Genshin Impact: I, Heavenly Principle, Will Make Teyvat Supreme-Chapter 179: As the Chief God, I Can’t Kneel So Easily

Barbatos plucked the strings of his Skyward Harp with a cheeky grin.

"Ah, if we're talking raw strength, I rank maybe fifth or sixth. If we're talking overall standing, I might not even make the top ten."

He wasn't lying. Though he had subdued two worlds, they only added a couple planets to Teyvat—nothing that fundamentally changed its balance of power.

"Old man, why don't you reconsider? If your Asgard joins our Pantheon, I promise you'll be well treated. You'd even have the chance to reach greater heights."

"You're the strongest god in Asgard, yet you're still only a Primary God. Among us, there are not only Primary Gods, but also Supreme Gods—and even a Holy God."

"Right now, I've come with diplomacy in mind. I haven't harmed the people of Asgard."

"But if you insist on resisting, our Pantheon will wipe out all opposition."

"So I sincerely hope you'll make the right decision for your world."

"After all, we're not here to destroy it—we're here to conquer it."

Barbatos spoke like a friendly bard, his tone warm and persuasive. Clear melodies echoed from his fingertips, drifting through the skies above Asgard's battlefield.

Odin's one eye darkened slightly, though his face still bore its forced smile.

"You really do have a silver tongue, outsider. What a waste for someone like you not to be a diplomat in the human realm."

But within, he was already calculating.

As the chief god of the Norse Pantheon, the one who upheld the entire structure of Yggdrasil and governed Asgard, how could he not sense the overwhelming force suppressing all nine realms?

Surely that was the power of Supreme Gods.

The pressure was akin to that of the Great Red in the Dimensional Gap—a force that suppressed the very order of the world.

Even trying to call upon their System to channel the Norse Pantheon's full power was futile. The invaders had sealed even that option.

In just a few exchanges, he had already seen glimpses of the enemy's strength.

The mysterious god who had slain the Great Red—he must have been the so-called Holy God.

If he could do that so effortlessly, then the term "Holy God" was indeed fitting.

And then there was the talk of Barbatos being only a top ten Primary God.

Clearly, the Teyvat Pantheon had more than a dozen gods on the same level as Odin.

The more he thought about it, the deeper the dread settled in his heart.

This was the most difficult challenge he had faced in hundreds of thousands of years.

An unprecedented enemy.

And they were attacking multiple pantheons at once.

Odin glanced at the battles playing out below.

In the realm of the giants, Surtr—the fire giant king and a god only slightly weaker than Odin—was battling a foreign god who wielded the authority of ice. A direct counter.

Vidar, the forest god and also a fellow Primary God, was fighting another foreign god with water authority—and clearly losing.

The valkyrie Brunnhilde was leading her sisters against a host of lesser gods.

The Einherjar clashed with powerful human warriors from the foreign world.

All of them were at a disadvantage.

It was clear—the invaders weren't killing recklessly. They were carefully dismantling Asgard's will to fight.

But if Asgard chose to keep resisting after being defeated, the invaders would not hesitate to strike fatally.

As for Loki—he was nowhere to be seen. That foolish brother of his must be savoring this as the long-awaited Ragnarok.

If things escalated any further, it might truly become the prophesied Ragnarok.

Cold sweat slid down the side of Odin's face.

The Norse Pantheon really had reached a moment of life and death.

It wasn't just that their three chief gods were being overwhelmed—even if they were winning, it would only mean victory over the enemy's Primary God-level deities.

Eventually, the Supreme God suppressing Asgard would intervene directly.

Barbatos calmly observed Odin, whose divine aura flickered and wavered. He knew the old man was shaken—after all, by any rational measure, the Norse Pantheon had no chance of winning.

And they weren't here to destroy worlds. Resistance would only lead to total annihilation.

"Old man, have you made up your mind? For the survival of your world and its people, I trust you'll make the right choice."

Odin suddenly chuckled, stroking his long beard that reached his toes.

"Don't rush me, you impatient boy. Don't you know the elderly think more slowly?"

Then his voice lowered, becoming serious.

"As the chief god of a pantheon, if I were to surrender so easily, what would the other gods think of me?"

Divine power began to burn around him—flames tinged with arcs of blue lightning.

This blue fire was the divine energy unique to the Norse Pantheon.

"Let's make a wager, shall we?"

"As expected, a rational man," Barbatos said knowingly.

As a chief god, Odin couldn't simply lead his pantheon in surrender. Even if the Norse Pantheon were to join Teyvat, surrendering without resistance would disgrace him.

They needed a formal battle—one that would allow them to yield with dignity.

If they were to be conquered, it should be through strength, charisma, and the ideals of the Teyvat Pantheon.

Odin nodded. "After all, I do have my pride."

Spreading his arms, he invoked his authority as the chief god of the Norse Pantheon and called out to all realms of Yggdrasil.

[To all beings of Asgard and the invaders from beyond:]

[I am Odin, chief god of the Norse Pantheon.]

[This savage conflict is unsightly—neither graceful nor civilized, and far too costly in life.]

[As the head of the Norse Pantheon, I hereby propose a new rule of engagement.]

[Let us settle this through a test of strength, one that causes no further bloodshed. If you can overwhelmingly defeat our entire Norse world in this contest, I shall lead us in joining your Pantheon.]

[However, if you fail to do so, then you must leave Asgard in peace.]

All across the nine realms of Asgard, the frequency of battle slowed slightly in response to Odin's declaration.

...

Barbatos clapped and smiled in admiration. "As expected of a chief god."

Odin's proclamation cleverly secured every advantage—without conceding a single thing.

