Chapter 1556: Zhou Zhan's Plan! Heading to the Scarlet Macroverse!

Chapter 1556: Zhou Zhan's Plan! Heading to the Crimson Universe!

Zhou Zhan recalled the information about Oss.

Oss!

A vassal under the Crimson Sovereign, and currently the most promising candidate among the Crimson Lords to become the Fifth Reserve Crimson Sovereign within the Crimson Universe.

He was nearly equivalent to Zhou Zhou of the Crimson Universe.

Of course.

In terms of status, strength, influence, potential, and all other comparable factors, he was vastly inferior to Zhou Zhou.

At best, he was merely a Zhou Zhou weakened by countless multiples.

As for his lordly aptitude, Zhou Zhou remembered it was one capable of inheriting a high-tier divine realm lordly faction.

From previous assessments, this lordly aptitude truly was beyond comprehension.

Even Zhou Zhou himself, upon first hearing of that lordly aptitude, could only exclaim it was absurd.

After all, this lordly aptitude was so easy to monetize—far too simple to resist.

Unlike the lordly aptitudes upon his own body, most of which were developmental in nature, weak in the early stages, and only truly powerful as the story progressed.

Thus, back then, Zhou Zhou had envied Os for possessing such a monstrous lordly aptitude.

But now, in Zhou Zhou’s current perspective, merely inheriting the rights to an elite divine realm lordly faction was nothing extraordinary.

For once he fully and completely inherited that elite divine realm lordly faction, the aptitude would have exhausted its potential.

Unlike most of his own mythic-tier, unique lordly aptitudes—those that, even now, with him as the sovereign ruler of a mid-tier main god realm, still exerted immense influence.

Take things like the Crimson Nidus, Heart Theft, the First Dragon Deep, the Great Nation Project, and so on.

Then, Zhou Zhou thought of the current situation within the Crimson Great Cosmos.

Currently, the Crimson Sovereign’s Crimson Tournament has not yet concluded. Millions of trillion Crimson Lords remain within the Great Cosmos, vying for the fifth reserve position of Crimson Sovereign.

Oss is one of the most promising candidates among the lords to receive the Fifth Reserve of the Crimson Sovereign. Even the Crimson Sovereign himself keeps a close eye on this young heir.

Though Oss suffered a setback in the Great King's Gathering, the Crimson Sovereign knows that the opponent he faced—Zhou Zhou—is a rare prodigy of unparalleled talent, one whose potential rivals even the combined eons of the two universes have rarely seen. His potential approaches that of a being who has transcended will. Thus, despite his loss to Zhou Zhou, the Crimson Sovereign does not blame him heavily and still holds great expectations for him.

And now, Oss appears to have truly lived up to the Crimson Sovereign's trust.

He has now surpassed numerous advanced divine-kingdom-level lord factions within the Crimson cosmos, and as a Crimson Lord, he has become the first to elevate an advanced divine-kingdom-level faction into a junior Supreme God Realm faction.

"Hard to find a new junior Supreme God Realm faction for the Crimson Realm to advance into."

"Oss, you just appeared like that—so effortlessly?"

Zhou Zhou's lips curled slightly.

Among the many conditions required to upgrade to a junior Supreme God Realm faction, two stand out: conquering three junior Supreme God Realm lord territories under the Crimson Sovereign's command, and conquering one such territory outside the Crimson Sovereign's direct control.

The latter.

He has already made arrangements for that.

Once Ling'er, with His divine assistance, elevated the Elixir Divine Kingdom into a nascent Lord faction of a True God Kingdom, he could subdue it and fulfill the latter condition.

As for the former.

Had not the nascent Lord faction of a True God Kingdom belonging to Os already emerged?

Though He could well afford to wait until three such nascent Lord factions of True God Kingdoms were born within the Scarlet Cosmos before marching out to conquer them and fulfilling all criteria in one fell swoop.

Yet that would require far too long a vigil, and the passage of time might invite unforeseen caprices beyond even Zhou Zhou’s calculations.

Thus, the true body intended to dispatch Zhou Zhan the very moment Os’s nascent Lord territory of a True God Kingdom was established, bringing it to heel without delay.

After all, only that which was grasped firmly in hand truly belonged to one's self.

"For this journey into the Scarlet Cosmos, I can completely disguise myself as a scarlet creature by virtue of my Scarlet Nemesis talent, establishing a territory there under the guise of a Scarlet Lord."

"Then, in the capacity of a Scarlet Lord, I shall conquer Os’s nascent Lord territory of a True God Kingdom."

"In this manner, the annihilation of Os’s divine kingdom will pass without stirring too great a tempest."

"After all, Os perished from internal strife during the civil war."

