Venti slumped his shoulders. "Tell me, just what sort of image do I have in the eyes of my friends? I'm still the leader of a Divine Collective, could you at least give me a little face?"
Over the past ten thousand years, Barbatos' reputation among his peers had fallen lower and lower, almost to the point of being on par with Tet.
Furina teased: "Barbatos, you'd better accept your fate. Besides, there are no juniors here, so why worry about face? Even if there were, your face was already lost long ago."
Though the high-level gods of the Divine Collectives often joked at each other's expense, they had never once doubted one another's strength.
Barbatos' image may have seemed pathetic to them, but his power had never been lacking.
And it depended on the company. Only the top tiers of Teyvat dared speak to Barbatos this way. Let a small god without even single-universe strength try it—Barbatos could blow them into another universe with a single breath.
Rubbing his eyes in mock tears, Barbatos whimpered: "Uuuu, this poor bard is too miserable. I barely said a word before you started bullying me. Ah~ but what can I do? I am the weakest leader among the Divine Collectives."
Athena walked over. "Lord Barbatos, you really do like keeping a low profile. To put it another way, you are well-versed in the art of survival. If we must speak of the weakest leader, that should be me."
The Greek Divine Collective was indeed a major one, but she truly was its weakest leader.
As for the Solar King Collective? They didn't even have a proper leader. Shakyamuni and the Hindu Trimurti had only barely reached weak single-universe.
Thus, they stayed at the back, not daring to come forward.
Their Collective had offended nearly every other Divine Collective in some way or another, leaving them unwelcome everywhere.
Without a proper leader, their development lagged behind severely.
The Greek Collective, aside from Athena—who was close to double single-universe strength—still had the Four Primordial Gods, plus Zeus, who had reached weak single-universe.
Hearing Athena's words, Venti immediately cried out in protest: "No, Athena, you're wronging me! I really am the weakest, fragile as a feather. What do I know of survival tactics? I'm only ten thousand years old—I don't understand any of that!"
Jean watched her own leader sulking like a child and smiled faintly, though her heart let out a soft sigh.
This had been the way of her leader for nearly ten thousand years.
Though Barbatos appeared unreliable on the surface, Mondstadt still remained safe under his protection.
It could even be said the Mondstadt Collective was the most livable in all of Teyvat.
"Barbatos, you really have no shame. If anyone is the youngest, it's me."
Tet floated cross-legged through the air toward the gathering of gods, patting her modest chest.
"I haven't even reached ten thousand years yet. I'm only a bit over eight thousand, making me the youngest of us all. No objections accepted."
Furina sighed: "Why are we back to talking about age again?"
Meanwhile, watching the front where the great Collectives conversed warmly, at the very back—and far apart—Shakyamuni, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva all wore bitter expressions.
"Why is it that we are treated like outcasts?"
"I just tried greeting Athena, but she didn't even look at me. Far too disdainful."
Even Shakyamuni nearly lost his Buddha-heart, rolling his prayer beads between his fingers. "Amitabha."
"Exactly! It's not as if we did anything worse than bending the rules a little when pioneering civilizations. The rest of you could have done the same."
"So what do we do now?"
"What else? Without a leader for our Collective, there's nothing to be done."
"The other Collectives have so many more Almighty Gods than we do…"
At present—
The Liyue Collective had not only Zhongli and Hu Tao, both double single-universel, but also numerous Almighty Gods at weak single-universe and above: Guizhong the Dust God, Marchosius the Stove God, Azhdaha the Geo Dragon King, the Adepti, and the four Yaksha leaders.
Among the divine systems under its command, those who had reached weak single-universe included the Jade Emperor, the Three Pure Ones, and Indra.
In the Fontaine Collective, besides Furina, Focalors, and Neuvillette—each having reached double single-universe strength—there were also other gods who had attained weak single-universe: the God of War, Artosh, and the God of Forge, Ocain.
Within its divine systems, there was the Celtic King of Gods Nuada, as well as Mithra of Zoroastrianism.
