Noah's slightly serious words fell into Istaroth's ears, and her whole body tensed as she quickly waved her hands.
"Never, never! I've never once messed up, unlike Paimon who's always clumsy."
To be honest, Istaroth was truly nervous. She had seen her master serious before, but hearing him say so firmly that he would show no mercy was rare in all the years she had followed him. If anyone really provoked him, they would surely vanish completely—without leaving the slightest trace in the river of time.
With a playful flick of his finger on Istaroth's forehead, Noah chuckled: "Why so nervous? At worst, if you mess up, you'll just be stuck playing games with me for tens of thousands of years."
Istaroth drooped her head. Play games? More like play with me! Tens of thousands of years? I'd be ruined…
For other goddesses, being close to the Heavenly Principle was like a golden chance falling from the sky. But she was the Sustainer of Heavenly Principle—she naturally shared in his power. No matter how much he played with her, she couldn't gain the slightest increase in strength.
Noah turned his gaze toward the flourishing Supreme Divine Domain of the Main Universe.
"If the Divine Collective's gods fail me, I will punish them severely. To seek power beyond oneself but refuse to bear the risks—that does not exist in Teyvat."
The Solar Sovereignty was the second greatest authority in Pan-Human History, second only to the Chronicle of Ages, which could directly alter history itself.
It was inseparably tied to the rise and fall of civilizations, to the birth of gods, to the divine collective, to faith…
It had not yet been activated. It required a wielder to be activated.
Once activated, the Solar Sovereignty could directly regulate the rise and decline of civilizations in Pan-Human History.
But to regulate the countless civilizations of infinite universes—if such authority were given to a single god, the Solar Sovereignty's true power could never be brought forth.
It was like a company—one person could never manage all of its numerous functions.
Thus, the Solar Sovereignty had to be divided.
Even if there existed a god capable of perfectly exercising the Solar Sovereignty, Noah would never hand it over whole. A single mistake could bring catastrophic destruction upon all Teyvat's civilizations.
So dividing it into twenty-four parts and distributing them among many Divine Collectives was the safest way, ensuring diligent service to the prosperity of Pan-Human History.
Even if one or two Collectives faltered, the damage would be minor. Phanes could still reverse it through the Chronicle of Ages.
Noah walked toward the origin of Pan-Human History—the dwelling place where the recluse Phanes resided.
The Infinite Dragon God, Ophis, curled up hugging a pillow, floated asleep in the temple's air, breathing peacefully.
The Power of Infinity streamed endlessly from her body, flowing into Pan-Human History and nourishing universes already bearing life.
Balancing the evolution of all universes was a heavy burden. Even though Ophis had reached the level of a low-tier super single-universe, the task left her exhausted. Only sleep could keep her output and recovery in balance.
Thus, both she and the Red Dragon God Emperor were always sleeping when using their power.
"You've worked hard," Noah murmured.
"But at least, it's only during universe ascensions that you truly suffer."
The intervals between each ascension seemed so short that the two great Dragons of Truth were constantly slumbering.
Their sacred labor was far more demanding than that of any god in the Divine Collective.
After all, they were the tall ones.
Why wasn't the Heavenly Principle burdened in the same way?
Nonsense. He only needed to determine the direction of universal evolution.
They, on the other hand, simply followed his course step by step. But to conceive the evolution of universes—that was far more complex.
Istaroth couldn't help rolling her eyes. Of all the Teyvat Universe, her master was surely the most carefree.
All the exhausting, dirty work was left to them.
They worked hard, while he… worked hard on them. Uuuu…
Noah ignored the often overstepping Istaroth and stepped directly into the root of Teyvat.
This was no longer a projection of a single universe, but rather the projection of countless universes—each light point here was a universe. Worlds that had not reached sequence-level universes did not even emit a glow.
Phanes sat calmly upon the central divine throne. Before her floated a starry sphere the same size as herself—the projection of the Main Universe.
Only the Main Universe and some of the surrounding sequence-level universes bore a strong aura of Human Principle. The rest of the sequence-level universes were nothing but emptiness, void of life.
Pan-Human History resembled a great river of civilization flowing through all of Teyvat. Every universe that contained life contributed a small branch stream to this river.