"This extinction is entirely within the realm of normal lordly competition—no matter how red the master, I cannot be blamed for it. On the contrary, He should value me even more."

"And after I have utterly destroyed Os's divine realm, I could even remain without fleeing. I could simply dispatch a copy of my essence to take my place, staying within the Great Red Universe to continue participating in the Red Lords' struggle for supremacy."

"Once a new master realm and its territory emerge within the Great Red Universe, I would no longer need to risk exposing my identity by crossing over again to destroy the newly born divine realm."

"The 'Red Lord copy' remaining within the Great Red Universe could then openly march in and launch war, annihilate the new master realm, and fulfill my ascension conditions."

Zhou Zhan grew more and more convinced with each thought.

If executed well, not only would he meet the requirements for ascending to master realm status, but he could also establish a powerful faction loyal to his true self within the Great Red Universe.

When the Supreme Will and the Red Lord eventually clash, there would be a strong agent operating within the Great Red Universe—directly under the true self.

At that point, having personally participated in the war between the two transcendent wills, this faction would provide invaluable intelligence and strategic advantages, both in gathering battlefield information and in broader operations.

Zhou Zhan found himself increasingly convinced that this plan was nothing short of brilliant.

He immediately contacted the original form and conveyed this idea to it.

Soon enough.

The original form responded, saying that Zhou Zhan's idea was excellent and that it could proceed according to his plan, with the Prairial Divine Realm offering full support.

But before that, one problem had to be resolved.

That of identity.

Though they possessed the Lord's Talent of "Red Predator," enabling them to impersonate red beings and infiltrate the Red Cosmos, this talent was merely a Mythic-Level, Unique Lord's Talent. Its deception could only fool the Great Gods—against the Supreme God, it would inevitably be exposed.

Even if Zhou Zhou invested considerable time and resources to upgrade the "Red Predator" to a Supreme-Level, Unique Lord's Talent, it could only deceive the Supreme God. Yet against a Master of Supreme Will or even the Red Sovereign, they would inevitably be revealed.

Once exposed, their fate would be dire.

Then not only would the conquest of Os's Divine Kingdom be in jeopardy—but whether they would survive at all became a question.

So.

To safely infiltrate the Crimson Great Universe and carry out their conquest, they must first solve the problem of remaining undetected.

Otherwise.

They would likely just step into the Crimson Great Universe and be immediately discovered by the Crimson Sovereign—after which, Zhou Zhou's mind already brims with foreboding.

Zhou Zhan believed his body's reasoning to be sound.

Yet then, he furrowed his brow again.

How difficult it would be to deceive a will beyond transcendence—such a being as the Crimson Sovereign!

He simply did not possess any such means.

What could he do?

The very next second.

Zhou Zhan and his original form, Zhou Zhou, simultaneously flashed a thought through their minds.

Seek the Supreme Will!

"Though it's a bit embarrassing,"

"But for upgrading the territory, why not give up a little face?"

Zhou Zhan was remarkably laid-back.

His original form didn't need to be said.

Zhou Zhou even believed that, as a fourth reserve Supreme Lord chosen directly by the Supreme Will, and as a future third reserve Supreme Lord, their relationship with the Supreme Will was simply that of parent and child.

When a child faced difficulties and asked for help from their parent—it was entirely natural, wasn't it?

"Master,"

"Your boldness is getting thicker and thicker."

Zhou Zhan said with genuine sincerity.

"Same here."

Zhou Zhou replied with a cheerful smile, then added, "I'll go speak to the Supreme Will about this."

To ask the Supreme Will for assistance—of course, it must be the Supreme Self, the true embodiment, who personally undertakes such a request, to show proper respect.

Zhou Zhan naturally had no objections.

...

Within the Palace of Cyclic Rebirth.

Zhou Zhou rose from his seat of enlightenment, bowing respectfully before the front:

"Supreme Lord, Fourth Reserve Rank, Emperor of the People—Zhou Zhou, requesting audience with the Supreme Will."

A moment passed.

"What is it?"

The Supreme Will did not manifest, yet its voice resonated throughout the entire realm of the Divine Kingdom.

"Lord of the Supreme Will."

Zhou Zhou recounted his desire to dispatch a duplicate to the Crimson Cosmos, to destroy the newly established primary god realm territory of the Master Sovereign. He then stated his need.

"Ah, so it is."

"Thus, you indeed require a means to conceal the identity of your duplicate."

"I can assist you with that."

"But you must also promise me one thing."

The Supreme Will said.

"Please, speak your condition."

Zhou Zhou immediately replied.

