"The final rank, corresponding to Holy God, is called Super-Primeval God."
"Besides being the embodiment of Teyvat's foundation of Truth, one who breaks through every barrier of the superdimension by their own power and comprehends the unknowable, the untraceable, the unseen, the unheard, the unthought—Power of the Super-Primeval—may also ascend to the rank of Super-Primeval God."
"These three ranks are not unique to Teyvat. They are super-conceptual ranks acknowledged by the infinite superdimension. Most of the superdimension's secrets lie within these three ranks."
Noah spoke calmly.
This was no longer truly a secret. Those who had reached strong single-universe mass would naturally come into contact with the secrets of the superdimension. He was simply telling them in advance.
The Primeval God rank was still attainable for Teyvat's gods.
But Super-Primeval God—that was nothing but delusion.
To comprehend the Power of the Super-Primeval was nearly impossible, even if Teyvat ascended to a multiverse.
Normally, only a master who controlled all things, like him, could hold such power. Unless he abandoned stewardship over Teyvat, letting the already-formed Power of the Super-Primeval become unclaimed, it was impossible for later gods to inherit it.
Of course, not absolutely impossible.
If someone could, like him, start from zero, cultivate from a tiny plane, and grow it from scratch until it surpassed super-universe mass, then they too could wield the Power of the Super-Primeval.
But such difficulty was greater than the odds of a Super-Primeval God offering themselves in sacrifice to an ordinary person.
His Teyvat was purely an absolute exception.
"As Heavenly Principle, I myself now stand at the rank of Super-Primeval God."
"Thus, whether visible or invisible, knowable or unknowable, existent or nonexistent, all arises from my power."
Even among Super-Primeval Gods, there were differences in strength.
Yet even the weakest of them could never be touched by an ordinary super-universe.
If he were to fight the Omni-King of the Dragon Ball world, he could kick him down with a single blow. But against Chronos, he would not die—though he would certainly be ground down.
After Noah clarified the divine ranks beyond Almighty God, the gods fell into contemplation. The doubts about their future path completely vanished.
Raiden Ei's gaze flickered as she looked toward the siblings Aether and Lumine seated in the foremost row.
To break through humanity's—Pan-Human History's—concept of omniscience and omnipotence was to attain Super God, quantified as tenfold single-universe mass or greater.
At present, only Aether and Lumine had truly reached the Super God rank. From this perspective, double-digit mass marked low-tier Super God, triple-digit mass marked mid-tier Super God, and quadruple-digit mass or above marked high-tier Super God.
Aether was a low-tier Super God. Lumine was already high-tier. Even the Lord of Law could eventually reach the Primeval God rank—it was only a matter of time.
Ei herself did not worry about her future. She bore the Heavenly Stigmata, which would guide her directly to the final endpoint. She was guaranteed promotion to Primeval God.
Even Yae Miko and Kitsune Saiguu were guaranteed promotion to Super God.
Zhongli's eyes shone with determination: Super-Primeval God was beyond his reach, but advancing a system to its ultimate point to become a Primeval God—this was within possibility.
"But, setting aside the distant matter of advancing divine ranks, what lies before us now is the contest…"
Venti's eyes drifted toward his comrades. "Aiya, forgive me, my friends. I, Barbatos, will also be giving it my all."
"My lord, don't say I didn't give you face. When it concerns the future of my pantheon, I will not retreat a single step."
The weakest of the stellar sovereignties were at least standard single-universe level, while even a single share of Solar Sovereignty contained power approaching that of a Primeval God.
Though stellar sovereignties were only armaments, unable to directly become one's own strength—
Still, what pantheon would turn down such nuclear weapons?
Hum~
While the gods' thoughts turned chaotic, they failed to notice Heavenly Principle and the Holy Gods silently departing from the highest seat.
The departure of the hosts signaled the end of the final divine assembly.
The gods did not linger. This was a sacred place, not meant for idle chatter. To tarry too long here would be disrespectful to Heavenly Principle and the Holy Gods.
The gods stepped out through the gates of the pure white hall.
A stairway stretched downward, leading directly into the third layer of the Supreme Divine Realm beneath Celestia.