And at every point along this river, authorities of Pan-Human History shimmered brightly.
They were the embodied concepts of stars, acknowledged by the civilizations of Pan-Humanity.
Apart from the Solar Sovereignty, the strongest were the Lunar Sovereignty, the Morning Star Sovereignty, the Jupiter Sovereignty, and others.
Though other Stellar Sovereignties could also influence the rise and fall of civilizations, all combined they barely matched the Solar Sovereignty alone.
Among them, the Lunar Sovereignty ranked second, having reached quasi-super single-universe level. Unlike the Solar Sovereignty which was split into twenty-four parts, the Lunar Sovereignty was divided into twelve. Each portion reached high-tier strong single-universe, though still far weaker than a single share of the Solar Sovereignty.
At this time, the Ruler of Space Asmoday, the Ruler of Death Paimon, the Ruler of Life Baal, and the Ruler of Ice Esdeath appeared here.
The original Four Rulers could be understood, but now even Esdeath had barely reached quasi-super single-universe. She remained the weakest of the Sustainers.
Noah had never reallocated the portions of power he had granted, and that was for the best.
Esdeath was the only Sustainer later elevated by him.
All five Sustainers were present, but none dared breathe heavily.
Compared to Noah, the Heavenly Principle, they feared Phanes even more.
The original four Sustainers aside, Esdeath had been thoroughly disciplined by Phanes before and had learned her lesson well.
Noah beckoned, and all the Stellar Sovereignties already shining within Pan-Human History manifested at once.
In that instant, dazzling light of Human Principle pierced through Eden, radiating to all of Celestia, and from Celestia out toward the entire Supreme Divine Domain.
Not only that, but the whole of Pan-Human History within the Main Universe rejoiced.
Like a chain of falling dominoes, this joy spread from the Main Universe to all universes of Teyvat.
At that moment, all the Divine Collectives of the Supreme Divine Domain raised their heads toward Celestia, which had lain silent for countless years.
Phanes smiled: "At last, the final Gift Game that will raise Teyvat's rank is about to begin."
"I have waited for this day—nearly ten thousand years."
Noah said: "Before convening the assembly that will mark Teyvat's ascension to multiversal rank, the final Divine Assembly shall begin. Only those who hold a Cosmology and gods at weak single-universe level or higher may participate."
At present, those who had reached weak single-universe level and above were the highest figures of each Divine Collective. In every Collective, their number did not exceed the count of five fingers.
Although at a glance the difference between weak single-universe and standard single-universe seemed small, in truth it was vast—like the difference between a wielder of six Visions and a god who had already ascended.
However, in terms of status there was little difference, for reaching weak single-universe meant one had already filled in the missing part, and could naturally advance to standard single-universe smoothly.
All gods who met the criteria to attend this assembly received the message at the very first moment.
When the message reached them, everyone was startled for an instant, but quickly returned to normal.
After all, those who could receive such summons had already participated in multiple divine assemblies.
For some gods, such an assembly might only have been attended once in their entire lives—and that once was the only one.
...
Liyue Divine Domain.
At this moment, the Liyue Divine Domain was, as always, the most prosperous central station among all the Divine Collectives. Beyond the Liyue people's commercial wealth, what made it more renowned was its frequent hosting of enormous festivals, making it the most familiar name even among countless outerworld civilizations.
The current Supreme Divine Domain truly lived up to its name.
No matter how powerful a god might be, upon entering here their ability to manifest power was sharply suppressed. A blow that could destroy a galaxy in the outer universes could here only shatter a single god-forged star.
This was not because gods grew weaker, but because universal laws had transformed into higher Laws. The laws of the universe were but the afterglow of these Laws, and gods' abilities were suppressed by ninety-nine percent.
A god-forged star was something that in the past even a middle god could casually create.
Now, a middle god could no longer create a god-forged star on their own.
Even so, the number of god-forged stars in the Liyue Divine Domain had already grown beyond measure.
But towering above all god-forged stars was still the Jade Star.
Wherever one stood in Liyue, even in planes created by True Gods, nothing could obscure its radiance.
This was the glory of the Supreme God above the Collectives.