Yes, the first to reach weak single-universe was not Ahura or Angra Mainyu, but Mithra, the Sun God.
This was thanks to the blessing of Pan-Human History—just as Marchosius, guardian of the Sacred Flame of civilization, had been empowered, Mithra's guardianship of Zoroastrian civilization's flame granted him strength.
The Sumeru Pantheon was even more astonishing. Though Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had already become a Truth and no longer directly managed her Collective, her presence still mattered greatly.
Moreover, she had entrusted the Pseudo Star Map Creation Askr Yggdrasil, to Nahida.
For her, now as a Truth, the Pseudo Star Map Creation was useless—merely an ornament.
But with it, Nahida directly possessed double single-universe strength.
Beneath her, the Norse King of Gods Odin had also reached weak single-universe. Possessing a Pseudo Star Map Creation of his own, his power equaled that of a standard single-universe plus weak single-universe combined. There was also Amun-Ra, the Egyptian Sun and Creator God, who had fully reached standard single-universe.
Though their high-end power was not numerous, their background was formidable.
Inazuma's Collective was more moderate by comparison.
Besides Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei, both at double single-universe, there were many who had attained weak single-universe.
Among them was Amaterasu of the Takamagahara Pantheon, and all the goddesses who had once shared joy with Noah had also reached weak single-universe.
As the highest deity recognized by all fox clans of Teyvat, Yae Miko held her head high, her fox ears twitching upward with pride.
Behind her followed Kamisato Ayaka, Shinobu Kocho, and Kanae Kocho.
The weakest Collectives in terms of mid-level strength were Mondstadt and Snezhnaya.
Besides their leaders, they had only a single weak single-universe god each: Jean for Mondstadt, and Arlecchino for Snezhnaya.
Just as the gods were happily conversing, they suddenly sensed something. Turning their heads, they saw over a dozen unfamiliar single-universe auras rapidly approaching.
These auras were incredibly powerful—among single-universe gods, they ranked at the forefront, second only to the wielders of Pseudo Star Map Creations.
Zhongli, hands folded behind his back, gazed at the approaching lights streaking like meteors, his golden eyes glinting.
"Ah, are those the Aeons of that universe? The bearers of the Paths. These are friends worth making."
Barbatos' eyes also sparkled: "Mhm, the old man is right. After all, you can never have too many friends."
"Since they are masters of the Paths, able to climb to higher realms, inevitably we will have dealings with them in the future."
Nahida looked toward the streaking meteors.
Zhongli, hands folded behind his back, spoke steadily.
"Although after ascending to multiverse, all divine systems can attempt to push their limits through infinite expansion, the simplest path is still to walk the road of Truth—step by step."
The road of truth meant following the Laws upstream, comprehending Laws and Truths, and forging one's own Path.
But the leaders of the Divine Collectives would not walk such a road.
Their foundation was the Primordial Universe. The Laws and Truths they grasped would feed back into the Primordial Universe, elevating its rank.
In short, walking the road of Truth meant diffusing outward into infinite multiverses, while the path of the Divine Collectives meant expanding inward.
Neither was superior nor inferior—one emphasized individual power, the other collective strength.
A paradox: the road of Truth pursued personal power, yet manifested as quantity; the Collective's path pursued group power, yet manifested as quality.
With Teyvat's ascension to multiverse, the leaders of the Collectives were naturally far stronger than the bearers of Paths.
At that point, the Primordial Universe's limit would reach super single-universe, and the leaders of Collectives too would reach super single-universe. But the Pathbearers could only rise to high-tier strong single-universe at most.
Ordinary Lawbearers would also reach super single-universe, while a leader of a Collective was comparable to a Lawbearer.
This information descended to any god upon their ascension to weak single-universe.
Such knowledge was only available above weak single-universe, belonging to the highest tier.
"Make friends? Go ahead. I won't be befriending them. I doubt they'd want to see me either."
