"Alright, alright, everyone stop drinking! Something big just happened—Master says to wake everyone up!" Canaria quickly called out, glancing at Baron La Croix, who was hiding in a corner, trying to sneak a lick at a little girl's red shoes.
Baron hurriedly stuffed the stolen shoes out of sight, his expression briefly turning serious—but only for a moment. "Huh? Something big happened? Didn't we just defeat the Last Embryo? Is that Demon Lord coming to pick a fight with us now? Could it be a 3-Digit Demon Lord?"
At present, Arcadia was at the height of its power. Its 4-Digit members numbered in the hundreds, while its 5-Digits were beyond counting. Even if most of those belonged to allied communities, Arcadia's core alone still boasted several dozen 4-Digit members.
Not even a 3-Digit Demon Lord would dare openly provoke them now.
Clap, clap!
Baron quickly pulled out a Gift Card. A gentle light spread from it—"The Blessing of the God of Wine's Sobriety." Instantly, everyone sobered up completely.
Before anyone could even complain, waves of information flooded their minds. One by one, their faces went pale.
Everyone here had contributed to the victory over humanity's Final Trial. None of them were fools—they quickly grasped the full scope of what had just occurred.
"Hiss… unbelievable. Another Little Garden? And it's a perfect one—resolved every paradox and ultimate proposition? And they're planning to form an alliance? That's just insane…"
Koumei Kasukabe, Arcadia's leader and strongest fighter, drew in a sharp breath. The sudden influx of information nearly made him bite his tongue.
"So what are we waiting for? Call a meeting already! This is even more terrifying than defeating the Final Trial itself!" roared Highness, his golden mane flaring as his eyes bulged in shock. Once the steed of the Sun God Surya's chariot, he knew far more upper-level secrets than even Canaria.
"By the heavens! We can't catch a break, can we? We just finished conquering the Final Trial!"
"This is too terrifying—another Little Garden!"
"Yeah, terrifying indeed. A single grain of dust from the upper layers is enough to crush us lower communities like a mountain."
"Hehe, but isn't that a good thing?" chuckled Garlolo, one of the founders of the Gryphon-Lion Community.
An external crisis would only make the Arcadia Grand Alliance stronger—and would draw many neutral communities into their ranks.
For those who had already joined, it was undeniably good news.
After all, the Arcadia Grand Alliance had been created to fight Demon Lords—a goal fraught with peril. Even now, at the height of their glory, most communities sought stability, not endless battle.
"Indeed. We don't have the initiative here anyway. This kind of matter ultimately depends on Lady Canaria and the others."
The leader of Salamandra smiled faintly. As the head of the lower realm's most powerful community—one that had inherited the Pseudo Star Map Creation of the Star Sea Dragon King—he understood better than anyone that, though the Arcadia Alliance looked invincible, it had angered too many pantheons. Its future was bound to face upheaval.
He had even prepared to withdraw from the alliance—but now that such a development had occurred, it was worth observing a little longer.
Of everyone present, none understood the current situation better than Canaria.
What others could already sense as hidden danger—how could she not?
Her earlier worries faded away almost entirely.
"The emergence of another Little Garden means that the upper pantheons' attention will all be redirected. The lurking crisis will quietly dissolve on its own."
Moreover, while communication between the two Little Gardens would naturally occur at the upper levels, much of the direct contact and cooperation would fall to the lower layers. After all, the lower layers formed the foundation for all upper-layer development.
And as the largest community in the lower realms, the Arcadia Grand Alliance would inevitably take center stage.
Arcadia's efficiency was unmatched—before any formal meeting could even begin, every role and task had already been assigned.
Auras utterly unlike those of Little Garden's gods and Buddhas descended from the upper layers. Every community and every inhabitant of the lower realms lifted their gaze toward the heavens, staring in awe at the eleven golden portals that now stood upon the highest layer.
Countless meteors poured forth from those gates. Some were so enormous that they could be seen even with the naked eye—those were world-ships, each the size of a planet. From every portal emerged no fewer than five of these colossal vessels.
"So fast already?" Canaria looked up at the celestial spectacle, her mouth falling open in disbelief. She had only just finished organizing the initial arrangements—she hadn't even managed to contact Lord Shiroyasha yet.
"World-ships the size of planets… that's incredible!"
