Qingque, a little reluctant, came up behind Noah to massage his shoulders. This was her first time being so close to a male god.
But on second thought, it was just a massage. It wasn't really putting her in a difficult position—in fact, she even felt like she was getting a great deal out of it.
This Lord Noah truly was kind.
During this time, Tet had hurried from Fontaine to Mondstadt.
Then she replaced Qingque's seat and started shuffling Celestial Jade.
Noah slightly adjusted his own divine rank, lowering himself to the level of a regular Almighty God.
Timaeus had played against Marjorie for a dozen rounds already, and his hands were trembling too much to continue. Finally, Venti stepped in to resolve the situation, taking Timaeus' place, while Jean replaced Marjorie.
Qingque continued massaging Noah while observing the game, utterly astonished.
"Hiss… I thought I had already defeated every opponent in Mondstadt, but I never expected you, a freeloading bard, to have such divine skill at cards!"
"With talent like this, why don't you enter the card tournament? Winning the championship comes with a lot of rewards."
Venti blinked his eyes. "Wow! There's a tournament you can enter? And with prizes? I never knew that."
Tet scoffed. "Come on, Venti. Is there really anything in this world you don't know? You just like to pretend to be weak."
Venti: "Ehe~"
Noah slammed a piece of Celestial Jade onto the table. "Ehe my ass. If you don't speak properly, I'll hit you with these tiles."
Venti raised his hands. "Please spare my little life!"
Noah: "By the way, after all this time, you, drunkard, haven't tried prying secrets out of me? That's unlike you. Did your courage shrink?"
"Qingque, press a little harder."
Qingque: "Oh…"
Noah reclined in his chair, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Venti spoke flatteringly: "Hehe, Lord Noah, I only dare to ask if you're willing to speak. I'm the most well-behaved—I'd never dare to cause trouble."
For those who dared, even if Lord Heavenly Principle ignored them, the faintest trace of displeasure could bring a world-shattering calamity upon them.
Take the neighboring Solar Pantheon for example—though a divine collective, they were only a bit stronger than a pantheon of great gods.
And since Pseudo Star Map Creation hadn't been activated yet, if they were besieged by several pantheons of great gods, they would vanish from Teyvat entirely.
Noah smirked. "I have to say, you really are clever."
"But there is one thing I can tell you—the first contest will be Sagittarius. Sagittarius represents freedom in all things, which benefits you."
"The contests may involve only a few of you, but anyone technically has the right to compete. Each sun favors a certain god. If, even in your favorable domain, you can't seize victory, then it's simply fate."
Venti swallowed hard, a gleam appearing in his eyes. "I understand, I understand…"
The first contest was in his favor? Excellent! He would be the first to claim Solar Sovereignty.
On his home turf, even against old man Morax, he was confident of victory.
Tet chuckled. "Venti, I'm the chief judge of the contests~" She sighed. "But as the referee, I can't be a competitor."
She, too, had wanted a piece of Solar Sovereignty. But the responsibilities that came with it were beyond her capacity. She could only give it up regretfully.
Qingque blinked in confusion, listening blankly. "Friends, what game are you all talking about? Don't keep secrets—tell me too."
Jean smiled. "Miss Qingque, it's nothing major. In about four hundred years, Liyue will hold a festival of games, like Genius Invokation. We're just discussing strategies to win the championship."
The Solar Sovereignty contests had been announced long ago, back when Lord Barbatos returned, through Mondstadt's high-level chat groups.
Qingque's eyes lit up. "So that's it? A divine collective hosting a tournament? That's wonderful!" Then she frowned. "But four hundred years is such a long wait…"
"I thought we Xianzhou people already had a very laid-back sense of time, but the Main Universe's sense of time is even slower than this."
In the Main Universe, as long as one became a Lower God—equivalent to a high-level Pathstrider—one could achieve immortality. For them, time had become something far too insignificant.
Venti comforted: "It's only four hundred years. Just the blink of an eye. Miss Qingque, perhaps in that time your card skills will improve even further."
