The Standards for Ranking Strength, and the God of a Thousand Faces' Experiment in the Previous Era

Finally, I'd finally reached Black Iron! I firmly believed that I, Cheng Yu, would one day become a powerhouse whose name shook the infinite multiverse.

"Too bad Black Iron is still just Black Iron (lol) |･ω･｀)"

(Shut up, you shameless old bastard! How dare you run your mouth in front of me!) (╬￣皿￣)

After snapping back at the system, Cheng Yu asked Yog the question that had been bothering him.

"Um, big shot, there's something I've always wondered. How exactly is strength ranked? (‧_‧?)"

Yog took a sip of tea.

"By the standards of the previous era."

Setting down his teacup, Yog continued.

"The rankings came from an experiment led by Nyarlathotep in the previous era, one in which all of us participated except the great His Majesty Azathoth."

"Nyarlathotep proposed a subject of research: projecting some information about ourselves into a civilization destined to shine brilliantly but briefly. We would observe how much we influenced that civilization, whether we could change its predetermined fate, and thereby test our ability to interfere with destiny."

"Interestingly, although the results deviated from our expectations, that civilization developed in a warped fashion into the only civilization of the inconceivable rank."

Yog murmured as though lost in his memories.

"An inconceivable civilization whose territory consisted of a single planet, yet produced numerous individuals capable of interfering with the infinite multiverse."

"On the surface, it was merely an ordinary technological world at level 0.7. But thanks to Nyarlathotep's interference, along with information projected by Nodens and the gods of the Dreamlands, that world possessed information about many other worlds."

"Finally, with my tacit approval, Nyarlathotep adjusted that world's spacetime until it became extraordinarily unstable. And so..."

At this point, Yog looked at Cheng Yu and continued meaningfully.

"So-called Transmigrators and Reincarnators appeared in many worlds."

"Next, through the first batch of individuals who had grown powerful, Nyarlathotep established the so-called Main God Space, Nightmare Space, and Lord of Systems."

"Then Nyarlathotep gave the World Consciousness of certain worlds desires, and used the Transmigrators to create little amusements called the Chat Group and Dynasty War."

"Finally, Nyarlathotep requested traces of all our auras and created a bunch of Evil Gods who delighted in corrupting worlds."

"With that, all the preparations for Nyarlathotep's experiment were complete. What remained was to observe this grand experiment, with the infinite multiverse as its testing ground and all its inhabitants as lab rats, to verify our destined return to oblivion upon the awakening of the great His Majesty Azathoth."

Cheng Yu's jaw nearly hit the floor. (￣口￣)

Wait, big shot, I asked you about strength rankings, and you went and dropped another earth-shattering secret on me.

And those famous Main God Spaces, Transmigrators, and all the rest were Nyarlathotep's doing?

As expected of the god who loved stirring up trouble most. Wait, that's not right. Didn't all this happen in the previous era? Why did this era feel pretty much the same? (The big shot could read minds.)

Cheng Yu immediately looked at Yog.

Yog glanced at him and continued at his leisurely pace.

"You should have heard the saying that history repeats itself with astonishing similarity. This era was built upon the corpse of the previous one. Compared with the powerful worlds of the previous era, most worlds in this era are pitifully weak."

"Even the slightest scraps of lingering information are enough to influence and reshape a world."

Oh, so that was how it worked. ╭(⊙o⊙)╮

Yog brought the conversation back on track.

"Many interesting little fellows appeared during that experiment. They divided their strength into Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold."

"Let us use humans as an example. Ratings for other creatures more or less correspond to human ratings, though humans surpass most creatures of the same rank. After all, some creatures merely enjoy an advantage in size."

"Black Iron: physical capabilities surpass the body's innate limitations. At the peak, every part of the body becomes as tough as black iron. Alternatively, the soul becomes capable of controlling ordinary life forms, and at the peak, can even briefly read their recent memories."

"Bronze: physical capabilities break through once more, with every movement like thunder. At the limit, the body can briefly enter the vacuum of space. Alternatively, the soul can briefly achieve soul premonition. Soul premonition means that soul power can extend outward to detect changes in the surrounding environment. At the limit, it can withstand a sufficient influx of information-in other words, nothing within your perception holds any secrets from you."

"Silver: the body has transcended the concept of a biological organism. Collapsing mountains and severing rivers with a mere gesture becomes easy. At the limit, one can begin undergoing the baptism of the power of rules. Alternatively, the soul can interfere with matter, such as by changing its form. Those at the limit can even interfere with its composition, turning stone into gold, for example."

"However, in our eyes, there were vast disparities within Gold. The strongest could even contend with some of the Great Old Ones."

"So Nyarlathotep subdivided Gold. Gold: the body can traverse the universe and contain the power of rules. Even a light blow is no less powerful than being struck directly by a planet. At the peak, creating a black hole with one's bare hands is possible. Alternatively, soul power can directly interfere with the power of rules, such as by stopping a planet's rotation. At the peak, creating things from nothing is no great difficulty."

"Legendary: there is no longer a distinction between body and soul, because advancing both in tandem is a prerequisite for reaching Legendary. A single universe is no longer their cage. The doors to the multiverse open to them, and parallel timelines cease to be insurmountable boundaries."

"They have begun coming into contact with the infinite multiverse, and are individuals worthy of having their names recorded by Nyarlathotep."

"Epic: they roam the infinite multiverse and can freely distort the rules of any Single Universe. Their names are inscribed upon the Pillar of Origin. As long as their names remain, the concept of 'death' does not exist for them, nor does 'spacetime' constrain them. Those who 'do as they please' may be called Epic."

