Chapter 1673: As You Wish

Chapter 1673: As You Wish

Zhou Zhou swiftly assimilated the Martial Sovereign Zhou Zhou into his own alternate timeline avatar.

Once the assimilation was complete, Zhou Zhou sensed a profound, fated connection forming between himself and the Martial Sovereign Zhou Zhou.

He carefully examined this connection and discovered that not only could he, in moments of life or death, use the alternate timeline avatar as a vessel for rebirth and survival, but he could also leverage the bond to travel directly into the timeline world where the Martial Sovereign Zhou Zhou existed.

A spark of interest stirred within Zhou Zhou's heart.

Yet, after a moment's reflection, he dismissed the idea.

He would return to it when the time came.

For now, the battlefield at Huangwen was in dire peril—any moment, he might need to personally descend there, to fight on behalf of the Supreme Cosmic Realm.

He could not afford to be absent from the present, wandering in the alternate timeline.

"This must be the sensation of being assimilated into your alternate timeline avatar?"

Wu Zun Zhouzhou stared at his own hands, feeling the surging tide of spiritual power coursing through him, astonished, "How has my spiritual strength grown so drastically? It's even beginning to nourish my physical form, enhancing my physical strength."

"If this trend continues, in no time at all, I'll reach the realm of the Martial Sage."

"That's not spiritual power."

"It's the remnant will force left behind when I fused you into a fragment of an alternate timeline. Because this will force resonates so strongly with you, it hasn't dissipated—it has instead seeped into your soul, infusing a subtle trace of willpower deep within your essence."

"This trace of willpower will subtly transform your soul over time, making it easier for you to eventually tread the path of will."

"Right now, your comprehension of laws is remarkably simple—like a university student solving a primary school math problem. Even grasping the power of will, ascending to the Master God realm or the Supreme God realm, will be effortless."

"As for the realm of Supreme Will, there's a slight possibility, but ultimately, it all depends on your future efforts."

"This remnant will force I've left behind can only open a single path toward the Supreme Will realm. As for how you walk that path, how swiftly you progress—it's entirely up to you."

Wu Zun Zhou Zhou's face lit up with astonishment, "So, once I became a branch of your alternate timeline, I've become a world-class genius."

"World-class genius."

Zhou Zhou smiled. "Have you ever seen a true world-class genius?"

"Yes."

"No, you haven't."

Zhou Zhou shook his head. "You've been practicing the Way of Martial Arts for twelve years, haven't you?"

"Twelve years—could you have achieved the rank of Martial Arts Supreme Master (epic)? In your world, wouldn't you be considered a minor genius?"

Wu Zun Zhou nodded honestly.

In his own martial arts world, he was among the top ten prodigies. At the last Continental Martial Arts Grand Assembly, he even reached the ninth round before finally losing. Among all the contestants, he wasn't the youngest, but he was certainly among the young talents of his generation.

At such a young age, reaching the ninth rank in the Grand Assembly—undoubtedly a true prodigy!

"Then, in your opinion, what's the gap between us?"

"I can't tell. Maybe there's none at all."

Wu Zun Zhouzhou spoke honestly, "The gap between us is too vast, so vast that I cannot even see its end."

Zhouzhou nodded, speaking calmly, "The world I inhabit is called the Supreme Great World. Within it lie countless Great Worlds, Medium Worlds, and Small Worlds, each teeming with beings that can be described as infinite in number."

"But even so,"

"I am currently among the weakest of the top ten in this Great World."

"And how long do you think it took me—starting from a commoner—to reach this point?"

"I don't know."

Wu Zun Zhouzhou hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

He looked at Zhou Zhou, his eyes overflowing with envy and trembling disbelief.

If, as he claimed, the other was a being ranking among the very elite across countless realms—both great and small—then the power of that being, to Zhou Zhou, a martial master from the foreign world continent, was utterly unimaginable.

And then came the next thing.

Before him, Zhou Zhou, at the peak of the Supreme Will Realm, uttered a response that left him even more stunned and utterly incredulous.

"Less than a year!"

Zhou Zhou spoke calmly. "Within less than a year, I've risen from a mere commoner to this very state."

"Impossible!"

The martial master Zhou Zhou gasped, "Absolutely impossible! No being, in less than a year, could possibly reach such a level!"

"So, I am the greatest prodigy,"

"No one can match me!"

Zhou Zhou laughed.

Honestly, who would have thought?

Having one's alternate timeline self praise oneself so openly—really, it's quite exhilarating.

Master of Martial Might Zhou Zhou had not finished speaking.

He had been utterly stunned.

