The moment Xipe the Harmony fell, the universe itself trembled.
After dispatching the little thief who dared to offend Su Mo, the sun-brilliant young woman glanced around. Her gaze seemed to pierce the depths of space, and after a curious look, she turned her attention to Su Mo.
"I don't know where this is, but remember to come find me soon!"
The version of her that appeared now was not her true self. Shiroyasha was not yet capable of projecting her will across multiversal barriers. The her before them was merely a projection of the power Su Mo held.
It was only because Shiroyasha's tier was so high that it possessed a basic AI, akin to an offline version of a map application.
"Alright," Su Mo nodded.
Only then did Shiroyasha return to her position with satisfaction, reverting to her statue form.
Although she was only making a request based on a personality model of her true self—a mere afterimage—and her main body would have no way of knowing what Su Mo promised, nor could she verify if he would fulfill it, she still said it.
Because she knew full well that as long as Su Mo nodded and agreed, even if her true self didn't know, even if there was no one to supervise, he would absolutely keep his promise.
It wasn't until Shiroyasha had returned to her statue form and disappeared along with the other supreme authorities, and the domain of the Pantheon had dissipated, that everyone present could finally breathe again.
The pressure of a power far exceeding that of the Aeons, a feeling of almost cosmic-level mass, had rendered them completely speechless.
Even Emanator-level existences didn't dare to breathe too loudly in Shiroyasha's presence.
Despite her friendly attitude, her aura alone exerted a pressure that was absolutely irresistible, an awe that couldn't even be looked at directly.
"Lord Su Mo, who was that esteemed individual?" Acheron asked, her face filled with reverence.
This was the first time she had ever seen an existence that could surpass the Aeon of Nihility. Now she finally understood why Su Mo was so confident in his ability to overcome Nihility. A power stronger than it truly existed in the world.
"Shiroyasha, a friend I met in an outer universe," Su Mo replied casually.
Hearing this, everyone's eyes widened slightly.
"An outer universe, beyond the galaxy, actually exists!" Dr. Ratio exclaimed. "It seems the fundamental theoretical structure of the entire universe will have to be changed because of that one sentence from Lord Su Mo!"
Unlike the small worlds isolated by Imaginary Space, what Su Mo was talking about was a genuine outer universe.
"Are all of Lord Su Mo's friends this terrifying?" Even Sparkle couldn't maintain her usual expression, her mouth hanging open. "If I saw correctly, that sun-like existence could completely crush Lord Aha, right? And the other deities had the same level of power... With their strength, wouldn't Lord Aha just be kicked around like a ball?"
In the eyes of the Fools, Aha had been in the strongest tier, capable of challenging even the Aeon of Nihility. But now that the Aeon of Nihility Itself had been crushed, the prestige of the Aeon of Elation plummeted.
Forget the core area and the supreme beings who could crush an Aeon with a casual gesture; even the thunder and war gods in the non-core areas seemed far more capable in a fight than the Aeon of Elation.
No wonder the Aeon sector wasn't placed near the front. She suspected that with the Aeon of Elation's power, they probably wouldn't even rank in the top thousand within the Pantheon.
Thinking about it, Aha's decision to show goodwill earlier was definitely the right move. Otherwise, the Aeon who got casually erased might have been Them.
"The Aeon..."
"Fell just like that?"
The most incredulous of all were the sibling pair, Robin and Sunday.
Although they had come to doubt Xipe the Harmony's methods, they had both been Their believers. To see the god they once worshiped fall so easily was a shock that was hard to put into words.
Faced with this surprise and shock, Su Mo's expression was exceptionally calm.
"The Aeon of Harmony's authority to attune all things is indeed very strong," he said, without a hint of sarcasm. "They just clearly forgot one thing: assimilation is relative. The moment They coveted the Pantheon, They themselves became a part of it."
Even if Shiroyasha hadn't acted, even if Su Mo hadn't acted, the outcome for Xipe the Harmony would still have been destruction.
How could a mere Aeon casually usurp the sovereignty of a Pantheon that contained the cosmology of Roman mythology and universal truths?
In reality, just as Xipe had used Dominicus as bait to lure Su Mo, Su Mo's intentionally open access to the Pantheon was also bait to lure Xipe.
Xipe thought They were assimilating and corroding the Pantheon.
In reality, Their own sovereignty was being assimilated by it. To willingly throw Themselves into the statue was an act of foolishness akin to walking into a trap.
If Su Mo hadn't intentionally controlled the situation, giving Them space to perform and allowing Them to exert Their authority of attunement to the fullest, he could have easily made Xipe submit to him with just his control over the Pantheon's sovereignty.
In fact, even if Su Mo had done nothing and just let Xipe continue their assimilation, They would have soon been diluted into nothingness by Their own power.
Not because Their assimilation ability was weak, but because the scale of the Pantheon's interior far exceeded the limits of what They could assimilate.
Simply put, Their capacity was insufficient.
But for Su Mo, this wasn't a concern.
And so—
"I remember, They did it like this, right?"
Facing the ravaged battlefield, Su Mo raised his hand slightly, reaching into the void before him.
Xipe the Harmony had fallen, but the Path of Harmony had not disappeared. Normally, no other being should have been able to control the full power of the Path of Harmony at this moment.
Except for Su Mo.
Faint blue specks of light gathered in his palm. The power of the Path of Harmony from across the entire universe all converged in his hand, ultimately flowing like fragments into the phantom behind him.
