Even with prior mental preparation, hearing Ryen explicitly confirm that they had become server administrators still stirred a deep wave of emotion within the three of them.
Throughout the past forty-nine days, Ryen had frequently detailed the true extent of a server administrator's authority. Phrased bluntly, they were administrators, but translated into the language of Teyvat, within the borders of Redstone City, the three of them would wield authority surpassing even Celestia. A single word could alter the natural operation of the heavens and earth, dictating the foundational laws of the region. They could reshape the skies and enforce reality through speech alone.
Within this domain, rather than calling them subordinate deities of the creator, it was more accurate to describe them as second-generation creator gods chosen to help manage the world. Such profound authority caused even Zhongli, a veteran of countless historical upheavals, to experience a racing heartbeat and heavy breathing.
The rest of the gathering looked upon Zhongli and the others with undisguised envy. World administrators, setting aside the practical privileges, the mere title echoed with far more weight than any of the Seven Archons. Archons still had to govern their nations under the overarching mandate of Celestia. A server administrator, however, held absolute autocratic rule where every word was final. Their declarations formed the standard of the heavens above Redstone City, and their principles constituted the law of the land. To embody the world itself, that was precisely what it meant.
Zhongli drew a long breath, struggling to calm the surging blood within his veins, before speaking in a steady tone. "I will manage this realm with utmost care, ensuring the flame of civilization grows strong and unyielding."
Ningguang tightly clasped Ryen's hand, her gaze resolute and her voice soft. "Your world, I will give everything I have to help make it even more magnificent."
Ryen smiled, turning his hands to grip Guizhong and Ningguang's fingers in return. With a mental prompt, he inscribed the three names into the designated server administrator slots. From this moment onward, apart from Ryen himself, they stood as the absolute uncrowned monarchs and masters of the heavens and earth within Redstone City.
The moment their names were etched into the administrative roster, all three simultaneously felt the passive augmentation from Ryen's physical constitution vanish. Their bodies instantly felt fragile by comparison. Yet that sensation lasted only a fraction of a second. Before they could voice their surprise, a surging flood of raw power rushed into their frames, making them breathless. It felt like a strength born directly into their bones, terrifying, indestructible, and pure enough to crush worlds and pulverize all opposition. Unlike the detached feeling of shared physical buffering they had experienced before, this was genuine, absolute power rooted deep within their souls, as if it had belonged to them since birth.
Ningguang stared down at her pale, delicate palm, sensing that with a flick of her wrist, she could effortlessly overturn Mt. Tianheng or fracture Liyue Harbor with a cataclysmic earthquake. It was power stripped of all extraneous complications, and yet it represented merely a quarter of Ryen's baseline physique.
Zhongli closed his fist, realizing that he had now truly integrated a quarter of Ryen's physique into his own being, completely erasing any lingering distance between himself and that insurmountable strength. Only by possessing this magnitude of power firsthand could he understand why Ryen dismissed traditional martial arts. A mere quarter of that physical capacity was enough to overturn the open sea. It was a capability impossible to comprehend through mere shared buffering. Only after mastering Steve's constitution did one grasp how absurd the scaling truly was. Brute force solved everything, a concept that sounded crude, but when the scale of power was absolute, it pulverized all resistance. A simple, violent punch could resolve any dispute, rendering martial arts an unnecessary ornament, a trivial detail that could be discarded without a second thought. At least, Zhongli could no longer see how his personal mastery of martial arts could possibly enhance such an overwhelming foundation.
Celestia... Zhongli's gaze flickered. Composed though he was, even he found his blood stirring with excitement. He could guarantee with absolute certainty that he could flatten Celestia with a single punch right now. Yet the dilemma lay precisely there. While he possessed the capability to slay Celestia, especially when combined with supplementary abilities making assassination effortless, he still lacked the means to enact a proper seal. Celestia could not simply be destroyed. He would evidently need to keep searching for a more controlled, appropriate method.
Zhongli sighed inwardly, though without any lingering dismay. At the very least, a definitive safety net was now secured. Considering that Ningguang intended to initiate an immigration project, if circumstances truly left no alternative, he could simply bludgeon Celestia to death and relocate the population of Teyvat into this realm. Afterward, they could search for other habitable worlds along the Imaginary Tree; in any case, expanding into the sea of stars was an inevitable future step. Naturally, since Teyvat remained their home of millennia, preventing its destruction was preferable, but having a fallback option left his mood quite agreeable.
The power was formidable indeed. Yet for Guizhong, the greatest benefit of possessing this physique was that endurance during intimate nights with Ryen would likely expand significantly, allowing for extended pleasure. Her eyes darting playfully, she resolved to test her limits under the effects of this new strength tonight, confident she could set a record that would leave the other companions thoroughly astonished.
Yet this raw physical might was merely the initial phase of the upgrade. Immediately following it, an abrupt leap in their existential tier caused all three to perceive a crisp, echoing fracture within their consciousness. It felt as though some invisible boundary governing mortal existence had shattered. Though mystical and abstract, at that exact moment, they felt deep within their souls that their life tier had ascended to an indescribable height. Distinct from deities and mortals alike, it was a supreme position that touched the absolute summit of existence. Words struggled to capture the sensation, but if forced to define it... creation itself.