With his vast experience, he could not possibly imagine how a normal person could, in less than a year, ascend from a commoner to this so-called "Supreme Will Realm."

Is this some kind of cheat?

Master of Martial Might Zhou Zhou had his own advantage—his pure, unyielding martial spirit.

It was thanks to that spirit that he had managed to reach the Master of Martial Might level so swiftly.

But then again, people compare people, and goods compare goods.

My own augmentation pales in comparison to this one's innate talent.

No wonder he achieved what would take a lifetime for others—just in under a year.

He didn't suspect Zhou Zhou of deceiving him.

After all, now that they shared a bond between their true forms and their split selves, though he couldn't read the inner thoughts of the other, he could still sense from the tone of voice that Zhou Zhou had no intention of lying.

At that moment, Zhou Zhou spoke.

"You are now my split self."

"In a short while, this arena should dissipate, and we'll return to our respective realms."

"Before that happens, I'll give you a gift."

With that, Zhou Zhou raised his right hand and gently pointed his index finger at the other.

A thread of willpower wrapped around a fragment of inheritance, and it entered the brow of Wu Dao Zhou.

Wu Dao Zhou closed his eyes, accepting this inheritance. After a moment, he opened them again.

"The inheritance of Supreme Martial Way?"

"If I fully absorb this inheritance, I might one day ascend to the Realm of Supreme Will through martial cultivation—perhaps even have a sliver of chance to breach the transcendental realm?"

Wu Dao Zhou couldn't help but hold his breath.

Though he had only just begun to grasp the essence of a Wuzun-level inheritance, the martial traditions beyond Wuzun were beyond his current capacity due to the vast gap in power. He could only receive such content when his own strength reached the appropriate level.

Yet even so—

He could feel the boundless expanse of this inheritance.

He sensed something profound:

A Wuzun who had received this inheritance would absolutely dominate hundreds of his current self in combat.

Not exaggeration at all!

"If I were to cultivate to the Wuxin level of the martial path,"

"I would even have the confidence to fight a Wushen."

Wuxin Zhou murmured to himself.

Wushen!

The second great realm beyond Wuxin, and the highest realm he currently knew.

Wuxin, Wusheng, Wushen!

Three great ranks—though differing by only a single character—the gap in power between them was as vast as the heavens and earth.

A Wuxin, normally, could never challenge a Wusheng.

A Wusheng, normally, could never challenge a Wushen.

Of course.

A few prodigies, such as Wu Zun Zhouzhou, can challenge Wu Saints below the third rank of Wu Saint with the strength of a Wu Master.

Even so,

He is still hailed as one of a thousand-year rarity—the ultimate martial prodigy on the Wu Xuan Continent!

And this supreme martial art, merely the earlier portion of what Wu Zun once mastered, is already capable of allowing him to surpass two ranks and challenge a Wu God!

The impact on him was unimaginable.

Zhouzhou's expression of astonishment at Wu Zun Zhouzhou was remarkably calm.

He could instantly read what the other man was thinking.

A quiet smile played at his lips.

To challenge a lower-tier god on an epic scale—does that truly leave you stunned?

Back in my day, I walked that very path, just as you did.

Many of the battles in which he personally intervened had surpassed two tiers of combat?

In the most recent engagement, he had slain a lower-tier will transcendence master with a near-superior will state, advancing two tiers beyond—shocking all the powerful beings across the myriad realms.

Of course.

Zhou Zhou would certainly not be foolish enough to boast.

There was no need to do so before his own avatar.

After all, they might never meet again in the future.

"This is the gift I've prepared for you."

"When you eventually ascend to the Supreme Will State, we shall meet again."

Zhou Zhou said.

Only supreme will state beings have begun to master the art of traversing across alternate timelines.

Thus Zhou Zhou said that only within the Realm of Supreme Will could they ever meet.

"I will strive."

Wu Zun Zhou Zhou spoke it seriously.

Zhou Zhou nodded.

Just as the words fell from his lips,

they saw the fighting platform beneath both of them begin to scatter into points of light, fading away.

Behind Zhou Zhou and Wu Dao Zhou Zhou, their respective realms emerged.

Behind Zhou Zhou stood a magnificent and vast Palace of Supreme Divinity.

Beyond the palace stretched an endless expanse of the Divine Realm.

Above that realm, faint projections of celestial divine kingdoms, the Moon Stars, and the Sun Stars could be discerned.

And behind Wu Zun Zhouzhou lay a vast continent.

As Zhouzhou glanced upon it, he discovered it was a martial realm where the highest attainable power reached only the level of Supreme Deity, God Sovereign, or Divine Master.