Xipe's divine statue had been utterly destroyed by Shiroyasha, but now, Su Mo completely reshaped it. However, the reshaped statue was no longer in Xipe's likeness. Like Kalki, it had taken on Su Mo's form.
Seeing this, Dr. Ratio's pupils shook violently. He instantly realized that a mythological scene was unfolding before his very eyes.
Just like the ascension of Ruan Mei, an event that countless scholars had lamented missing, what was happening now was no less significant.
Acheron, Sparkle, and the others also quickly realized what was happening.
"Slaying a god, and then usurping the Aeon's Path... is Lord Su Mo ascending to godhood?"
Amidst this shock, the Imaginary energy of the entire universe once again fluctuated violently. The power of Harmony spread throughout the universe as the Path of Harmony completed its change of ownership.
Three days later, when the news of Xipe the Harmony's fall spread, the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Xianzhou Alliance jointly announced another piece of universe-shaking news.
Su Mo, the Arbiter of Myriad Transformations, had devoured the Harmony and successfully ascended to godhood!
To distinguish him, the people of the Xianzhou added the title of "Dijun" (Sovereign Lord) to his name as a sign of reverence. The name "Wanhua Dijun Su Mo" (Su Mo, the Arbiter of Myriad Transformations) was thoroughly etched across the entire universe.
For others, the act of slaying a god and usurping an Aeon's authority was so incredible that it was hard to believe.
To prevent copycats, even the Xianzhou Alliance deliberately omitted the "god-slaying" part from their announcements.
Compared to the gods of a god-slaying world, the Aeons were merely different in structure and power source; there wasn't a huge change.
Compared to obtaining a three-digit designation, Su Mo was more interested in the effect of combining the Path of Harmony's attunement ability with the Pantheon.
He had to admit, Xipe's eye for things was quite sharp. The combination of these two powers could definitely produce an effect beyond imagination.
If They had possessed the same high-level control over various mythological cosmologies as Su Mo, not only would They not have been backlashed by Shiroyasha's statue, but They might have been able to ascend to a realm unattainable even by some double-digit beings.
"If I can attune the divine statues in the Pantheon with the god-groups as the core... isn't that a reverse analysis of a cosmology?"
Su Mo had indeed gained a lot of inspiration from Xipe's authority.
If a mythological cosmology was scattered into fragments and distributed among the divine authorities of a god-group, then Xipe's attunement and harmony would allow Su Mo to approach the cosmology by unifying those authorities.
The exponential increase in efficiency brought by this technique was no less than the contribution of PCR to gene research.
The world of Black Bullet had provided a massive experience pack for the Christian cosmology.
Xipe's technique, on the other hand, gave Su Mo a buff to the speed at which he could research all cosmologies. The gains were self-evident.
However, Su Mo did not immediately throw himself into the study of cosmologies. He temporarily reined in his power and looked at Robin.
"Lord Su Mo..." Looking at Su Mo, who had now usurped the authority of the Aeon of Harmony, Robin was a little nervous, unsure of what attitude to take towards the new god she believed in.
Yes, although she had tried to stray from Xipe's path before, at this moment, there was no more loyal believer of Harmony than her. At least, Su Mo could feel the fervent faith in her heart.
As for Xipe, who had tried to harm Su Mo? Robin could only clasp her hands and wish Them peace.
"Robin," Su Mo said.
"Here!" The young woman looked at Su Mo, not daring to blink.
"Xipe the Harmony has fallen, but the Path of Harmony has not been severed. The forces under the Harmony will inevitably be impacted," Su Mo said in his usual, leisurely tone. "If not handled properly, it could cause unnecessary chaos."
"Yes." Hearing Su Mo's words, Robin nodded with a hint of worry. As she began to think, the tension in her heart lessened considerably. It seemed that even after becoming a god, Lord Su Mo hadn't changed. He was still the same as before.
"The matter of slaying a god will surely arouse much suspicion. Whether to curry favor with you or to fight for power and profit, problems will inevitably arise within The Family." A change in Aeons could very well lead to a major internal purge. This was no small matter.
"Therefore, there must be an existence sufficient to awe everyone, and to reassure and pacify them, in order to minimize the turmoil," Su Mo continued.
"Mhm, Lord Su Mo is right!" Robin nodded in agreement, not yet realizing Su Mo's intention. She didn't notice that Sparkle and Black Swan were already looking at her with eyes full of envy, and even Sunday had a look of gratification and emotion.
Seeing the girl's clueless expression, Su Mo continued, "I can't be bothered with such trivial matters, so it must be entrusted to someone I trust."
"And to suppress the chaos and avoid suspicion to the greatest extent, this person must also be a member of The Family, and not a traitor." In fact, Roman mythology used this exact strategy during its expansion: defeat, conquer, then incorporate.
By incorporating local representatives into their own power structure, they could ensure a peaceful annexation to the greatest extent possible.
"Mhm, mhm!" Robin naturally agreed with Su Mo's words unconditionally. After nodding, she immediately began to count on her fingers.
"A member of The Family, and someone Lord Su Mo can trust... eh?"
Almost instantly, she realized. Besides herself and her brother, Lord Su Mo didn't seem to know anyone else in The Family.
And considering her brother was a traitor to the Harmony and had been assigned his penance by Lord Su Mo, wasn't there only one candidate left?
"That's right! I've already decided." Looking at Robin's stunned expression, Su Mo stretched out his right hand and placed it on her head.
"You will be the new Emanator of Harmony."
The moment his words fell, an immense surge of Imaginary energy poured into Robin's body, giving her no time to refuse, completely filling her with Su Mo's searing, hot power.