"By then, you'll be standing as a challenger before the myriad worlds."
Qingque's blood instantly boiled. "You're right! By that time, my card skills will definitely catch up to yours!"
...
Time passed little by little.
Before they knew it, a hundred days had already passed in the Main Universe.
Now, throughout all of Teyvat, the Principle of Time had unified the multiverse's flow—there was no longer any time discrepancy.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
A peal of bells from the highest heavens rang out—sounds only gods of Supreme God rank or above could hear.
All those deities who had received news of the Solar Sovereignty War involuntarily raised their heads in awe.
Gods who had learned of the Solar Sovereignty War's message could come forth as witnesses to observe.
And especially—the very first round of the Solar Sovereignty War was the most explosive: the contest of Solar Sovereignty itself. The contestants were all leaders of divine collectives.
The power of the leaders of divine collectives was something even great gods of those collectives could only imagine—they had never truly witnessed it.
And now, they were about to witness those supreme leaders battling one another for sovereignty. Almost no god could remain calm.
At the very peak of the Supreme Divine Realm, the constellation of Sagittarius, formed by the Light of Human Principle, was lit, proclaiming the opening of the first round of the Solar Sovereignty War, awaiting both witnesses and contenders.
In Liyue Harbor, as he listened to music, Zhongli lifted his gaze to the high heavens. His golden eyes instantly gleamed with battle spirit. With his hands folded behind his back, he spoke calmly: "So it begins at last. The first battle for Solar Sovereignty is Sagittarius?"
"The first one—I claim it."
His figure blurred and vanished.
At the same time—
In Inazuma: Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei.
In Sumeru: Lesser Lord Kusanali and Odin.
In Fontaine: Focalors, Furina, and Neuvillette.
In Snezhnaya: Tsaritsa.
In Greece: Athena.
All of the contenders qualified to vie for Solar Sovereignty released their overwhelming auras and declared the same words:
"The Solar Sovereignty War has finally begun. The first Solar Sovereignty shall be mine…"
All the gods of the Teyvat Great World who had received the message, and were qualified to act as witnesses, avoided the eyes of the ignorant and headed toward the highest arena of the Supreme Divine Realm.
This was a contest, yet also a war. Though it was a war without casualties, war was still war.
The victory or defeat of their supreme gods in this struggle would determine the future height of their entire divine collective.
It was closely tied to every one of them. Moreover, after the first war concluded, their own battles would follow.
From every direction of time and space within Teyvat, the divine auras of gods above the Supreme God rank surged forth.
None of them used any form of transportation—only their own power. At their level, vehicles were mere symbols, far slower than moving by themselves.
The original Seven Nations were the regions closest to the battlefield, and soon, the gods of these nations encountered one another.
"It has been a long time, Lady Guuji."
Dressed in divine robes of white fabric embroidered with golden patterns, Ningguang greeted Yae Miko with a graceful nod.
As one of the second generation to ascend, this God of Wealth had long since become a Primordial God, and she had remained at this level for quite some time.
Within the Teyvat Universe, not many great gods stood above her now—only a few dozen who had already reached single-universe rank.
Yae Miko still appeared as the fox shrine maiden, but behind her floated a radiant almighty halo—a wheel of light formed by the laws of an entire great universe.
This signified that she had become a true Almighty God.
"Indeed, it has been long, Miss Ningguang. The last time we met was during the Lantern Rite three thousand years ago."
Yae Miko carefully examined Ningguang. "Such a solid foundation… it seems the two leaders of the Liyue divine collective value you highly. You're just one step away from breaking through. If you gain insight into the will of the great universe, you may well ascend to weak single-universe."
Ningguang smiled. "Then I shall borrow Lady Guuji's good wishes."
She then glanced at the gods standing behind Yae Miko, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.
The Butterfly Sisters, Kamisato Ayaka, Kamisato Ayato—all also of the second generation of ascended gods—were now standing above her, seemingly having already reached weak single-universe.
And faintly, they carried an aura of Truth.