This continent held many secrets—secrets involving divine-level opportunities, even a lineage of the Supreme God.

Yet such a lineage naturally held no allure for Zhouzhou. He had not the slightest interest in even glancing at it.

Zhouzhou turned and departed, vanishing into nothingness.

Behind him, Wu Zun Zhouzhou gazed upon the divine realm of Zhouzhou, his eyes filled with rapture, eventually hardening into a resolute hue.

"I will create the same landscape," he murmured softly.

Then he turned and vanished.

Within the Palace of Cyclic Rebirth.

Zhou Zhou sat again upon the enlightenment cushion, continuing to absorb the willpower within the strange fruit to elevate his own willful state.

At the same time, he activated "The Origin of the Heart," accelerating the transmutation of the fruit's willpower.

"The Origin of the Heart" truly is the supreme inheritance of the Heart's Great Cosmos. After activating it, Zhou Zhou felt his rate of absorbing the willpower from within the strange fruit had increased by at least four to five times!

As his willpower steadily grew, he could clearly sense that his next alternate timeline entity would soon launch an attack upon him.

And how soon?

In a quiet, inner knowing, Zhou Zhou understood the exact duration.

Ten years!

A faint frown creased his brow.

Ten years.

For other masters at the peak of willful strength, this span would be but a blink of an eye.

But for Zhou Zhou, who had spent less than a year in actual cultivation, this was a figure utterly beyond acceptance.

He didn’t have that much time to waste on such matters.

"Good thing I have my brother’s 'Ten Sources Unified,' which allows me to accelerate the arrival of the original beings from other divergent timelines."

With a mere thought, the seal in his hand subtly shifted, and the 'Ten Sources Unified' activated.

At the very moment it awakened, Zhou Zhou seemed to glimpse, in the depths of his consciousness, countless versions of himself across different timelines.

Some were doctors, others salesmen, some possessed abilities, others came from alien worlds, some were deities, others demons, or even creators of the universe…

Each timeline unfolded with its own scenery, each harboring a different version of himself.

And then—

A man, his face worn and his spirit broken, lifted his gaze toward Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Zhou looked back at him.

Shush!

The two of them once again found themselves on a battlefield.

Before them stretched ruins and broken walls, bodies scattered like fallen leaves, the air thick with the stench of blood and rot.

Now both had received the information bestowed upon them by the Ultimate Void Cosmic Will.

The man opposite—so similar in appearance to Zhou Zhou, yet appearing utterly worn and broken—raised his head, first glancing curiously at the surroundings, then turning with a puzzled expression toward Zhou Zhou.

"You look far more powerful than me."

"If you wish to end my life, it would be ridiculously easy."

"A mere thought."

Zhou Zhou nodded.

"Indeed."

The broken man pulled a pack of Yuxi from his right pocket, pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a lighter, exhaled a ring of smoke, and smiled. "Before I die, can I at least have one cigarette?"

"Is life treating you badly?"

Zhou Zhou asked with a smile.

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

The broken man chuckled. "I'm luckier than many, though I've suffered more than most. Still, I'm better off than those born into misfortune."

"But meeting you—my only remaining luck seems to be ending now."

"Fine with me."

The broken man took a deep drag from the cigarette, tossed it carelessly onto the ground, stomped it down hard, then shouted into the sky: "Fuck life!"

"I'm going to live forever!!!"

"Damn it!"

"Meeting me doesn't necessarily mean misfortune."

Zhou Zhou smiled and spoke words that startled the fallen man. "And who says I have to take your life?"

"What do you mean?"

The broken man furrowed his brow slightly.

Seeing his expression, Zhou Zhou scoffed and then repeated the words he had said to the Wu Zun, Zhou Zhou.

"I accept!"

Without hesitation, the fallen man agreed. He sneered coldly, "As long as you're telling the truth, anyone who refuses you is a fool!"

"A wise decision."

Zhou Zhou chuckled.

Then, in a remarkably short time, he assimilated the other into a fragment of his alternate timeline.

"What kind of gift do you want?"

"I treat everyone exactly the same,"

Zhou Zhou said with a faint smile.

The down-and-out man sank into thought for a moment, his eyes suddenly lighting up as he asked, "Are you truly omnipotent?"

"You could say that."

"Then I want a system!"

The down-and-out man swung his right arm with forceful conviction. "I damn well want to live the life of a power-fantasy protagonist."

"Are you certain?"

"I, Zhou Zhou, am a hundred thousand percent certain!!!"

"Then... as you wish."