Chapter 1660: Upgrade Territory! Upgrade Summoning Gate! Improvement of Lord Talent

Chapter 1660: Upgrading the Territory! Upgrading the Summoning Gate! Enhancement of the Lord's Divine Talent

Zhou Zhou nodded in satisfaction.

At first, He had thought upgrading to a second-tier Supreme Deity-level territory would be exceedingly difficult.

After all, one of the requirements was to conquer exactly ten intermediate Supreme Deity realms.

Such realms did not naturally exist within the Supreme Grand Cosmos.

Yet fortunately, within the Huangtian Grand Cosmos, while intermediate Supreme Deity realms were still considered elite powers, they were nonetheless available—and in considerable numbers.

Zhou Shili had only spent a few days in the Huangtian Grand Cosmos, and in that short time, he had already fulfilled this criterion for Zhou Zhou.

Then He opened the requirements for the nation's ascension.

[… Conquered 20 primary Supreme Deity realm lord territories under the command of the Crimson Masters (11/20), Conquered 10 primary Supreme Deity realm lord territories under non-Crimson Masters (13/10)…]

Zhou Zhou shook his head at these two conditions.

If the sovereign realm that conquered the outer cosmos could meet the promotion criteria, then now He could elevate the Sunlight Sovereign Realm to a first-tier supreme realm.

Well, let's take it slow—after all, that's the condition.

Going forward, we must intensify our resource investment in this area, only then can our territory's ascension speed soar!

He stood up, vanishing instantly from his spot. The next moment, he appeared directly above the Sunlight Sovereign Capital.

He gazed upon his capital, and with a single thought—

The next instant, the foundational materials of Unit 4, 1,000 second-tier supreme god crystals, 5,000 yojan units of source crystals, 50,000 units of chaotic god artifacts, and 500 units of ultimate void crystalline matter vanished without a trace.

A textual prompt appeared.

[Congratulations! Your first-tier supreme sovereign realm (Lord's Law) has successfully ascended to a second-tier supreme sovereign realm (Lord's Law)!]

[Your territory has successfully ascended to a Second-Class Supreme Territory!]

[Your First-Class Supreme Divine Stellar Emperor Array has been upgraded to a Second-Class Supreme Divine Stellar Emperor Array.]

[Territory stone pillar durability has increased to: 5000 Jing / 5000 Jing!]

[Your territorial expanse has expanded to 50 Million km × 50 Million km × 500 Million m!]

[All mist monsters within the newly added territorial boundaries have been expelled!]

[The Crimson Mist will no longer appear within any of your territorial domains!]

[You have received an upgrade reward: Box of Supreme Architecture Blueprints (Second-Class Supreme Divine)]

[Lord's Talent Prompt: Your Crimson Nidus is now ready for an upgrade!]

[Lord's Talent Prompt: Your Enigmatic Trading Fleet has been strengthened!]

[Lord's Talent Prompt: The divine personnel of your Life Ark have gained enhanced power!]

Zhou Zhou gave a slight nod, his heart filled with satisfaction.

At last, he had ascended to a second-tier Supreme God-tier territory.

Initially, the promotion criteria seemed daunting, but as Zhou Shiyi advanced into the Yellow Sky Great Universe, those requirements suddenly became manageable.

Then he turned his gaze to the next tier of advancement requirements.

[Building Upgrade: 10 zǐ (third tone) units of wood, 10 zǐ units of fine sand, 10 zǐ units of metal, 10 zǐ units of stone, 1,000 pieces of Third-Tier Supreme God Crystals, 1 yāo unit of Source Crystal, 100,000 units of Chaos Divine Treasures, 1,000 units of Ultimate Void Crystalline, Conquest of 1,000 Advanced Divine Kingdoms, Conquest of 50 Mid-Level Supreme God Kingdoms, 10 Third-Tier Supreme God Beings, 5 billion Heroes!]

After reading it through, Zhou Zhou exhaled in relief.

The requirements weren't particularly difficult.

The only one that would take time was the conquest of 50 Mid-Level Supreme God Kingdoms.

Yet even that would merely require time.

The Yellow Sky Great Universe was vast and boundless; finding and conquering 50 Initial Supreme God Kingdoms was not at all a daunting task.

"Zhou Shizhi still needs to bolster troop strength and accelerate the pace of conquest."

"The efficiency of establishing primary master god realms in the Supreme and Crimson Cosmologies must also be significantly increased."

"My current power has now reached the quasi-conscious transcendence level."

"Yet my territory, faction, and realm rankings remain firmly at the Supreme God or Master God level."

"That is utterly inconsistent with my actual strength."

Zhou Zhou shook his head in resignation.

Then he arrived at the Summoning Gate, investing 40 basic resource units and 1,000 second-tier Supreme God crystals to upgrade it to the second-tier Supreme level.

A textual prompt appeared.

[Congratulations! Your Summoning Gate has successfully been upgraded to the second-tier Supreme structure!]

[Your daily capacity to summon vassals has increased by 2 billion!]

[Among the citizens you summon each day, exactly 2 billion will be professionals!]

[Tip: Influenced by the unique title 'The Glory of the Pioneer, XIV', the number of citizens you can summon daily has surged to 442.2 billion 351 million 7,000 individuals!]

[Among the citizens you summon each day, exactly 28 billion 15 professionals will appear!]

After reading this, Zhou Zhou nodded with satisfaction.

The base citizen summoning capacity of a second-tier Supreme God-level Summoning Gate is 31.5 billion 859.6 million 5,500 individuals!

With the blessing of 'The Glory of the Pioneer, XIV', this figure has increased by 14 times—now reaching 442.2 billion 351 million 7,000 individuals!

And among them, there are precisely 15 second-tier Supreme Master Gods.

Zhou Zhou nodded again, satisfied.

Every day, he gains access to over 40 billion citizens with a baseline strength of Legendary Rookie, including more than a dozen Supreme Gods.

If the Sun Emperor Sovereign had such a source, he would probably wake up laughing every time he fell asleep.

Then He glanced at the upgrade requirements for the Summoning Gate.

[Building Upgrade: 50 units of wood, 50 units of fine sand, 50 units of metal, 50 units of stone, 1,000 pieces of Third-Class Divine Crystal, Territory Rank elevated to Third-Class Divine Level!]

The upgrade requirements for the Summoning Gate remained as unadorned and straightforward as ever.

Compared to the upgrade demands of other structures, this Summoning Gate seemed more like a poverty-alleviation project.

Then He returned to the Divine Realm, sending messengers to summon Mu Gu, Zheng Fugui, and Carol Moira.

And there they were, stepping into the temple and approaching Zhou Zhou.

"Your Majesty, we are at your service!"

They bowed respectfully.

"The territory has now been elevated to Second-Class Divine Territory. Tell me, each of you—what have you personally gained from this elevation?"

Zhou Zhou regained his composure and smiled, speaking gently to them.

Upon hearing this, Mu Gu was the first to step forward, respectfully addressing Zhou Zhou:

"Report to the Emperor, the current rank of the original mother nest of Xinghong Plain under my care has advanced from first-tier to highest god-level structure to second-tier to highest god-level structure."

"The three original mother nests derived from this second-tier to highest god-level mother nest each now produce fifty billion fog mothers—up from the original twenty billion."

"Each fog mother now generates five million mist monsters within its own world."

"Fifty billion fog mothers collectively can cultivate two hundred fifty yao of mist monsters."

"Three such mother nests thus yield seven hundred fifty yao of mist monsters."

"Furthermore, the quality and efficiency of cultivating high-quality Xinghong offspring have significantly improved."

"Currently, I am able to produce ten second-tier to highest god-level Xinghong gods per day. As for other tiers of deities, as long as the Xinghong mist does not vanish, I can continue cultivating them without limit."

Mu Gu stated.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou's face broke into a smile.

Every day, he spawns a staggering 750 yao of mist monsters!

That alone is an utterly terrifying figure.

If he were to use all these mist monsters to train his troops—amplified by the supreme fortune and master talents and titles bestowed upon him—he would, each day, amass 1,500 yao of the original "Divine Weapon Recruitment Documents," 1,500 yao of the original "Divine Weapon Promotion Certificates," 1,500 yao of the "Sacred Divine Mage Recruitment Documents," and 1,500 yao of the "Sacred Divine Mage Promotion Certificates!"

In other words,

From tomorrow onward, merely by recruiting and promoting soldiers, he would instantly swell his forces by a full 6,000 yao of brand-new troops!

His current army numbers barely exceed 1,000 yao of strength.

A single summoning!

Could instantly summon six times his entire current force!

And these 6,000 yao of soldiers—no matter how low their rank—would at the very least be legendary junior soldiers!

The strongest among them stood only a single step away from divinity, mere polishing away from ascending to the realm of legendary senior soldiers, capable of becoming lower-tier deities in the next breath!

Zhou Zhou felt a pang of disbelief just thinking about it.

This primordial crimson nest, combined with his other innate abilities, had grown exponentially—after just a few cycles, the number of soldiers he could generate each day had reached a level so advanced it bordered on science fiction.

Even Zhou himself found it hard to believe.

Taking a deep breath, he immediately addressed Mugu:

"Of your 15 billion fog mothers, 7.5 billion shall be used to cultivate Chaos Sovereigns, and the remaining 7.5 billion to train Primordial Holy Cannons."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Mugu bowed respectfully and then withdrew.

Zheng Fugui stepped forward next.

"Reporting to Your Majesty."

"Since our Secret Trading Guild's numbers have remained largely unchanged after our territory has advanced to the second rank of Supreme Territory—"

"Or perhaps, our Secret Guild has no limits in numbers—should the Emperor desire more Secret Merchants, we can endlessly recruit them from the highest cosmic realm, supplying as many as he wishes, exactly as many as he demands."

"Our treasure-hunting capabilities have once again been enhanced in probability. In the future, whenever we venture forth as traders, we should be able to return at least one billion divine-grade treasures each time, with the potential to retrieve even the highest divine-grade relics."

Zheng Fugui spoke respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Zhouzhou nodded slightly.

Since the Secret Guild had been upgraded to the highest tier—Unique—this marked a complete removal of all limitations for him.

Of course, such a change carried both advantages and disadvantages.

The drawbacks were clear: in the future, the Secret Guild would need to rely heavily on its own initiative and active development if it were to grow further.

The benefits, however, were immense: he could now shape and elevate the Guild entirely according to his own vision, building and expanding without any bounds.

At present, the size of the Secret Guild was already sufficient. Zhouzhou had no immediate intention to expand its numbers further.

As for safety, the Sun God Court and the Moon God Court would dispatch masters of the Supreme Will Realm to protect their trade routes—so Zhouzhou had no reason to worry.

Thought for a moment.

Zhou Zhou asked proactively, "Zheng Fugui, currently, does your Secret Consortium have any areas you'd like to improve upon?"

"Report to the Emperor," Zheng Fugui said respectfully. "At present, there is nothing within our Secret Consortium that requires enhancement."

"But when we conduct trade across the Ultimate Void Cosmos, we are constrained by the inter-cosmic transmission arrays. Our trading scope and partners are extremely limited."

"Please, Emperor, expedite the deployment of inter-cosmic transmission arrays across every cosmos within the Ultimate Void Cosmos. Only then will our Secret Consortium be able to fulfill its full potential, serving the Emperor with greater wealth and treasures."

"If the Emperor still wishes to assist us, why not allow Him to lend us any surplus divine artifacts, master artifacts, or supreme artifacts from His collection?"

"The Emperor's artifacts alone would enable Him to become a dominant force across the Ultimate Void Cosmos—solely through wealth."

"And we, the Secret Consortium, are confident that we can transform these artifacts into wealth and even power."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhou nodded.

His collection of divine artifacts indeed numbered too many.

Even surpassing the point where the very gods of the Supreme, Highest Cosmos could scarcely keep up with the burden.

In such a situation, rather than let them rot in his hands, it was wiser to distribute them and trade for what he truly needed.

Yet certain things still needed to be cautioned about.

"Be careful not to accidentally sell our divine relics to enemies, and thus empower them."

Zhou Zhou cautioned.

"Rest assured, Majesty."

"I shall strictly regulate the total number of artifacts flowing into each lordly faction, ensuring no single power becomes overwhelmingly dominant."

"Perhaps, after I trade Your Majesty’s divine relics into the Ultimate Void Cosmos, those lordly factions will not grow stronger—but rather, weaken."

Zheng Fugui smiled and said so.

Zhou Zhou smiled.

That could very well be possible.

Once noble factions acquire divine artifacts, their power grows stronger. As a result, certain lords will naturally seek to expand their influence into neighboring factions.

Expansion inevitably leads to conflict.

With wars rising, even the victors will see their strength weakened in the short term.

This is precisely what Zheng Fugui referred to—the phenomenon of becoming weaker despite increased strength.

"There's no need to think about cultivating enemies. Instead, leverage these artifact transactions to pave the way for our Jiaoyang Divine Nation's future endeavors in the Ultimate Void Cosmos. Forge alliances with those who are willing to help us establish inter-cosmic relay arrays within their own cosmos."

"But such arrangements would be one-way only."

"Only we could transmit into their cosmos—never the reverse."

When speaking of the end.

Zhou Zhou deliberately reminded them.

He said this not out of fear of invasions from other Great Universes.

With the Supreme Will—the ultimate consciousness of a transcendent-tier master—present among them, their Great Universe stood as nearly invincible within the Ultimate Void Great Universe. Unless an immortal, unbreakable being from beyond arrived, no one dared challenge them.

Who would dare risk offending the Supreme Will to invade their realm?

His real concern was not about invasions, but about the possibility of the Wandering Race being discovered by these outsiders.

The Wandering Race—once known to any living being, once imagined by any mind—would instantly manifest, transmit, and resurrect through the imagination of those beings.

Such a method was utterly unpredictable and impenetrable.

He did not want, simply because he had planned to build inter-universe transmission arrays, to unleash the Wandering Race across the entire Ultimate Void Great Universe.

For then, he would become the sin of that entire cosmos.

He didn't want to do such a foolish thing.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I think so too."

Zheng Fugui spoke seriously.

Zhou Zhou nodded, then said:

"The transaction of the divine artifacts shall be entrusted to you."

"Yet, for now, let us avoid dealing in the highest-tier divine artifacts—only trade in primary divine artifacts and those below that level."

"Once our mysterious trading guild has firmly established itself throughout the entire Ultimate Void Cosmos, we can then turn our attention to the highest divine artifacts and even higher-tier sacred relics."

"Your Majesty is indeed wise."

Zheng Fugui bowed respectfully.