If the invaders wanted to claim Asgard peacefully, even if they wished to fight seriously, this made it difficult to justify doing so. At the same time, it assured the people of Asgard that the invaders did not intend mass slaughter.

This was war, yes—but framed as a duel. If Asgard lost, they would join the invaders' side.

For those proud of their heritage, this gave them reason to fight at full strength without fear of extermination. But should they lose, they had only themselves to blame.

And yet, deep within, Odin planted a seed of rebellion—a refusal to be fully tamed. Even if Asgard joined Teyvat, there would always be a sense of defiance.

But he underestimated the assimilative power of the Teyvat Pantheon. Once one joined, there was no turning back.

And once Odin joined, the divine rights of his god system would be absorbed as well.

Of course, Barbatos wouldn't accept the deal openly—it would appear as if Odin himself chose submission of his own accord.

Odin laughed boisterously. "Well then, do you accept this wager?"

Barbatos grinned in kind. "Hahaha! Old man, don't blame me for bullying an elderly god."

Odin smirked coldly. "Only if you're capable of doing so."

Blue divine flames burst from Odin's body, forming a vortex behind him.

From it emerged a golden spear.

"Gungnir—"

Odin intoned the sacred name. The divine weapon pulsed with the resonance of a primary artifact.

The law of "Miracles" was invoked, and the stars above Asgard began to spin, their orbits all aligning around Odin.

He pointed the spear toward Barbatos.

"This is Gungnir, forged from the World Tree's branches when I achieved omniscience. It carries my vow as chief god of the Norse Pantheon."

"It is also called 'Divine Proclamation,' as it bears the miracle of Asgard. No god has ever evaded its strike."

"Which means, once thrown—it never misses. Don't underestimate me, boy."

With that, the tip of Gungnir glowed with divine blue light, and a beam large enough to pierce the world's barrier launched forth.

Its size and speed were such that anything below Primary God level would never have time to react.

Barbatos, however, responded in an instant.

"The seasons cycle, and the Four Winds never rest. Did you really think I was just strumming casually earlier, old man?"

"Come, wind of high skies and hope!"

Winds imbued with the authority of a fragment of Hope stirred around Barbatos. ƒreewebɳovel.com

The breeze was light, like the first gust of dawn—yet it deflected the massive beam, twisting it harmlessly into the sky.

Crack—

The space above shattered, and the world's barrier was torn open.

Odin narrowed his eye. "Hope's power?"

Another troublesome domain. No wonder this man ranked fifth or sixth among their gods.

He was well aware of how difficult authority over concepts like Hope, Miracle, Wish, or Illusion could be.

Gungnir itself bore the powers of Miracle and Wish, allowing Odin to secure a top-ten ranking in past inter-pantheon tournaments.

Before he could finish his thoughts, the wind of hope swept toward him.

"Heh, brat, ambushing an old man—isn't that lacking in honor?"

Odin quickly dispersed the wind about to bind him and launched another attack on Barbatos. He had already sensed that the opponent's "rule" was incredibly condensed and hard to interfere with—one of the most troublesome types.

"Old man, you can't say that. It's time I show you my true power."

Barbatos fully unleashed his Authority. Cyan wind surged in from all directions, and his eyes glowed with the aura of "Truth."

Since the Tree of Life—Kabbalah—was planted in the Teyvat Universe, and he received the "Gift of Truth," Barbatos had spent this time comprehending it. During that time, he also exchanged ideas with his peers in the group.

The "Gift of Truth" was "a shard of omniscience," a glimpse into the world's mysteries.

Unlike Authority, Truth was not suppressed by foreign worlds. Instead, it could strengthen the user's Authority and allow it to override the target world's corresponding rules.

In other words, the "Gift of Truth" enabled divine Authority to break through limitations.

And a "Supreme God" was one whose Authority was fully liberated—someone who could override and command the rules of any world if their Authority was of higher quality.

That was what a Supreme God meant.

It wasn't just him who understood this. Morax had realized it even earlier. Now, the Six Supremes who were suppressing entire worlds were doing so with this power.

Of course, those Six were borrowing the power of "Heavenly Principle."

The extremely pure wind rule condensed into countless arrows and fired at Odin from every direction.

Odin's expression changed dramatically. "Arrows formed by pure rule itself!?"

"You can directly command all wind rules of the Asgard world!?"

He kept dodging as best as he could, but the arrows tore his robe.

Rip—

These were arrows of wind rule itself—utterly indestructible unless the entire world's wind rules were erased. And erasing those would be harder than destroying the world.

Barbatos's eyes glowed with Truth. His Authority was fully liberated for a short time, manipulating the rule-arrows relentlessly.

This was the mark of a Supreme God—absolute control over rules.

Once a god stepped into the Supreme tier, in any world where the world's rules were weaker than their Authority's quality, they became a "True King."

But his comprehension of Truth was only a sliver.

He had less than five minutes. He had to end it within that time.

Once Odin adapted, he might find a countermeasure—he was a pantheon leader, after all.

So it was now or never—strike by surprise.

"Old man, rules, wind—they're everywhere in the world."

With that, Barbatos clapped his hands, unleashing the full force of his Authority.

The wind rule of Asgard compressed and surged.

In mere breaths, it enclosed the battlefield and shrank inward, forming a sphere that trapped Odin.

By the time Odin realized it, he was already sealed in a tiny "rule cage."

Barbatos grinned at the panicking Odin, eyes gleaming in triumph.

Countless rule-arrows materialized around the sphere and rained down in unison upon the trapped Odin.

"Old man Odin—checkmate."

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