CHAPTER 324: THE SEQUENCE ORDER TO ASCEND TO ALMIGHTY GOD

"Hiss—Lord of the Universe! Could it be that the rules set for the Endless Planes also apply to universes? This... this is unbelievable!"

"That’s not just the authority of a plane, but of a universe! Even the smallest universe—gaining its authority could raise one to the level of God-King!"

"Yes! Many of our colleagues here advanced to True Gods, or even Primary Gods, only by accumulating numerous plane authorities, forcing a qualitative change through the quantity of plane rules!"

"If we could gain control of a universe at cosmic structure-level mass, could we not then, through its authority, comprehend countless universal rules and rise to Supreme, even Primordial?"

What had originally drawn the gods most to pioneering the Endless Planes was not merely the authority of the planes themselves, but that possessing such authority made it easy to comprehend plane rules.

The more plane authorities one held, the more plane rules one could grasp, and thus easily advance to True God. With sufficient merit added, one could rapidly reach high-level True God, or even break through irregularly beyond True God.

But merit as a means of breakthrough only held effect up to the rank of Supreme God. And how many gods could ever accumulate merit enough to reach Supreme?

Beyond Supreme God, merit’s greatest role was to judge a god’s contribution to the universe. Those whose evil outweighed their merit would have their rank stripped.

But such judgment was only carried out once every million years.

If one gained authority over a universe—even a supergalactic mass universe—it could aid a God-King in glimpsing supreme mysteries. Given enough time, even without great talent for comprehension, diligence alone could elevate one to Supreme God.

Henceforth, to ascend in rank, there would be no need for pantheons to force gods to follow plans—they themselves would be eager to rush forward.

Though excited, the gods did not lose their capacity for thought. Some realized certain issues.

Nuada, King of Gods of the Celtic pantheon, who had likewise ascended to Primordial God at the cosmic structure-level, asked calmly: "Lady Furina, I have a question."

"A universe, even a small one, is immensely vast. Surely our Fontaine Pantheon won’t be the only one eyeing it. If other pantheons also set their sights upon it, competing to develop it, in the end the authority of that universe may not necessarily fall to us."

The problem of plane pioneering had already revealed this: when two pantheons jointly developed a plane, its authority would be split in two.

This greatly diminished its value to the holder, as the plane rules comprehended would be incomplete.

"Yes... while such conflicts were usually settled peacefully, there were those shameless pantheons who brazenly sought to interfere in planes already half-developed."

"Hmph, especially that shameless Solar King Pantheon—they’ve committed no small share of vile deeds."

Furina raised her hand, her expression solemn. At once, the noisy assembly fell silent.

"This matter, as leader of the pantheon, I have naturally considered."

"Thus, before convening this assembly, all pantheon leaders gathered and established new rules."

"Henceforth, we shall mark all discovered universes with designations, and they will be claimed through the Gift Games."

"For each universe, every pantheon may send only one representative to compete in the Gift Game. The victor will obtain the rights to pioneer that universe."

"Moreover, the participant must match the mass of the universe: a supergalactic universe may only be contended for by a Supreme God, a cosmic structure-level universe by a Primordial God."

"As for weak single-universe great universes—they shall be contested by us pantheon leaders ourselves."

At her words, the gods erupted in cheers.

"Ohhh! Wonderful! This is fair!"

"Yes, I’ve long been sick of the sly tricks of other pantheons!"

"Lady Furina, eternal and immortal!"

...

Meanwhile, the same was happening among the other pantheons.

All were convening divine assemblies.

At this moment, the pantheons of Teyvat were still many. Beyond the original Seven Nations pantheons, there were also the Greek Pantheon, the Solar King Pantheon formed from the Buddhist and Hindu systems—

And the Abyss, whose mass was equal to four or five pantheons combined, and whose potential even surpassed that of the divine systems.

With Teyvat’s current magnitude, the ultimate achievement of the Lord of the Abyss could reach quasi-super single-universe.

Then there was also the Underworld, which governed the reincarnation of all pantheons and worlds.

Like the Abyss, the Underworld could not truly be called a pantheon, but was instead an indispensable structure of the Teyvat Great World.

This structure was akin to the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta in the Tree and Sea Great World.

At present, one of the strongest yet least known powers was Malikata, Mistress of the Underworld, who was once the Goddess of Flowers.

She had long worked tirelessly to maintain the operation of the Underworld. Throughout the vast Teyvat Universe, she kept the reincarnation of countless planes and small universes in perfect order, without a single flaw.

As the Mistress of the Underworld, her strength had grown with its mass. She had already reached weak single-universe and was just a step away from standard single-universe.

Once some small universes were pioneered, birthing intelligent life and entering cycles of reincarnation, she would break through to single-universe level.

Within single-universe, she would rank among the foremost. Like the Abyssal Sovereign, she drew power from the entire Underworld, her aura alone able to crush ordinary single-universe beings to their knees.

Yet the one who had hidden her strength most deeply was Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. She possessed a portion of the primordial shares, and as the embodiment of Teyvat’s memory, her own power rose in proportion to Teyvat’s mass.

Though her share had long since dwindled to nearly nothing, even one ten-millionth was enough to raise her to strong single-universe.

She was, aside from the Sustainer of Heavenly Principle, the only one whose cosmological seat had reached strong single-universe.

The foundation of the Teyvat Great World was the continent of Teyvat itself. Once, as the incarnation of the World Tree, she had borne its roots. Even though her primordial shares had been reduced to the barest fraction, they still carried immense power.

...

Sumeru Divine Domain.

Buer sat at the highest seat, gazing warmly at the flushed, excited gods, softly speaking of the brand new mysteries of the universes.

