Chapter 1632: Total Troops! Eternal Ancient Continent! Future Arrangements!

Chapter 1632: Total Forces! The Ever-Endless Continent! Future Arrangements!

After they had departed, Zhou Zhan quietly calculated the strength of his main combat forces currently under his command.

His original forces had been 342 yao, 2587 jing, 3476 zhao, 3247 billion, 3483 million, and 9,891 soldiers; 612 zhao, 8243 billion, 1839 million, 76,070 divine beings; 743 billion, 53 million, 1819 true gods; 3,820,316 master gods; 857 supreme gods; 89 near-ultimate will beings; and 1 being of ultimate will!

Adding today's newly recruited and promoted forces—240 yao of fresh troops, 100 jing of heavenly soldiers, 2,550,5619 newly promoted master gods, 131 newly elevated supreme gods, and 2 beings of ultimate will—the total strength of his forces now stood at: 582 yao, 2687 jing, 3476 zhao, 3247 billion, 3483 million, and 9,891 soldiers; 612 zhao, 8243 billion, 1839 million, 76,070 divine beings; 743 billion, 53 million, 1819 true gods; 6,370,8780 master gods; 988 supreme gods; 89 near-ultimate will beings; and 3 beings of ultimate will!

After reviewing the numbers, Zhou Zhou nodded with satisfaction.

The number of divine beings under his command had grown significantly.

Even without considering other factors, the number of supreme gods alone had now surpassed nine hundred, nearing one thousand.

In the entire vast cosmos of supreme gods, there were barely over ten thousand such beings.

The number of Supreme Deities now under His command had reached precisely one-tenth of the total Supreme Deities in the entire Supreme Cosmos.

That was utterly terrifying!

And the final three beings at the peak of Supreme Will—He found himself growing more and more drawn to them.

As the Supreme Deity of Fourth Rank, "King," He would, upon activating the "King," not only replicate the power of those three Supreme Will Beings entirely onto himself, but amplify it by a direct factor of fifty.

Thus, in a single instant of activation, He would possess the combined strength of 150 Supreme Will Beings.

Although the aggregate power of these beings might still fall short of immediately elevating Him to the level of a Top-tier Supreme Will Being, it was undoubtedly extremely close.

When the number of newly ascended Supreme Will Beings under His command reached ten, He firmly believed he would be able, without relying on external forces like the Yellow Spirit Stone, to attain the level of a Top-tier Supreme Will Being.

And with the aid of Willful Sacred Instruments and Law Techniques, even though his physical form remained only a Fourth-Rank Supreme Deity, He would stand unparalleled among all Supreme Will Beings.

……

On the other side.

The Chaotic Sea.

At this moment, Zhou Wu had brought Tanatos, Nasarioc, and ten thousand divine beings of master-tier rank into the Chaotic Sea.

Today, the Time-Space Chaotic Deities brought a total of one thousand five hundred and seventy-two Chaotic Beings.

Zhou Wu bestowed upon them six thousand two hundred and eighty-eight Master Artifacts, then with a single palm, extinguished over a thousand of these Chaotic Beings, securing six thousand three hundred and eight units of Chaotic Divine Treasures.

Subsequently, they journeyed to the Time Ruins of Chaotic Death, where they acquired an additional one hundred and seventy units of Chaotic Divine Treasures.

Zhou Wu nodded slightly.

Though at present, he was expending vast quantities of Chaotic Divine Treasures to support the elevation of local lords into Master Deity Nations,

luckily, the Chaotic Divine Treasures he received each day were steadily increasing.

Given the current income, even if he fully supports local lords, his Chaos Divine Treasure will absolutely only grow, never diminish.

After all, elevating a True God's subordinate territory to a Master God's subordinate territory requires merely 500 units of Chaos Divine Treasure.

Even to elevate it to a Master God's intermediate territory, it only takes 1,000 units.

To advance it to a Master God's superior territory, it requires no more than 5,000 units.