At this time, the third layer of the Supreme Divine Realm had already become the arena of the Gift Game. The aura of Pan-Human History enveloped and sealed the entire battlefield, laying down rules none could defy.
The arena had already become a great world, upon whose membrane shone the projections of all the heavenly stars.
For now, those projections remained dim. When one star's projection lit up, it meant the contest for that star's sovereignty would begin.
At the very center of the heavens lay Solar Sovereignty, divided into twenty-four shares, arranged as concentric circles.
Solar Sovereignty had fused with the sovereignties of the Twelve Equatorial Mansions and the Twelve Zodiac Constellations, forming a unique armament imbued with constellation inheritance.
The form of the armament was that of a thin card—but this was only its outward manifestation.
Now, this Solar Sovereignty fused with the inheritances of the Twelve Zodiac Constellations and the Twelve Equatorial Mansions had already lit up, deeply influencing Pan-Human History.
This meant that when the Sun, within Pan-Human History, reached midnight, the contest for Solar Sovereignty would begin.
Within the standard one day of Pan-Human History, the Solar Sovereignty War would conclude.
This was a Gift Game born naturally from humanity's observation of the Sun's movement.
The zodiac represented the stellar path the Sun traversed across a year, while the equator represented the line the Sun crossed in a day.
Thus, one day in Pan-Human History was in truth one year.
And within the arena, time would adjust according to the progress of the Gift Game.
After all, at the level of Almighty Gods, a single battle could last for decades.
Tsaritsa gazed at the radiance of Solar Sovereignty, her palm tightening into a fist. "My friends, our friendship is one thing. But when it comes to the future of my pantheon, I will not yield an inch."
Her Snezhnaya pantheon was the weakest among the Seven Nations. In terms of core strength, even the Greek pantheon surpassed her greatly.
Thus, Solar Sovereignty was something she could not back down from. Even for the other stellar sovereignties, she would not miss a single contest.
Zhongli, hands clasped behind his back, nodded. "As it should be. Then, everyone—see you on the battlefield. I will show no mercy when that time comes."
Neuvillette spoke calmly: "No mercy, is it? In that case, Fontaine will also do everything in its power."
Venti chuckled. "Three days from now, the bells will toll. Our war will not be softened by friendship."
At this, Venti's playful smile faded, replaced by gravity.
"Until now, none of us have fought with our full strength. I will let you all witness my full power as Barbatos. Otherwise, would that not be disrespectful to you all?"
The Solar Sovereignty War—since it was war, victory would naturally be determined by force. To ensure fairness, there might be special rules, but the primary means of victory was undoubtedly strength.
All these years, Barbatos had not only advanced his rank and power, but his martial might had never lagged behind.
Though he was not known as a god of combat, one could call him unserious, a drunkard, even show him disrespect—but none could say his strength in battle was lacking.
From the earliest ages, there was not a single god who survived without martial strength.
Though Teyvat was a peaceful world, even excessively beautiful, conflict remained its underlying theme. In every community's festivals, combat was always the most beloved performance.
Any life that sought to climb upward could not avoid struggle.
Barbatos now possessed the strength of double single-universe mass. When releasing his full power, he could even erupt briefly to four or five times that.
Though far beneath the Abyss Sovereign, he still ranked within the top five for many years.
The atmosphere grew heavy, sharp war intent flashing in the gods' eyes as they looked at one another.
For years, these peak gods had been forbidden to wage war recklessly, lest the cosmos fall into turmoil. Their hands had long since itched. Now came a chance to fight openly, with their full might.
Zhongli, hands clasped behind his back, golden eyes glinting with sharpness, spoke with a smile: "Since this is war, we shall naturally give it our all. Barbatos, do not forget—I was a God of War from the very beginning."
"What I desire, I will seize for myself."
Venti clapped his hands and laughed playfully. "Hehe, so domineering, old man."
Behind Zhongli, Indarias muttered weakly: Actually, I too am a God of War… sigh~
In Teyvat, far too many gods bore the title of God of War, even wielding the authorities of war.
Yet even among Gods of War, true strength depended on the individual.
