guizhong, Tighnari, and others.
An omniscient god knows everything. If such a god truly existed, they would know the upper limit of all knowledge.
But once people knew the "upper limit of knowledge," would they still have the desire to climb the peak?
When climbing the peak, there were already the god's "eyes" there—would there still be a sense of achievement?
Humans precisely because they don't know "how high the sky is" and don't know the scenery at the mountaintop maintain curiosity and keep climbing—just to part the clouds and see the fog.
Even if one generation can't do it, generations eventually will—like an "Unreconciled Star."
For them, hearing the Dao in the morning is enough to die content in the evening!
But when all knowledge has an upper limit, clearly displayed there by the god, would people still have the motivation to climb?
The climbing process is very bitter, and after reaching the top, it would only verify the god's "omniscience."
Humble, insignificant, like a speck of dust in the universe—despair.
That is why: the silence of the God of Wisdom is deafening.
The Lord of Verdure never gives answers; they only pose questions.
Unfortunately, this is something the Akademiya's sages will never understand—they only seek gods to give answers.
[Alhaitham: "Some creatures have 'phototaxis,' yearning for light sources all their lives. For the sages, only the existence of a god symbolizing the pinnacle of wisdom allows them to see hope."]
["This is also a kind of phototaxis. If the God of Wisdom does not exist, for many scholars, it means groping in the dark for a lifetime."]
Mavuika clicked her tongue in amazement—this metaphor was familiar to her.
Scholars from various nations shook their heads. Having lost even the courage to grope in the dark—the Akademiya's sages... had they been spoiled too much by the God of Wisdom?
Yes, spoiled.
Though it's said that Mondstadt's people are the spoiled giants, Mondstadters have never seen the Anemo Archon since birth, not even knowing the Anemo Archon's specific authorities, yet they still live well.
The Anemo Archon's "non-existence" instead let them adapt to human life. They still believe in the Anemo Archon—true faith in the god themselves.
Even if the god suddenly disappeared, it wouldn't affect their lives.
If the god appeared, they would cheer and celebrate.
Look at Sumeru again—after losing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, problems piled up one after another, and even their proud academics had no development.
This was all because of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's spoiling. When she was there, she paved the road too smoothly, leading to these Akademiya giants whining for a new mom because they were "afraid of the dark" after she disappeared.
In the past, their exploration paths were all lit by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's guiding lamps, afraid her people would "get lost."
So when Greater Lord Rukkhadevata disappeared, these people lost even the courage to "get lost."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Nahida are essentially the same person, with nearly identical personalities—both "mothers" who spoil their people.
The current situation, if put into words: Mondstadt people are all XP players, not caring about the god's power at all, while Sumeru's Grand Sage is a meta player.
However, in fact, Nahida's "meta" isn't low either—she just hasn't shown it yet. After all, as someone who spoils her people, she was imprisoned for five hundred years without ever thinking of striking back at them.
But soon she would practice on Scaramouche—the kind where the banner ends and the reputation instantly reverses.
Trash in the trash on release, god among gods off-banner.
And Mavuika, who has high meta herself, thinks: Humans do have "phototaxis" and need hope as guidance.
But for most scholars, "hope" is the academic goal they want to achieve—it's normal not to see the road ahead clearly.
Now what the Akademiya wants isn't just "hope"—they want the god to illuminate the entire road for them, with signposts at every fork.
But then everything would be the god exerting effort. In the end, even if there were achievements, what would it have to do with humans? Anyone could do it the same.
But through this exchange, the readers also understood one thing—the Akademiya's scholars are somewhat similar to Inazuma's Tenryou Commission.
What they believe in isn't the god, but the god's "power"—both meta players.
Sumeru's side believes in the god's wisdom; Kujou Takayuki believes in Musou no Hitotachi.
The reason the two gods could one actively and one passively stay home for five hundred years lies in the newly born Little Dendro God having no power, while Ei would really give you a slash.
Looking at it this way, how come the nations of the two male gods have XP players instead—one full of "Anemo Archon blesses," the other full of "Rex Lapis."
Back to the story: the group brought the village guardians back to Aaru Village, and the incident could be considered resolved.
Though this matter was settled, everyone didn't seem very happy—because Nahida's situation still wasn't resolved.
She was clearly a god who had been using divine power to protect her people all along, yet unknown to them, and in the end imprisoned in the Palace of Purity like an abandoned piece. Such a thing made the emotions in everyone's hearts hard to calm.
This is the power of discourse—even doing good deeds, if no one knows, it doesn't count.
Doing good can be without seeking reward, but doing good cannot be without reward.
And now Nahida had done so many good deeds, yet the only reward she got was suffering.
[Cyno: "Traveler, what are your plans?"]
Do you even need to ask? Gun in hand, follow me! Save the Dendro God, kill the sage dog! Purge the court!
But before that, there were some things to do—intelligence sharing, summarizing a perfect strategy.
[Traveler: "I want to first share what I know with you all."]
Readers shocked—there was still undisclosed intelligence? Traveler, your little mouth!
In the previous story, there were often information gaps between the Traveler and everyone—either needing teammates to investigate slowly themselves, or the Traveler couldn't hold it in anymore and spilled the intelligence.
Unexpectedly, after saying so much intelligence, the Traveler still had things unsaid. Lumine, oh Lumine—though secrets make a woman more womanly, you don't need to be this womanly!
[Alhaitham, as expected: "As I thought, you were still holding back."]
[Traveler nodded: "Yeah. Sorry, there were still uncertain things before... but now I know—everyone here is a companion."]
Now that the Traveler trusted everyone, naturally no more hiding—all the experiences along the way were told to those present.
What exactly was said isn't detailed in the book; details are recorded in the first two acts of the prophecy book.
Pay attention to the prophecy book meow, thank you for paying attention to the prophecy book~.