His current stock of Chaos Divine Treasure is nearly 60,000 units—enough to elevate hundreds of high-tier divine realms into Master God realms.

Excellent. Excellent.

Zhou Wu was thoroughly satisfied.

His earlier concerns seemed entirely unnecessary.

Now, with ample reserves, he could establish numerous Master God realms throughout the Supreme Cosmic Sphere and the Crimson Cosmic Sphere, then absorb them all, turning them into "fuel" for elevating his own domains.

...

The Realm of the Yellow Springs.

Zhou Zhan arrived alone here, and then He saw the Will of the Cycle present as well.

"Brother."

Zhou Wu exclaimed in surprise.

"Little brother."

The Will of the Cycle saw Zhou Wu and smiled, extending a hand to invite him closer.

Zhou Wu stepped beside Him.

The Will of the Cycle gazed upon the Yellow Springs Realm before him and murmured, "At last, this realm has returned to our hands."

"In truth, now that I reflect upon it, I find it hard to believe that so many things have unfolded in such a short span of time."

"Fortunately, everything has returned to normal, thanks to your help."

The Will of the Cycle looked at the end of its words, eyes complex.

Only the Him that it cared for had vanished.

Zhou Wu sensed the emotions stirring within the Will of the Cycle and soothed, "Everything will eventually turn out alright."

The Will of the Cycle gazed at Zhou Zhan, smiled, and shook its head.

It did not grieve deeply.

Though the fall of the Will of the Yellow Springs had caused it profound sorrow, in these days, having witnessed the miracles created by its younger brother, it had begun to believe—deeply—that the Will of the Yellow Springs could be resurrected by the Emperor of the People.

If there is hope, why grieve?

Now, the Will of the Cycle only waits for that day to come.

"Now that the Domain of the Yellow Springs has been restored to unity, how do you intend to manage this domain?"

The Will of the Cycle asked, with a smile.

"I have received the inheritance of the Yellow Stream Will, and now I understand how the Yellow Stream Will once governed this land. I will follow the methods used by the Yellow Stream Will in the past—only replacing all personnel with my own."

Zhou Wu spoke with a smile.

The Yellow Stream Domain was uniquely situated—serving as the first stage of the realm of the dead, the limbo of the undead and reincarnation across the multiverse. The administrative methods of the Sunny God Realm were ill-suited to such a place. The time-tested governance of the Yellow Stream Will, forged through endless trials and tribulations, was undoubtedly the best. Thus, Zhou Zhan would not arbitrarily alter systems to showcase his own prowess.

Following the principle of "following established patterns" was the most sensible approach.

Yet even with that, with the myriad talents of the Sunny God Realm's lords and the various buffs at his disposal, Zhou believed—beyond doubt—that under his own body's leadership, the Yellow Stream Domain would advance by thousands, ten thousand, or even more times than it had before.

One day, this frontier station of the realm of the dead might surpass the true realm of reincarnation itself.

Zhou Wu was utterly confident in this vision.

Seeing the confidence blazing in Zhou Wu’s eyes, the Will of Reincarnation felt deeply satisfied and warmed.

What He cherished most was precisely the confidence—almost arrogance—of his own younger brother.

He believed, with absolute certainty, that under his brother’s guidance, the Yellow Stream Domain would develop faster and more brilliantly than ever under the stewardship of the Yellow Stream Will.

"Brother, you needn't worry."

The cyclical will patted his chest with confidence, promising solemnly, "My realm lies right beside the Yellow Springs Domain. Should you ever be too busy to attend, as long as I'm here, I will safeguard the Yellow Springs Domain—never again will it suffer an invasion from the realm of delusion."

Zhou Zhan nodded.

He still placed great trust in his own elder brother.

After all, the elder brother's domain bordered the Yellow Springs Domain, and in the future, he would undoubtedly require constant care.

Of course.

He would also ensure his own brother was well looked after.

"The main body has already decided to deploy a new avatar to station within the Yellow Springs Domain, to protect its safety."

Zhou Zhan added.