"Unfortunately, the Pillar of Origin was prepared by Nyarlathotep. Nyarlathotep kept detailed files on every Epic individual. They were the lab rats singled out for close observation."

"Next comes Holy Spirit. I take quite an interest in every little fellow who reaches Holy Spirit. They are both wise and fortunate. They see through the surface of 'rules,' successfully meet us-the true incarnations of rules-and receive our gifts."

"But unfortunately, this is how Nyarlathotep described them in the records."

"'They are a group of interesting toys. They saw through the experiment's facade and successfully met its overseers, myself included. So I gave them two choices: remain silent, or become one of my avatars.'"

At this point, a humanlike complexity appeared in Yog's eyes. He sighed softly and continued.

"Mythic: they are the products of Nyarlathotep's indulgence, my tacit approval, and Shub's affection. They are mighty and magnificent; even ordinary Great Old Ones are no match for them. They are the mutated lab rats that escaped the testing ground and attacked the researchers."

"They were enraged by what had happened to them and unleashed their power without restraint. When they threatened the testing ground, Nyarlathotep warned them. But rage swept away their reason, and they attacked Nyarlathotep."

"The outcome was obvious. Some were corrupted by Nyarlathotep and became avatars. Some were deliberately allowed to escape, becoming ghosts drifting through the infinite multiverse-or variables, one might say. Others chose to sacrifice themselves to become Destroyers, Destroyers of the testing ground. That was how the Endless Abyss came into being."

"To ensure the experiment could continue, Nyarlathotep sought my help. I used my authority to seal off the Abyss, leaving only a few loopholes so Nyarlathotep could use those demons to interfere with the course of certain worlds. And so I gained another title: Guardian of the Abyss."

"As for the Unspeakable, that would be us. Unspeakable beings are exactly what the name implies. No words can describe our magnificence, and no understanding can transcend our power. Once you become an Unspeakable being, you will understand."

Yog seemed unwilling to say any more. He raised his teacup, seemingly lost in memories of the past.

For once, Cheng Yu neither made sarcastic remarks nor marveled inwardly. Upon hearing that even an Epic was merely a lab rat kept in the dark, he sank into the same bleak sorrow.

All because of an experiment, an experiment by the God of a Thousand Faces. Perhaps many people would think, But didn't they gain tremendous power and endless lifespans?

But was that really the case? It was like receiving a fortune with every step you took, while a mysterious darkness pursued you from behind.

You kept moving forward, and whenever you thought you had reached the end, you discovered more road ahead, a road with no end in sight. And you had no choice but to continue, because the darkness behind you drove you onward.

When you finally reached the end after untold effort, you discovered that the road ended in a bottomless abyss. The darkness behind you had not dispersed, and there was no path ahead. No matter how much wealth you possessed, was this truly what they wanted?

Besides, every adult knew that the more ordinary a person was, the higher the price they paid for greater achievements. Was all of this merely to discover a truth at the end, a truth they were powerless to change? Then what had any of it been for?

Cheng Yu seemed to sink deeper and deeper. At that moment, the system popped up.

"Aren't you just hauling someone else's coffin home to mourn over it?

What do those people have to do with you? Besides, the big shot already said it happened in the previous era.

Nyarlathotep isn't stirring up trouble in this era. What the hell are you scared of?

Besides, in this era, you've got the big shot as your towering pillar of support.

And are you stupid or what? Didn't you hear the big shot say he spent almost the entire previous era silently giving his tacit approval?

In this era, you're the Kid Watched by the Big Shot. What are you moping about? You're not some artsy young intellectual, yet you keep getting all melodramatic like one. So precious. ( '-' )ノ)`-' )"

Cheng Yu froze. Right! Ah, that was hasty of me. I shouldn't have rushed into feeling so miserable. My bad, my bad. ╮(﹀_﹀")╭

Seeing the big shot deep in thought, Cheng Yu thought, Ah, he must be feeling a little sad too.

(No, I merely decided which world to visit next. You might like this one.)

Uh, jumped to conclusions again. (・ε・｀)

As for the next world, that could wait until they were done with this one.

At Lin Mo's home.

Lin Mo was performing acupuncture on Elder Bai. Silver needles now covered all the key acupoints on Elder Bai's body.

Elder Bai's face was blood-red, and his breathing was slow.

After a while, Lin Mo removed the needles.

Elder Bai spat out a mouthful of black blood, then exhaled a breath that resembled white mist.

Lin Mo asked softly.

"Grandpa, how do you feel?"

Elder Bai slowly opened his eyes and smiled.

"Hahaha, Lin, you really have a gift! You actually cured those old hidden injuries of mine."

The more Elder Bai looked at Lin Mo, the more he approved of the young man.

Excellent medical skills, great ability, plenty of income. Good, very good.

Just then, a call came in, and Lin Mo looked at Elder Bai.

Elder Bai waved a hand, indicating that he need not worry about him.

Lin Mo answered the call.

"What! All right, all right, I understand. We'll discuss it when I get there tomorrow."

Bai Tingting looked at Lin Mo and suddenly asked.

"Brother Lin Mo, are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Mo forced a smile and patted Bai Tingting's head.

"It's nothing. Something happened at the company. It's not a big problem."

At this point, Elder Bai spoke earnestly.

"Lin, if you're having trouble, tell Grandpa. After all, we're family now. I may not understand business, but I've lived a long life, and I can see certain things more clearly than you."

Lin Mo smiled.

"I will, Grandpa. It really isn't anything serious. I can handle it myself."

Looking at Lin Mo, Elder Bai felt deeply gratified. What a considerate child. No, I'll have to ask around tomorrow and find out exactly what happened.

After playing with Bai Tingting for a while, Lin Mo returned to his room and thought to himself.

It was almost time.