The Hierarchy of Tiers

A Creator God could be called a god, or could be called a spirit. In terms of authority, calling them gods was completely accurate, while as spirits, they were beings akin to artifact spirits; thus, a Creator God was inherently a very peculiar existence. Because not every world gave birth to a "spirit," it was exceptionally rare for a Creator God to encounter another of their kind. Most Creator Gods drew their knowledge solely from their own worlds, and once they reached their limit, they had no choice but to feel their way forward alone. Now that Yenis learned Niman was also a Creator God, he eagerly consulted her on all sorts of questions. Niman wasn't stingy either, answering everything she knew without holding back. None of the others had any interest in such matters, so they each went off to find their own amusement. Yu Xian squatted on the ocean's surface, his eyes watching the fish swim back and forth beneath the water. Some were even larger than Earth, capable of swallowing countless fish in a single gulp. Unfortunately, the meat of these colossal fish was atrocious, and lacking any extraordinary attributes, even Huangquan turned up her nose at them. "Little Nora, look down there. That fish looks like a duck." Yu Xian suddenly noticed a fish resembling a platypus swimming around below and immediately called out to Little Nora nearby. Sure enough, Little Nora's interest was piqued at once. She trotted over eagerly, spotted the duck-billed fish under the water, and gasped in delight, "It really does! I wonder if we can make roast duck out of it?" "Only one way to find out," Yu Xian chuckled. The next moment, he pressed his hand against the water's surface, and the water below instantly formed into multiple arms that reached out to scoop up the fish. The duck-billed fish was remarkably agile. Sensing malicious intent from the arms, it darted frantically through the water at high speed, always staying just out of reach of the arms Yu Xian controlled. "Not bad at all." Surprised that the duck-billed fish could evade his grasp, Yu Xian got a little more serious. Arm after arm stretched outward, cutting off every escape route, until he finally snatched the duck-billed fish several thousand meters away. Having caught the fish, the arm rapidly retracted, lifting it above the surface. Yu Xian pinched the duck-billed fish by its bill and laughed, "Still trying to run? Think you can get away?" He and Little Nora then fell into a debate over how to turn this duck-billed fish into roast duck. Yet as they talked, a disagreement arose: Yu Xian wanted to make roast duck, while Little Nora insisted on making roast-duck-flavored West Lake vinegar fish. After all, it wasn't a real duck. It was a duck-billed fish. The onlookers could only roll their eyes at the topic of their debate. Yenis noticed the scene and couldn't help wondering: was this how top-tier powerhouses operated? Could you not become a powerhouse without being so childish? In the end, Huangquan took the duck-billed fish away to study. As for when it would be cooked into a dish, that depended on when inspiration struck her. Yu Xian and Little Nora squatted on the water, eyeing each other glumly. In the end, Little Nora clapped her hands, conjuring two grilled fish, one for herself and one for Yu Xian. "Why is there cream smeared all over this grilled fish?" Yu Xian asked curiously as he accepted it. Little Nora shook her head. "No idea. Mine's got chili powder." "Whatever, I'll give it a try." Yu Xian didn't mind. He took a bite, only to discover that not only was the fish smeared with cream on the outside, its belly was stuffed with cheese. One bite in, and it was undeniably dark cuisine. "..." Frowning, Yu Xian choked down the first mouthful, then glanced curiously at Little Nora's grilled fish. Little Nora had already put on a mask of pure agony, forcing down the fish meat with great difficulty. The belly of her grilled fish was packed with wasabi. If it were her true body, a little wasabi wouldn't mean a thing, but for this avatar, it was borderline torture. Several hours later. Perhaps Yenis finally remembered that hospitality was due to his guests, reluctantly tearing himself away from badgering Niman with more questions to take the lead in guiding everyone to the eighth tier. The first seven tiers were all oceans, differing only in the variety of fish inhabiting them. According to Yenis, these oceans came from several different planets, separated into seven seas to stock the fish according to their diverse habits. As for the eighth tier, behind a gigantic stepped waterfall lay a bustling city woven of white and gold. "Everyone, this is my residence—the Eighth Space of Creation," Yenis introduced to them. At the same time, the golden radiance around him condensed into a white humanoid form, with golden lines tracing out the features of a face. Indeed. Yenis had no actual facial features; his face consisted entirely of lines, yet this was his true form. Little Nora asked curiously, "Is each tier its own space?" "Yes. In fact, the closer you get to the top of the stairs, the closer you are to the source of life. Only I can reach this tier, while the ninth tier is the dwelling of the angels, the tenth tier is the dwelling of the strong, and so forth," Yenis nodded and answered. Yu Xian strolled along the city streets and asked, "You're the only person here. Doesn't it get boring?" "I rarely stay here under normal circumstances," Yenis answered honestly. Put simply, even he found it too deserted, so he usually didn't live on this tier, though by title it remained his residence. If Yu Xian were a native of this world, he might have known the legend: that by climbing higher and higher up the tiers, day after day, one could eventually reach the divine abode and behold their Creator. Of course, ordinary folks would never imagine that their Creator wasn't even home. "Where do you usually stay, then?" Yu Xian asked. Yenis replied, "I spend most of my time on the twenty-fifth tier." "Then what are we waiting for? Let's head straight to the twenty-fifth tier," Yu Xian urged right away. There wasn't a ghost in sight on this tier, so what was the point? They'd be far better off visiting the most interesting one. With that, they took the adjacent waterway and simply drifted downstream. When everyone dropped from the eighth tier to the ninth, they were immediately greeted by the sight of numerous angels dressed in white, with wings on their backs and halos above their heads, flitting about the city. Compared to the desolation of the eighth tier, the ninth tier was several times livelier. That said, these angels wore solemn expressions, conducted their duties with swift efficiency, and spoke in soft, aloof voices, so the atmosphere never became wildly boisterous. Starting from the tenth tier, land made its appearance. Though the eighth and ninth tiers had cities, the cities were actually floating upon the water. From the tenth tier onward, numerous landmasses dotted the ocean, and all manner of bizarre creatures inhabited the islands. There were also many Transcendents cultivating in various locations, with diverse cities scattered across the islands. After touring around, Yu Xian estimated the population to be at least several tens of millions. In truth, upon seeing the tenth tier and comparing the inhabitants of the ninth and tenth tiers, Yu Xian and the others understood. Evidently, the hierarchy of the Ladder World was straightforward and easy to grasp: the closer to the top tier, the stronger the beings, while those lower down were weaker—though this classification seemed to apply only to sentient life. As for ordinary creatures, they could be found everywhere.