The Abyssal Sovereign, Aether, gave a flat glance and continued walking up the steps without looking back.
He had just given that group a thorough beating. Friends? For the Abyssal Sovereign, the seven Archons were already his earliest friends.
Besides, those Aeons were not yet qualified to be his friends.
This time, having consolidated the rewards from reclaiming a great universe, he now possessed the power of six universes. With a few thousand more years of effort, he might reach mid-tier strong single-universe.
"Eh~ Good friend! Leaving already? Better to resolve enmity than to deepen it." Venti waved at Aether's retreating back, but when there was no response, he simply spread his hands.
"Ah, he's still the same as ever. Who knows what happened between him and the Aeons?"
Furina remarked: "Clearly something unpleasant. To annex a great universe naturally brings sieges, but from the looks of it, the Abyss won a crushing victory."
Malikata smiled. "Since the souls of that universe's beings have entered the Underworld, I am aware of what occurred."
Raiden Makoto asked quickly: "Oh? Malikata, do tell us."
Venti leaned in curiously: "A tale of a great universe! As Teyvat's greatest bard, I must certainly compose and sing of it."
Malikata shook her head. "There's nothing much to say—everyone has already guessed."
"When the Abyss moves, it cleanses an entire great universe. Over ninety percent of that universe's civilizations were wiped out. The Aeons did not act directly—they were most likely suppressed by the Abyssal Sovereign."
"There was also a change of old and new Aeons. A few fell."
Odin shuddered. "Fallen? Even such beings can fall?"
The Pathbearers were at least standard single-universe, with the potential to reach power equivalent to countless stacked great universes.
Zhongli cast a glance at Odin. "No matter how high the being, under certain conditions, they can still fall. I believe even those at multiverse level have the possibility of falling."
The four juniors of the Solar King Collective swallowed hard, their eyes full of envy and resentment.
Latecomers were already far stronger than them. It stung deeply.
If only their Collective had a proper leader…
Clearly, the Pseudo Star Map Creations had appeared for so long, yet not a single god had managed to pass their trials.
Of course, none of them considered that they themselves longed for the Pseudo Star Map Creations. Even if they failed the trial, they would clutch them tightly and challenge again and again.
They even feared that outsiders might succeed in the trials, threatening their authority as supreme gods.
Sixteen lights of the Paths descended upon the steps, not far from the gathered gods.
A blue-haired youth carrying a bow stepped out first. His appearance was not much different from that of a Liyue native. Auras slightly above standard single-universe radiated from him—about great universe in total mass.
The youth greeted the unfamiliar gods with a dashing wave.
"Friends of this world, my name is Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt. It is my first time meeting you all. Please look after me."
Behind him, one figure after another emerged from the lights of the Paths. Each bore a different temperament, but all fifteen of them carried power just above a single-universe mass, though none had reached double single-universe.
But among them was one Aeon whose aura had already reached double single-universe, and was not far from triple.
This power surpassed even that of most Divine Collective leaders, leaving all present astonished.
"Everything… is meaningless…"
There was no expression, not even light in the eyes. Except for the head, the rest of his body was pitch black, like a crudely made mannequin. His hollow voice echoed as he spoke.
Afterward, he ignored everyone, his empty eyes revealing no presence at all, as he walked toward the Hall of Gods.
The gods quickly reacted, instinctively giving way to this Aeon as he passed.
"Nihilism?" Zhongli stepped aside slightly, not attempting conversation. "The Path of Nihility… no wonder."
"Ahhh~ So strong!" Venti gasped deeply as the Aeon of Nihility walked past.
"He's stronger than me! How is that possible? Why is he so strong? Ridiculous!"
"Oh my Lord Heavenly Principle, could something have gone wrong??"
Seeing the sudden chill settle over the gathering, Lan, the Hunt Aeon, quickly stepped forward and said: "Ah, friends, please don't mind him. That Aeon is Nihility IX. He's always like that. Best just not to pay him any heed."
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