"Then that's perfect," the cyclical will chuckled, "I'll come visit him often to drink wine afterward."

He now understands the relationship between the true form and its avatar, knowing that the true form is busy, and that drinking with an avatar is no different from drinking with the true form itself. Thus, He does not care whether the drinker is the true form or an avatar.

After all, the true form will always understand.

Zhou Zhan nodded, then inquired curiously, "After their failure in the Yellow Afterlife Domain, what new developments has the Clan of Illusion undergone?"

"That bunch will never let it go."

Upon hearing this, the Cycle Will grew serious, speaking coldly, "Having suffered this defeat, they will certainly seek to assemble a stronger army and launch another assault on the Yellow Afterlife Domain—or somewhere else."

"The Clan of Illusion is precisely such a foe."

"But we will not ease our vigilance."

"If they dare invade our Supreme Cosmic Realm again, they will face a devastating defeat and retreat in disgrace."

"I will lend a hand then," Zhou Zhan said.

The deluded clan are also enemies of their own. Their lair lies within the Supreme Vast Cosmos—naturally, they would not tolerate such creatures coveting that same realm.

The Cyclic Will patted Zhou Zhan's shoulder, smiled softly, and said nothing—everything was understood without words.

Then, turning to him, it asked, "Brother, with the Yellow Springs Domain now unified, what are your plans moving forward?"

"Simply upgrade my territory, that's all."

Zhou Zhan chuckled. After a moment's thought, he added, "Also, the Supreme Will has invited me to visit the River of Time and Space. I intend to go check it out shortly."

He hadn't forgotten.

The Supreme Will had once explicitly stated that, at the River of Time and Space, it had reserved for him a chance to ascend to the rank of Supreme Will.

Now that he had already reached the fourth tier of Supreme God, and was only a short distance away from the threshold of the Near-Supreme Will rank—now was the time to claim that opportunity.

And he also wished to spend some time training and refining himself within the River of Time and Space after ascending to the rank of Supreme Will.

The river of time and space is said to accelerate contact with one's alternate timeline self, thus speeding up cultivation within the realm of Supreme Will. Since the original self of Zhou Zhou cannot come, let this most powerful combatant avatar step forward instead.

Upon hearing this, the Cyclic Will immediately grasped the meaning.

He perceived this as the Supreme Will offering a trial to the Celestial Sovereign and the Spring-Autumn Law Master—thus determining their rightful positions among the inheritors.

Just as the Universal Evil Sovereign and the Celestial Sovereign once did.

The Celestial Sovereign once ventured into the ultimate void battlefield under the control of the Universal Evil Sovereign. Not long after, not only did the battlefield return to normal, but the Celestial Sovereign was directly promoted from the fourth reserve rank of Supreme Sovereign to the third reserve rank. Meanwhile, the Universal Evil Sovereign's standing plummeted.

Yet...

A flicker of concern appeared in the Cyclic Will's eyes.

The Spring-Autumn Law Master is no mere half-baked Supreme Sovereign reserve candidate like the Universal Evil Sovereign.

In terms of cultivation level alone, the Spring-Autumn Law Master has already been operating within the Supreme Will Realm for years—now a mid-tier Supreme Will Realm master!

The Demon Lord of Ten Thousand Evils, by all accounts, has only managed to reach the strength of a quasi-Supreme Will realm expert even to this day.

The gap between the two was quite simply as vast as the clouds and the mud.

For his virtuous younger brother to surpass the Spring and Autumn Law Lord, and seize a higher-ranking status as a reserve for the Supreme Lord, was by no means an easy feat.

Yet as He looked upon Zhou Zhan, He spoke no words of discouragement, but instead said with utmost sincerity:

"The Supreme Will's move is likely intended to spark a competition between you and the Spring and Autumn Law Lord."

"Brother, I believe in you. I feel that as long as you are given enough time, you will surely surpass the Spring and Autumn Law Lord, become the second reserve for the Supreme Lord, and face that fellow, the God King of Heavenly Punishment, head-on."