Every element of reality before them now appeared as lines of manipulable code. Ningguang raised her gaze, piercing through the ceiling of the mayoral estate to perceive the sun slowly rising into the firmament. In that instant, an incomprehensible string of code manifested in her mind, accompanied by the distinct intuition that activating it would allow her to alter the heavens, plunging Redstone City into perpetual darkness or endless night. Such terrifying authority to control and distort everything sent a shiver down her spine, temporarily stirring an innate arrogance that made her feel as though the world lay beneath her feet. Catching Ryen's amused, gentle look, she hastily suppressed the notion, gripping his hand tightly with a flush of shame.
Ryen found nothing unusual in their reactions. Transitioning in a single moment from mortal status to a creator's subordinate wielding world-level authority made psychological fluctuations entirely natural to experience. Even Zhongli had briefly lost his footing moments prior, saved only by his formidable mental discipline from sinking too deep into the intoxication of power.
Closing his fist, Zhongli temporarily pushed aside the dense web of world logic code humming in his mind. It was the manifest expression of his authority, but indulging in it prematurely was unwise until he grew accustomed to the sensation, lest it warp his mindset. Yet simply examining his current physical state... Zhongli could only conclude that at this moment, he was invincible. Unbeatable in every conceivable definition.
A myriad of questions filled Zhongli's mind, turning his head with an expression of hesitation as he struggled to decide where to begin.
"Creative mode," Ryen said with a light chuckle, nodding. "Within the borders of Redstone City, your creative mode is activated by default."
Guizhong stared at her hands in wonder. "Is this creative mode? I feel like... I am invincible."
"You don't just feel like it, you genuinely are," Ryen replied with a smiling shake of his head. "Unless you face a weapon like the Sword of the Cosmos that can bleed gods, you are completely untouchable." He paused, adding softly, "Open your personal status screens."
Though slightly bewildered, the three complied, following Ryen's guidance. The next moment, all three stared in disbelief at the empty air before them.
Seeing such undisguised astonishment etched across Zhongli's face left Azhdaha and the other adepti itching with curiosity.
"Lord Archon, what is it?" Mountain Shaper asked eagerly.
Zhongli shook his head, remaining silent for a long beat before speaking in a measured voice. "My health bar... it has vanished."
"What? Vanished?" The assembled adepti erupted in immediate uproar. A health bar, even in death, retained its ten persistent hearts; how could it simply disappear?
"It is gone in every sense of the word. It appears that from this moment onward, we no longer possess any numerical representation of vitality," Ningguang explained with a slight frown, turning her gaze toward Ryen.
Ryen smiled faintly and nodded.
"When an entity is truly invincible, how can they still be measured by conventional metrics? So long as one is bound to mortal life, they remain constrained by vitality. But once creative mode is unlocked, you become the world itself, and how could the life force of the world ever be quantified? Immortal, indestructible, immune to all arts. Aging, disease, and death—the fundamental laws of nature—no longer apply to you, because you now represent the supreme will of this reality. The world stands above all, and so do you."
With that, Ryen glanced toward Tartaglia, pointing a finger at Zhongli. "Draw your blade and strike him."
Tartaglia blinked, his expression turning awkward as he glanced around at the sea of staring adepti. He was supposed to strike Zhongli? Wasn't that practically asking for execution?
"Mister Ryen..." Tartaglia hesitated, but Zhongli spoke in a deep, commanding tone. "Attack me! Use your blade, your firearms, your staff!"
"This..."
"You bear no responsibility for the outcome!"
Urged by the archon, Tartaglia hesitated no longer. Drawing his weapon, he threw his weight into a powerful, sweeping slash aimed directly at Zhongli.
Yet the blade halted mid-air, arrested by an invisible barrier a mere whisper away from Zhongli's skin, unable to advance a single millimeter further. Refusing to believe his eyes, Tartaglia strained against the resistance, breaking out in a sweat, yet he could not breach that fragile-looking layer of defense.
After a moment of deadlock, Tartaglia withdrew his upgraded Master Staff. A devastating single-target master spell surged forth toward Zhongli, while his other hand unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
Yet the terrifying spell dissolved into nothingness the moment it neared Zhongli, and the ballistic rounds lost all kinetic energy while still feet away, clattering harmlessly onto the ground.
Frustrated now, Tartaglia stood up, intending to test other methods.
Ryen waved a hand, motioning for him to sit back down. "You see? When creative mode is active, no attack in existence can pierce your barrier. You can rest assured regarding its upper limit; your defense scales directly with the structural fortitude of the world itself. Unless someone wields a weapon like the Sword of the Cosmos capable of severing fundamental laws, injuring any of you while creative mode is enabled requires an entity possessing enough power to shatter the entire world. And mind you, that means annihilating this entire reality, a feat even I cannot accomplish."