"Yeah! Even in the upper layers, ships that can traverse endless worlds are top-tier creations. Not even most 3-Digit gods or Buddhas could construct something like that!" Highness nearly bit through his tongue in shock.
A world-ship was not merely a vessel the size of a planet—it was a ship capable of sailing through the void itself, containing within it everything a world should have. In other words, a divine Noah's Ark.
For a single pantheon to create even one world-ship was enough to make it shine as the brightest star in the upper realms.
"They seem to be using those world-ships as transport carriers…" Koumei Kasukabe murmured quietly.
"They're getting closer! One of the world-ships is heading straight toward us—it's massive! And it's moving across realms on its own!" Baron shouted, pointing toward the sky.
Though he was a 4-Digit Demon Lord capable of creating planets, shaping dimensions, or even destroying an entire solar system beyond Little Garden with ease, he had no doubt—if he stood before that world-ship, he would be obliterated instantly, not even a trace of his spirit left behind.
Koumei's face went pale. "Hurry, hurry! We're the largest community in the lower realms—if those from the other Little Garden intend to contact anyone first, it'll be us! If we handle this poorly, it could turn into a diplomatic disaster of cosmic proportions!"
"Don't worry," said Canaria calmly. "Lord Shiroyasha has already told us—they bear no ill will."
When the world-ship reached a distance roughly equal to that between the Earth and the Moon, it halted. From it, several smaller vessels detached and flew toward Arcadia's headquarters.
Everyone who had feared the massive ship might crash down at any moment finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, having something the size of a planet hovering above you was enough to make anyone wet themselves in terror.
The smaller vessels descended near Arcadia's base. Even though they were called "small," each was still the size of an entire city.
Several rays of light flashed—and a group of women appeared before Arcadia's members. They were strikingly elegant, clad in sharp, commanding attire, their strength impossible to gauge.
"Greetings, friends of Little Garden!" the woman at the front said warmly. "We are the Beidou Great Fleet, a commercial community under the command of the Liyue Divine Collective. We specialize in inter-world trade. I am Beidou, the fleet's leader. Would you be interested in opening discussions of mutual exchange?"
Beidou stepped forth from the radiant light.
The divine aura emanating from her body instantly made everyone in the Arcadia Grand Alliance realize—they were facing a 3-Digit god.
Only the unique system of her world allowed her to fully suppress her own power, preventing any disturbance to the surrounding realm.
No one needed to be told such details; beings of this level answered all questions the moment one laid eyes upon them.
In the past, when 3-Digit gods descended from the upper layers, such clarity was rare—only because the Celestial Gates of Myriad Heights forcibly suppressed the power of all 3-Digit beings.
Under those rules, any 3-Digit descending to the lower realms could no longer exercise their full might.
Such constraints were absolute laws dictated by the Nexus of Little Garden.
For this reason, 3-Digits would rarely descend unless absolutely necessary.
In such a state, even a 3-Digit could be killed.
Of course, "killed" here meant only that their physical body could be destroyed—it did not signify true death.
Unless slain during a Last Embryo, a 3-Digit could not truly die. At most, their body would be annihilated.
And even then, their divine spirit could eventually regenerate through faith and their remaining divine essence.
At present, not even most 2-Digits could erase a 3-Digit's divine essence entirely—they could only seal it, corrupt it, or weaken it.
Beidou strode forward, full of excitement, her hearty smile radiating warmth. There was no trace of arrogance or condescension toward the Arcadia Alliance, despite their comparatively modest power.
After all, though she now stood as an Almighty God of the lower single-universe level—and had just received the 3-Digit divine essence from Little Garden, elevating her to a standard single-universe class—she too had once been weak.
Who wasn't, at the beginning?
She had started as nothing more than an ordinary mortal.
Besides, the Arcadia members before her had achieved the impossible—defeating the Last Embryo with mortal strength. That kind of feat, within Teyvat, would mark them as the blazing supernovas of an entire divine collective, their future potential immeasurable.
Before departing, countless merchant guilds had expressed their desire to form trade relations with Arcadia. Ultimately, however, Lady Ningguang—wielding her unrivaled influence across all Teyvat—had secured the right for the Liyue Divine Collective.
As for the other trade communities, they had obediently turned their focus toward other potential partners.