Hearing these words, Zhou Zhan gazed at the Samsara Will for a long, quiet moment.

He had not expected His own elder brother to place such profound trust in Him.

To speak in earnest truth.

Even He currently lacked the confidence to surpass that fellow, the Spring and Autumn Law Lord, and claim the position of the second reserve for the Supreme Lord.

Simply speaking, in terms of initial lordly aptitude, it's said that the Spring and Autumn Law Master awakened directly to a lordly aptitude—mythical grade, the sole lordly aptitude of legend.

As for the Heavenly Punishment God King, although at his initial awakening, he too possessed the same mythical-grade, unique lordly aptitude as the Spring and Autumn Law Master,

he had already ascended to the realm of Supreme Will at the age of over one hundred—making him the fastest being in the highest cosmic history to reach that realm.

His cultivation aptitude rivals, if not surpasses, that of a Supreme Will-level lordly aptitude.

Yet himself had only awakened with a legendary-grade lordly aptitude.

In terms of talent, the self knew clearly that he fell short of these two.

But in terms of rising to surpass them, the self held absolute confidence—believing the future would never fall behind them.

Thus, when observing the Cycle Will nodding seriously, he said no humble words, but earnestly replied, "I look forward to what my brother will speak of on that day."

The Cycle Will grinned.

For some inexplicable reason, whenever those words came from Zhou Zhan's mouth, the Will felt an inexplicable certainty that he would indeed achieve it.

Then Zhou Zhan and the other briefly conversed some more, and soon after, the two beings parted ways.

Zhou Zhan went alone into the River of Time and Space.

The Will of Cycles returned to the Underworld.

The Realm of the Yellow Springs had just returned, and much needed work remained to be done in alignment with the Realm.

Simply reclaiming the unclaimed souls scattered across the myriad realms was a vast, long-term undertaking.

A moment later,

a copy of Zhou Zhou arrived in the Realm of the Yellow Springs.

He was a newly forged duplicate of Zhou Zhou, named Zhou Bashu.

His mission was simple.

To remain stationed in the Realm of the Yellow Springs, to manage its affairs, to receive its revenues—such as the Yellow Springs fish.

Of course, most importantly, it must be ensured that no further chaos erupts within the Realm of the Underworld.

Having assumed the role of Master of the Realm of the Underworld, Zhou Zhou would never shirk or neglect this sacred duty.

Thus, Zhou Shiba will remain permanently stationed here, unless some extraordinarily vital matter arises—then and only then will He depart to attend to other affairs.

...

This is a boundless expanse of floating land, shimmering in a vivid, fiery orange hue.

Across this floating continent, a vast, ethereal river stretches endlessly—its length unknown, measured in billions of light-years—flowing through time and space, casting countless illusions of past and future, unceasingly, through the ages.

Traces of ancient beings, forgotten cities, epic tales, mythologies, lost territories, and vanished civilizations can all be found here.

This place holds all that ever existed from the very dawn of the primordial cosmos—the very first life, the first things, every fragment of being and memory.

Any existence that once was, no matter how long ago, no matter how forgotten, can be found here—its traces, its essence, its very form.

Though they no longer appear in the world, though they may have been erased from memory, this place forever preserves them.

At this very moment.

Step!

A golden gate materialized in the sky above the continent, then opened, and a figure stepped forth.

He wore the robe of the Imperial Dragon Sage, his frame straight and noble, his appearance flawless—so perfect that even celestial beings could not rival it. Any living creature upon this world, upon seeing him, would be forever struck by his visage, unable to forget it, driven to obsession.

He carried an aura of unparalleled dignity and supremacy.

Simply standing there, others would feel that he was the sole sovereign of existence—every living being and every other entity in the cosmos must bow to him as the one and only Emperor.

He was Zhou Zhan, just arrived.

"An age-old continent…"

"The river of time and space…"

Zhou Zhan gazed upon this floating land, speaking softly.

“I’m here.”