Could it be… because they had once come into contact with Heavenly Principle? That their understanding of Truth and Law far surpassed that of ordinary gods?
She had heard whispers that some Inazuman gods had encountered Heavenly Principle. As the voice of Liyue, she had always dismissed such talk as rumor, never believing it.
Even if one had met Lord Heavenly Principle, it should only have been those two—and this Lady Guuji.
She herself was also among the few who had first come into contact with Heavenly Principle. When Lord Heavenly Principle had first appeared beside Liyue, Yae Miko had been by their side.
Hiss… thinking about it this way, perhaps those whispers had been true!
Her mind involuntarily recalled those moments when she had glimpsed Heavenly Principle.
Even now—merely having seen Him once meant never forgetting.
Heavenly Principle was the entirety of Teyvat. To remember Him was to recall the very mystery of the world itself.
A bold and blasphemous thought flickered through her mind.
If I could come into contact with Lord Heavenly Principle… would I, too, have already become an Almighty God like Lady Guuji?
The thought flashed and was gone, replaced instantly by panic and dread.
How could she entertain such rebellious thoughts?
Kamisato Ayaka spoke softly: "Sister Ningguang, let's not linger. Our two Shogun-sama have already arrived ahead of us. If we delay any longer, it would be disrespectful."
Ningguang snapped back to awareness. The Inazuman gods had already vanished. Beside her, Keqing tugged at her sleeve, asking curiously:
"Ningguang, what just happened to you? You were dazed for a moment, and you looked frightened and uneasy."
Keqing was shocked—how could Ningguang look so unsettled? Could it be that Lady Guuji had secretly done something to her? A threat? Or perhaps a pressure aimed only at her?
Ningguang sighed deeply and shook her head. "It's nothing. I just remembered something terrifying, that's all."
Keqing was stunned. "Something terrifying? What kind of terrifying thing could you possibly encounter?"
After all, Ningguang was the spokesperson of Liyue—above her stood all the great gods of the Liyue divine collective.
Ningguang only shook her head without answering. She had no intention of explaining—and besides, how could she possibly say such a thing aloud?
"Aiya, Ningguang, Keqing—how did I manage to catch up to you two walking ahead?"
From behind came a mischievous, playful voice. Turning their heads, they saw an all-too-familiar figure.
It was a young girl with plum-blossom pupils, wearing a divination hat of Heaven-and-Earth hexagrams, twirling in her hands a weapon suited for both ritual and battle.
Behind her walked a young man with a weathered, ancient air, hands folded behind his back. Though he wore the face of youth, his presence radiated that of someone as old as the mountains.
Ningguang and Keqing hurriedly bowed. "Lady Hu Tao, Sovereign."
More and more familiar auras began to gather. These were all the great figures of the Liyue divine collective.
Normally, the great figures of Liyue were scattered across countless directions of time and space, and only rarely would they all converge.
The divine collective had grown to such vastness that its high ranks were naturally dispersed.
Even so, no matter how far apart they were, it only took moments for them to assemble—distance had lost all meaning at their level.
"The Solar Sovereignty War can only be contested by leaders of divine collectives. If the rest of us could take part, there'd be very few gods who could outmatch us."
The toy-bear-shaped Marchosius twisted his body as he spoke.
Xianyun said proudly: "That's right. In terms of high-level strength, if we claim second place, who would dare claim first? Aside from our two leaders, we already have more than ten Almighty Gods."
Guizhong replied: "Which is exactly why Lord Heavenly Principle restricted participation to leaders only. Otherwise, it would be too unbalanced."
Zhongli, smiling at his gradually arriving companions, spoke calmly: "Not quite. The Solar Sovereignty War requires leaders, because only leaders can play guiding roles within Pan-Human History."
He lifted his gaze toward the battlefield, shrouded beneath the curtain of heavenly stars.
"Barbatos has already arrived first. So impatient—that's not like him."
"For him to act this way… it must mean he senses that the rules of the first Solar Sovereignty favor him."
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