Most of the Arcadia members stood frozen in awe. Aside from a select few, almost none had ever seen a true 3-Digit god up close.
Canaria was the first to recover, immediately offering a polite bow. "It's an honor to welcome your presence, Great God Beidou. May I ask what brings you to us in person?"
Though she was personally acquainted with many 3-Digit gods—and even on good terms with some—facing a stranger of such rank still made her a bit uneasy.
Beidou waved her hand casually, her tone loud and cheerful. "Kazuha, little brother, we've just arrived. I'll have a chat with our friends from Arcadia—you should mingle a bit too."
Kazuha nodded. "Understood, Sister Beidou." Yet, despite his easy smile, he felt slightly awkward inside. Though he was known throughout Teyvat as a great god in his own right, formal diplomacy wasn't exactly his strong suit.
Still, he let out a small sigh and composed himself.
"Come, come—we've just arrived. As the hosts, you've got to introduce us to everyone properly, right?"
"Of course, Great God Beidou. Please, come to the hall—we can speak more comfortably there."
As one of Little Garden's most brilliant tacticians and social butterflies, Canaria immediately adapted to the situation.
"Leticia, please bring out Arcadia's finest tea. Baron, prepare our best fruit and pastries."
Leticia nodded quickly. "At once, Lady Canaria." Her heart was pounding as she looked into the eyes of this exuberant goddess. Somewhere deep within that gaze, she sensed a faint but burning hope.
Her family—the Knight Clan of Little Garden—had once been slandered and cursed by a wicked bard, their legend twisted into that of blood-drinking monsters unable to walk beneath the sun.
The curse that should have fallen upon her had instead been taken by her younger sister, who had willingly borne the corruption—transforming into a monster that devoured her own children.
To overturn such a perversion of myth was impossible—unless a 2-Digit god intervened.
And why would any 2-Digit ever do such a thing for her?
But now… another Little Garden had appeared.
Since this was another Little Garden—one that had transcended all limits and achieved perfection—it must surely possess the power to reverse the curses inflicted upon the noble clans of their own world.
...
Aside from Arcadia, the subordinate communities of other pantheons in the lower layers of Little Garden also received visitors—commercial communities from Teyvat.
The arrival of Teyvat's merchant fleets marked a new era of exchange, but even as business ties were forming below, the upper-layer gods and Buddhas of Little Garden could no longer contain their curiosity. One after another, they began to traverse the World Gate toward the perfect Little Garden on the other side.
...
The moment they stepped through the World Gate, they were met with a profound shock.
Instantly, they felt as though they were suffocating fish, struggling in alien waters—but within a breath, the sensation passed, replaced by awe.
They could feel it clearly now—the laws here were beyond comparison. The rules of this realm were far stronger, far deeper, and utterly beyond comprehension.
"Principle...?" murmured the World Dragon, Gyurimo, her pale violet eyes wide in astonishment. "A layer beyond mere rules? How have I never even heard of this before?"
In Little Garden, the strength of its rules far surpassed that of any external world—but that superiority had only ever been a matter of degree, not of kind.
This, however—this was a difference of dimension itself.
It felt almost as though she were swimming within the power of the Twin Goddesses themselves.
If even Gyurimo was this shaken, the other gods and Buddhas were utterly speechless.
Driven by an insatiable desire for greater power, and the yearning to advance even further, nearly half of Little Garden's 3-Digit gods had come through—and all eleven 2-Digits without exception.
They were desperate to receive Teyvat's blessing. Perhaps, through that blessing, they could ascend to higher ranks—to 2-Digits themselves.
"Principle…! Just as gods and Buddhas ascend to 2-Digits by mastering their domains, even the Rules themselves must have higher strata—levels that approach the state of Truth. So this is what they mean by a perfect Little Garden!"
"If it truly stands above Rules as Law stands above Domain, then it must be something controllable—just as Full Authority Domains can be governed by 2-Digits. Heavens… could this be another path to becoming a Primeval God!?"
As the gods trembled with revelation and awe, the gazes of Phanes, Asmoday, and the other Super-Primeval and Primeval Gods turned toward them.
In that instant, the Wills of the Multiversal Truth and the Multiversal Will itself descended upon the gathering of Little Garden's gods.
Rumble… Rumble… RUMBLE—!
—
—
7 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven