"See-Through Girl," "In/Spectre," "Grand Blue," "Campione!," "My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected"…
The moment the list of world coordinates appeared, Noah was visibly surprised.
"Seventeen worlds! I thought finding five or six in one go would be impressive."
[Ding! The level of the Teyvat Universe has increased. World coordinate search range expanded.]
Listening to the system's voice, Noah rubbed his chin. So that's how it is— the stronger the universe, the broader the search range. Was it based on how many worlds Teyvat could absorb in one sweep?
With that thought, he carefully examined the worlds discovered.
Among them were several plane worlds—some of which weren't weak by any measure.
"Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World," "Re:Creators," and "Campione!"
Among them, "Campione!" had power levels not far below those of the "DXD" world, with a total rule count approaching the peak of a plane world.
Noah's eyes lit up when he looked at "Re:Creators": "This world… I just acquired the 'Fantasy Truth' and now a world containing the 'Fantasy Truth' appears."
He clicked to check the basic state of the "Re:Creators" world.
Originally, this world was a mundane, magic-less science-based world—just an ordinary blue planet. But then a 'Fantasy Truth' fell from the 'Higher Dimensions' onto that world.
That single 'Fantasy Truth' instantly elevated the planet's world level by several tiers, reaching the upper limit of a plane world.
If it continued to be nourished by the 'Fantasy Truth,' it would soon ascend to an 'Infinite Plane World'—and those fictional works would become reality.
"Just how high is the quality of this 'Fantasy Truth'? It single-handedly elevated an ordinary world to near-infinite plane status."
A "beginner infinite plane world" was roughly equivalent to pre-ascension Teyvat.
Even a 'Truth' couldn't instantly manifest all fictional worlds into reality. At best, it could bring a few of the most popular worlds into existence.
"This 'Fantasy Truth' must be high-grade—likely not inferior to the Truth Shard from the One Punch Man world."
Noah's eyes gleamed. He had thought it would take a long time before his 'Fantasy Truth' improved in quality—yet here it was, falling right into his lap.
Right now, even if he used all his 'Fantasy Truth' power, it would barely be enough to manifest a single nation from fiction into reality.
But the 'Truth' in the Re:Creators world had the power to elevate an entire planet to an Infinite Plane World.
"This world is the highest priority. Next is Campione!, then Re:Zero."
"I'll personally visit Re:Creators and Re:Zero. As for Campione!, I'll leave that to the other gods. I'm curious what'll happen when gods from both universes who share the same names meet."
Noah rubbed his chin, a mischievous smile curling at the corners of his lips.
After all, the world of Campione! contained gods from every mythos.
Naturally, he had anticipated such name conflicts between identical gods.
To resolve this, he had implemented a system of "identity and authority," directly borrowing the 'True Name' system from the Little Garden.
The Cosmic Nexus recorded the 'True Names' of all existing gods.
Essentially, each god now had an official registry.
If both you and another god were named Odin, but only one registry existed, what would happen?
Simple: you'd duel for it. Under the rules of the Cosmic Nexus, a 'True Name Showdown' would commence—winner takes all.
The victorious god would seize all divinity, authority, rule, and Divine Seat tied to the name 'Odin.'
The loser wouldn't be killed, but would be demoted to a "Lower God" and start over.
Why a Lower God? Because their 'Authority,' 'Rules,' 'Divine Seat,' and 'True Name' would all be stripped away—leaving them a blank-slate god.
Noah continued scanning the other worlds. Beyond the top three most valuable, there was also "KamiKatsu: Working for God in a Godless World," which featured numerous gods.
"Eromanga Sensei, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU…"
These were all slice-of-life worlds. Seeing them brought Noah's memories back to his days as a normal student.
"Ordinary worlds like these... Nowadays, even gods don't need to intervene directly—no need for Quasi-Gods either. Proxy wars can be conducted instead."
In such magic-less, non-advanced tech slice-of-life worlds, gods could project a divine sense to communicate with humans, granting power and bestowing titles like "Saintess" or "Chosen One."
Occasionally displaying a divine miracle, combined with the viral spread of modern internet, their influence could cover the world within days.
They didn't even need system permissions—just pure influence could allow the integration of that world into "Human History," resulting in immediate annexation.
Ancient worlds, by comparison, were a bit trickier—those still required missionary efforts.
"These worlds can just be posted to the Cosmic Nexus and claimed by the pantheons' Supreme Primary Gods. Each pantheon can only claim once at a time."
Of course, it would be determined by a spin-wheel system—whoever lands on a world gets it. Pure luck.
Naturally, the higher the world's level, the more merit it would yield after successful integration.
Noah shut off the system.
"The universe only advanced a few days ago, and its internal cycle hasn't fully adapted to the rapid expansion. I'll post the coordinates to the Cosmic Nexus a few days later."
Currently, the Teyvat Universe had reached the mid-stage of Phase Two.
The final phase would be the conquest of the No Game No Life world.
Once that world was conquered, he would obtain the almighty creation artifact—the "Star Grail"—and with it, a "Medium Universe."
At that point, the "Teyvat Universe" would be elevated to "Multi-Galaxy Level." And with the "Star Grail," which itself was at the "Single Universe Level," even if world annexation paused, Teyvat's universe could still gradually reach Single Universe status on its own.
Noah stopped walking and looked ahead.
In front of him stood a humble yet towering thirty-story restaurant. Despite its simplicity, every inch of it radiated divine presence.
The air buzzed with life. Ordinary citizens, adventurers, sorcerers, Liyue's adepti, newly ascended gods from the lower realms, even freshly promoted Upper Gods from Liyue could be found here.
They had all come for the same reason—culinary delight.
All walks of life were gathered within: chatting, eating, drinking, trading, and boasting.
Hanging over the entrance was a sign: [Wanmin Restaurant].
A visit to Liyue would be incomplete without dining at Wanmin Restaurant.
After all, it was run by the "Stove God," a Primary God, and the Upper God "God of Food."
"You promised that once you became the God of Cooking, you'd be my personal little chef~ Xiangling, don't you dare go back on that promise~" Noah smirked as he stepped through the door of Wanmin Restaurant.
As soon as Noah stepped into Wanmin Hall, a clerk at the level of Lower God came up to greet him.
"Esteemed Upper God, have you reserved a private room in advance or would you like a regular meal today?"
She was a god who had ascended from the lower realm and joined the Liyue Pantheon. Now working under Primary God Marchosius, she had chosen to settle in Liyue Harbor.
Having once lived as a human, she was used to a human lifestyle, so she took up the position of a clerk at Wanmin Hall.
Wanmin Hall was one of the largest "communities" under the Liyue Pantheon.
The term "community" was reportedly part of a system set by gods even higher than Primary Gods.
So now she was a member of the "Wanmin Hall Community," and like most ascended or internally nurtured gods, the community felt like home.
The Upper Gods of Wanmin Hall also treated their members well.
Noah smiled. "I'm a friend of your Upper God Xiangling and of Marchosius. Just tell her—Noah came to see her."
"A friend of the Upper God? Really?"
Usually, when an Upper God's friend came, it would be arranged through the chat group in advance. She hadn't been part of the community long, but even she knew that much.
Noah said, "That's because I wanted to surprise her. Relying on the chat group too much takes the fun out of things."
"Ah! I see. My apologies, sir, I'll contact the Upper God right away."
Flustered, she reached out to Xiangling via the chat group.
He saw right through my thoughts… Is this the power of an Upper God? Incredible.
Moments later, Xiangling appeared, running over to Noah.
"Brother Noah! Long time no see!" Her cheeks were flushed, and her lively, youthful energy came rushing toward him.
Behind her, Marchosius came dashing in, bowing and nodding furiously like a clumsy teddy bear: "Lord Noah, my sincerest apologies for not greeting you sooner!"
He was drenched in sweat. Just like before—Lord Heavenly Principle had come incognito again, and he hadn't even noticed. Terrifying.
Noah's mouth twitched. This teddy bear... had just exposed him.
Well, he hadn't exactly been hiding his identity. He just hadn't mentioned it.
Seeing Marchosius's behavior, the customers and Xiangling were all stunned.
Even when Primary Gods visited, the Stove God never bowed and scraped like this. Just who was this man?
The clerk covered her mouth with both hands in shock—she'd spoken so casually with someone even Marchosius had to bow to.
Xiangling blinked at Marchosius, then turned dazedly to Noah. "Brother Noah… Are you someone really important?"
Marchosius suddenly realized what he'd done and froze like a statue.
Noah waved his hand. "Alright, Marchosius, don't freeze up."
Turning to Xiangling, he spoke gently, "Xiangling, I never said I wasn't someone important. But would you distance yourself from me because of that?"
Xiangling snapped out of it and waved her hands nervously. "No, no! I would never push Brother Noah away! Come to the backyard—I'll make tea for you right now!"
She pulled him by the hand and led him toward the backyard.
The backyard of Wanmin Hall was where its members rested.
Marchosius had asked Madame Ping to use her authority to create a "Cave Abode" here—it was like a miniature world.
Noah was seated at a stone table while Xiangling hurried to pour him tea, and Marchosius anxiously brought out the finest snacks.
Xiangling gently set the teapot down, then sat on the stone stool closest to Noah, her big eyes blinking as she said innocently, "So Brother Noah is a really powerful god… You kept that secret from me for so long."
In her heart, Xiangling didn't feel any distance between them because of their difference in status. After all, she was a god too, and had encountered plenty of gods before.
Just a few days ago, she and Guoba had even traveled to Sumeru to cook for the Supreme God.
Noah raised the teacup and took a careful sip, then said warmly, "I never lied to you, Xiangling. You just never asked me."
Xiangling pouted slightly. "After I became a god, I looked everywhere for you, Brother Noah." Her cheeks flushed pink as she waved her hands quickly.
"I just wanted you to taste the new divine dish I created! Don't misunderstand! And don't tease me, either."
Her index fingers tapped together shyly, her embarrassment on full display.
Noah set down the teacup and, seeing how adorably flustered she was, couldn't resist teasing her: "Tease you? When have I ever teased you? I don't recall—could you give me an example?"
Xiangling met his eyes, then bashfully wiggled her body and looked down, only occasionally peeking up at him.
"J-just… don't tease me like last time… you know, that kind of teasing…"
Noah smiled. "Oh~ that time, huh~ I remember it clearly. Xiangling made a promise: if she became Teyvat's number one chef, she'd become my personal little chef. Yes, I remember that especially well."
Xiangling didn't know where to put her hands. Her cute face turned bright red, and she bowed her head, unable to look at him.
She murmured in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "Brother Noah… you're so mean…"
Noah looked at her embarrassed, overheated expression—she seemed ready to burst—and asked curiously, "Am I really that mean? In what way?"
Xiangling mumbled quietly, "Brother Noah always teases me. You're really mean…"
Noah sighed exaggeratedly. "Then I won't tease you anymore. I guess Xiangling really doesn't like me… In that case, I won't come here anymore either."
Xiangling was stunned. She shot to her feet in a panic and shouted, "Brother Noah! I don't dislike you!"
Noah grinned. "You don't dislike me? Then… does that mean you like me?"
Realizing what she'd walked into, Xiangling saw his playful smile and instantly covered her face. "Uuu~ Brother Noah, you're teasing me again!"
Her reaction made Noah decide to stop teasing her—any more and she'd probably run away.
Her ears were completely red as she covered her face and stammered, "I-I'll go cook for Brother Noah now, okay?"
Noah nodded. "Sure. Come to think of it, I've never had a meal cooked by the God of Food yet."
Xiangling breathed a sigh of relief—but before she could finish, she heard something that nearly made her faint from embarrassment.
"So… Xiangling, that means you're already my little chef now, right?"
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