The Abyss Sovereign, Aether, strode past the gods. Behind him followed a fearsome brute, the weak single-universe-level Rhinedottir, and several of the first Abyss Apostles.
The terrifying brute was none other than the Abyss' watchdog, the Apocalyptic Beast of Revelation, the Beast 666 of biblical myth.
"Morax speaks true. What I desire, I will take myself."
"The Abyss cares little for stellar authorities. Symbolically, I will take one Solar Sovereignty."
With that, Aether opened the Abyssal gate and left without a backward glance.
Lumine clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Tsk, my brother, all these years, still the head of the Abyss, and yet he has no flair at all for making an exit. Tsk tsk~ Not half as good as me."
The gods were left speechless.
Lumine giggled slyly. "I'll reserve one or two Solar Sovereignties to play with. I hope you all will give me face."
"Of course, I'll only play with them. When the time comes, I'll gift them to whichever side seems the most fun."
But at that moment, she sensed something. Her expression changed, and in a flash, she vanished before the gods.
Reappearing in the Dimensional Gap, a large hand smacked down hard on her backside.
"Ow~!"
Lumine yelped in pain, bouncing about the Dimensional Gap like a shuttlecock.
"The Solar Sovereignty War determines Teyvat's future. You are not allowed to mess around. If you ruin even a little of it, I'll make you pay dearly."
Noah's voice reverberated through the Dimensional Gap.
Lumine rubbed the sore spot with teary eyes. "Ow, that really hurts."
"What? It's not like I don't know what I'm doing. You just have this fixed idea about me. I'm only participating a little, I wouldn't actually steal those things away."
She sounded pitiful and wronged.
Meanwhile, the gods exchanged bewildered glances at Lumine's sudden disappearance.
Athena declared with confidence: "Since all has been decided, then I shall take my leave."
Holding her star-and-moon staff with dignity, she descended the pure white stairway with elegance.
Among her Greek pantheon, she alone was the leader. Her strength was still just short of double single-universe mass, placing her among the weaker of the pantheon lords.
Most pantheons had at least two leaders. Even Inazuma, due to its special nature, counted as having two.
Though the Greek pantheon overall was stronger than Snezhnaya, Tsaritsa herself was stronger than Athena by a clear margin.
In the Solar Sovereignty War, Athena could not gain much of an advantage.
But in the contests for other stellar sovereignties, she could still compete.
What's that? The Sun Kings pantheon?
Too bad—the qualification for participating in the Solar Sovereignty War was to be a pantheon lord.
And the Sun Kings' leaders clutched the Pseudo Star Map Creation so tightly, refusing to let unfamiliar gods attempt to activate it, that now they were excluded.
Thus came the cycle of cause and effect, retribution undeniable.
Now Shakyamuni, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva all regretted bitterly, their guts twisted, their souls dispirited as though facing death.
As gods qualified to attend the divine assembly, to be unable to participate in the Solar Sovereignty War meant they could already foresee their pantheon's decline.
In extreme circumstances, they might even be reduced to begging other pantheons just to take part in certain events of Pan-Human History.
"Tch~" Odin glanced at them, letting out a contemptuous sound, striding past without care.
"…!" Shiva gnashed his teeth, but had no choice but to endure. Though they all hailed from the same place, Odin was now a pantheon lord, far above them.
"Tch~" Indra too let out a mocking laugh as he passed. This nearly broke their composure.
...
Temple of Truth.
Noah stretched lazily, his gaze sweeping across the core positions where the pantheons resided within the Supreme Divine Realm.
"Speaking of which, after working so long, it's time for me to relax a bit."
"All the pantheons have reached this level. Those who were once only minor true gods have all become Supreme Gods, even Primordial Gods."
"Might as well go incognito and play around."
The Solar Sovereignty Contest was a monumental event for the pantheons.
But for him, it was, in a sense, a form of entertainment.
Much like mortals watching a game of football.
The gods clashing with their full might, laying down every trump card, all for the sake of victory—such a contest far surpassed any ordinary match.
"Now then, where to first? Let's go to Mondstadt. It's the place I've visited the least."
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