The Jade Star was also the office of the Liyue Collective's leader—the supreme authority over wealth. Merely the Jade Star alone gathered nearly half of Liyue's administrative high gods.
At the same time, this single star had grown to the scale of a supermassive plane, with a population exceeding one hundred billion.
Yet even such a star that illuminated the entire Liyue Divine Domain was not its greatest wonder.
The true greatness was something no ordinary god would ever expect.
Only a handful of gods knew of it, and even if mortals passed it by, they would not sense anything unusual.
Liyue Starsea Port. Once called Liyue Harbor, as it grew ever more prosperous, even the sea had transformed into a starry sea.
A true starry sea.
Boundless waters, under universal laws, condensed into droplets the size of planets, merging together to form a sea of water-worlds.
Within this starry sea swam fish of True God-level strength. Yet despite such power, they remained devoid of wisdom, no different from ordinary fish.
Like the seas of old, this starry sea produced countless special resources—even corals and shells as large as planets.
Since the Traveler—no, the Trailblaze Lumine—laid the Star Rails here linking the Main Universe to many outer universes and starfields, countless gods from beyond now chose this as their first stop when entering the Main Universe.
The prosperity of Liyue Harbor could easily be imagined.
By now, its range had expanded to the scale of dozens of star systems, for without such scale it could never sustain the trade of all Divine Collectives and subsidiary universes.
Though the Liyue Harbor Communities had expanded greatly, their names had not changed.
The great communities were still the same as before.
The performer community, Third-Round Knockout, had declined from a super-great community to a large community due to mismanagement. Yet it still held one of Liyue's top storytelling houses.
Thus, it had become the most popular place for visiting gods to learn about the Liyue Divine Domain. Even though it was often criticized, in this one aspect, it remained beloved by outsiders.
Every time a storyteller spoke here, the seats were always full.
"The last grand assembly of the gods—the great gods of the universe rose like auroras into the heavens, like creation's own meteors…"
"All the greatest gods of Teyvat gathered in a hall where infinite universes and mysteries converged, every gaze lifted toward the Eight Eternal Thrones, who reigned above all, masters of every secret of Teyvat…"
"And yet, when all the other gods could hardly even withstand the aura, our mighty Rex Lapis stood there with hands clasped behind his back, calm as drifting clouds and flowing breeze… and so on, and so on…"
The storyteller upon the stage spoke with grand flourish, while the audience of gods sipped tea in delight, some even gasping in amazement.
But there were skeptics as well.
"Tian Tiezui, you speak with such drama, but you're only a High God. How could you possibly know any of this? Are you just making things up?"
Iron Tongue Tian gave a cold snort: "Making things up? Who in Liyue doesn't know that I, Tian Tiezui, am always rigorous in my accounts? It's true, as a mere High God, I have no qualifications to attend such divine assemblies."
"But you all know of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, don't you? It is the Community of none other than Hu Tao, Lord of Underworld Heaven, one of the leaders of the Liyue Divine Collective."
"And our Mr. Zhongli—back when Lady Hu Tao had not yet ascended, she personally employed him. A man of vast knowledge beyond measure."
"Though now he stands the same as me, a mere High God, when it comes to scholarship and insight, even a Supreme God cannot compare with him."
"Many a God-King, before their rise, once received guidance from Mr. Zhongli."
"These secrets, I learned from Mr. Zhongli himself."
At this, Iron Tongue Tian bowed respectfully toward a serene elder seated in the audience's center, sipping tea like an old master.
The onlookers all turned toward this relaxed little god, drawing sharp breaths.
"So you are the famed Mr. Zhongli, whose learning is said to rival the Supremes!"
"I had heard of you since I first arrived in Liyue—your wisdom shaking the entire Divine Domain!"
"Yes, I never thought I would behold you in person!"
Zhongli gently lifted the lid of his teacup, the fragrance of immortal tea drifting forth and drawing deep breaths from the crowd. This was Truth Immortal Tea—a peerless treasure one could not even buy.
His voice calm and refined, he said: "You flatter me far too much. These are but trifling reputations of no importance."
"So then, Mr. Zhongli… what Tian has said is no falsehood? That our Lord Rex Lapis truly stood with hands clasped behind his back, unruffled even before the Eternal Thrones themselves?"
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