"...Of course, even if they are universes, they no longer need to be defined as we once did. The ranks of universes have long been ordered by the Heavenly Principle."

Buer was among the ones who understood the Heavenly Principle best, and also among those who most clearly grasped its will.

After all, she was the earliest of the Seven Archons able to freely enter and exit Eden, and she could even enter the Temple of Truth—the true place of origin of Teyvat, where all mysteries lay.

Thus, when Teyvat advanced into a super single-universe internal multiverse, she had already learned the information without needing to explore herself, and even conveyed some key details to other pantheons.

According to the will of the Heavenly Principle, once the world of Teyvat had ascended to internal multiverse, it would no longer directly intervene in the affairs of universes beyond the main universe. Restrictions of rules would gradually be loosened.

For beyond the main universe were countless universes of all sizes. Just as within pantheons, the highest gods would never personally oversee wars between mortals in an ordinary plane, instead delegating such matters to lower gods.

Therefore, henceforth, convocations of the gods by the Heavenly Principle would only be attended by beings who transcended universes.

At this moment, she could fully sense just how great Teyvat had become.

Although her share of authority over Teyvat had been continually diluted, in truth this authority was now stronger by orders of magnitude than ever before.

At the instant Teyvat ascended into an internal multiverse, her power and very existence had expanded at incredible speed.

Where once she was only weak single-universe, now she possessed a mass equivalent to nearly ten great universes. With her Pseudo Star Map Creation added, she held power equal to eleven universes.

She was absolutely the strongest god beneath the Four Eternal Thrones and the Five Sustainers of Heavenly Principle.

At the moment of Teyvat’s ascension, she had glimpsed both the Abyss and the Underworld.

Even with the entirety of their domains’ strength, the Abyssal Sovereign and the Mistress of the Underworld possessed only power close to three universes.

Meanwhile, the leaders of other pantheons generally had only one and a half to two universes’ worth of power.

Buer returned from her thoughts, looking at the flushed, excited gods, and continued speaking:

"Presently, aside from the main universe, all other universes operate according to multiversal order, and thus have been ranked into sequences by the Heavenly Principle."

"Universes that have reached standard single-universe are all placed into the First Sequence. The earlier the sequence number, the stronger the universe. As of now, all universes in the First Sequence already have masters."

"Second Sequence universes range from cosmic structure-level to weak single-universe. These universes have the potential to advance into the First Sequence. Should a god elevate such a universe, naturally they would gain the favor of multiversal order, thereby gaining the Power of Universe."

"And the Power of Universe is an important mark of becoming an Almighty God. Although Second Sequence universes lack universe authority, gaining the absolute favor of a great universe ensures one’s advancement to Almighty God."

"Third Sequence universes range in mass from great galaxy to supergalaxy. Even the weakest contain tens of thousands of galaxies, while the strongest reach hundreds of thousands."

"These rules have already been set by myself and all pantheon leaders. From here, it depends upon your opportunities."

Buer smiled as she spoke.

As soon as she finished, the gods within the temple—who had been holding back their excitement until their faces flushed red—burst into fanatical voices.

From the Egyptian pantheon, Amun-Ra, already a high-level Primordial God nearing weak single-universe, shouted so fervently his voice cracked: "Wonderful! I’m already close to touching the threshold of Almighty God! If I can win a Second Sequence universe and carefully develop it, I will surely ascend to Almighty God!"

From the Norse pantheon, Odin, likewise a high-level Primordial God brushing against the barrier of Almighty God, snorted thunder from his nostrils, his white beard bristling: "The same for me! For centuries my comprehension of Truth has not advanced at all. Now that such a path has appeared, this is truly our salvation!"

"Praise to the Supreme Lord Heavenly Principle!"

Though Odin was already quite satisfied with his current achievements—his true name spread across Pan-Human History—within the eyes of non-divine human civilizations, he was undeniably all-knowing and all-powerful, a sage without dispute.

But compared to true omniscience and omnipotence, it was still nothing.

For he had personally witnessed the power of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.

With but a gesture, the power of an entire universe; with a raised hand, a universe’s revival; with a turn of the palm, a universe’s destruction. To face forward was to behold the future, to turn away was to become the past.

This was true omniscience and omnipotence.

"Wonderful! Even we useless gods with no comprehension of Truth can now ascend to Supreme!"

"Yes! I thought I’d be stuck at God-King forever."

"Forget even the lowest Third Sequence—I’d be satisfied just to gain a small universe!"

The most excited of all was Apep, the Dragon of Dendro. Her eyes were glowing green.

"Great, great! At last, another grand opportunity! This is truly wonderful!"

These years had been torment for her. Though she had reached the rank of Primordial God, it was only as a beginner. Compared to Amun-Ra or Odin, she was far inferior. Even Nilu had surpassed her—having become a Primordial God three hundred years earlier.

Her pace had not been slow, but compared with her fellow dragon sovereigns, she was anxious.

Not to mention that the Hydro Dragon King possessed a Pseudo Star Map Creation.

In Liyue, the Geo Dragon King had already reached weak single-universe. Even the Anemo Dragon King, once more feeble than her, had now become a high-level Primordial God, standing equal to Odin. It was likely he would soon ascend to weak single-universe.

She was too embarrassed to call herself the Dendro Dragon King anymore. Even within the Sumeru Pantheon, gods of her same rank only referred to her as the Dragon of Dendro.

"This time—I must win a Second Sequence universe!"

At that moment, from the slightly lower throne beside Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Nahida softly clapped her small hands.

Clap, clap～

The assembly fell silent at once.

Nahida spoke: "Everyone, do not look only at the benefits. Without full preparation, such ventures may instead bring calamity upon yourselves."

"And this disaster may not only consume you—but even bring destruction to the universe itself."

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