"Once you have established your power within the Crimson Great Universe, if any master-kingdom lord forces from the Supreme Universe wish to travel into the Crimson Great Universe to conquer the master-kingdom lord forces residing there and thereby elevate their own power, you must lend a hand within the limits of what is possible."

The Supreme Will spoke.

"Very well!"

Zhou Zhou accepted without hesitation.

Such a minor matter to Him was merely an act of convenience—agreeing to it would not affect him in the slightest.

On the contrary,

by doing so, he could earn goodwill from those master-kingdom lord forces.

What could be better?

"Then I shall also assist my successor."

The Supreme Will chuckled lightly.

He said no more for over ten minutes.

Zhou Zhou initially thought the Supreme Will had departed, and as he prepared to return to his meditation, the voice of the Supreme Will echoed once again.

"Send your copy forth."

"I have already arranged everything."

"With the means I have left behind, even if the Crimson Sovereign appears before you, he will not recognize your true nature."

"Thank you, Supreme Will!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou immediately replied.

"Imperial Sovereign of the People."

"Go forth and cultivate your influence well within the Crimson Cosmic Realm."

"There's no need to worry about exposing your identities."

"Let alone the methods I've provided for you to conceal your true selves."

"Even if they do discover your identity, I can still protect you—no matter how vast the cosmos between us."

The Supreme Will spoke.

Though his tone was calm and refined, it carried an unshakable confidence and a regal authority.

Zhou Zhou took a deep breath.

Since the Supreme Will first entered the era of the Warring Tribes, until now, every account he had heard claimed that during the struggle between the Supreme Will and the Crimson Sovereign, the Supreme Will had initially held the upper hand. Yet, as countless ages passed, its former glory had faded, and today it stood firmly in a position of disadvantage.

Yet, upon hearing the Supreme Will's recent words—so full of self-assurance—Zhou Zhou's mind involuntarily stirred with a question:

Is the Supreme Will truly in a position of disadvantage now?

Could a force in such a weakened state speak with such confidence?

He thought for a moment, then stopped thinking further.

It's still the same—some things must be known by oneself, and one will eventually come to know them.

Others, however, are not meant to be known by force; insisting on answers only leads to self-inflicted turmoil.

With a mere thought, He summoned Zhou Zhan.

Above the Praised Sun Capital.

Zhou Zhan had just received the message from Zhou Zhou.

"Has the Supreme Will already been resolved?"

Zhou Zhan felt a flicker of curiosity.

He couldn't help but wonder what methods the Supreme Will employed to conceal their true identities.

The fact that even the Sovereign of Crimson, a being transcending the realm of will, could not recognize their true nature—merely imagining it brought a sense of unparalleled sophistication.

He did not immediately set off toward the Crimson Great Cosmos.

Instead, he meditated for one hour, waiting until his soldiers had rested and recovered, before summoning them and preparing to journey to the Crimson Great Cosmos.

With a mere thought,

he saw the space around him shift and warp—within the next instant, they stood within a strange realm constructed entirely from myriad "shadows."

It was the Shadow Realm!

The Crimson Great Cosmos also harbored shadows, making it accessible through the Shadow Realm’s transit gate.

This method was far more convenient and swift than any other, so Zhou Zhan chose not to follow the methods recorded in his bloodline inheritance, but instead opted for the simplest route to reach the Crimson Great Cosmos.

First, he enabled himself and his soldiers to transform into crimson-hued mist monsters, thanks to the ability granted by the Lord's innate talent—the Crimson Enemy.

Then, Zhou Zhan conjured a mirror and gazed into its surface.

There, reflected within the glass, stood a crimson deity clad in blood-red imperial robes, crowned with nine dragons, his skin a deep crimson, his eyes blazing with crimson fire—majestic, terrifying, and utterly dominant.

His appearance and bearing were so compelling that even strangers knowing him to be a mist-being would be drawn to him, unable to resist his allure and unwilling to oppose him.

Zhou Zhan exhaled a short, dismissive sound and didn't take it seriously.

To actively become ugly was impossible.

After all, with this look, no one could tell he was the Emperor of the People—so be it.

Then, his mind shifted again.

Before them, a portal shimmering with void ripples suddenly appeared.

At the sight, Zhou Zhan immediately commanded his soldiers to join him and step through the portal, vanishing into the void together.

Not long after their disappearance, a shadow emerged silently, watching the fading portal with quiet stillness.

It was the ruler of the Shadow Realm—the Will of Shadows!

"Unbelievable—such a short time has passed, and he's already achieved such feats."

"Heard that even the Ultimate Void Battlefield was reclaimed by Him alone."

"The blessing I once bestowed upon Him—the Master of Shadow's Sovereign Gift—has indeed brought us good fortune."

The Will of Shadow mused, then his form dissolved and vanished into nothingness.