Chapter 1701: Total Troops!

Chapter 1701: Total Force!

After reading it through, Zhou Zhou felt profoundly satisfied with the "Guardian of War Will" — this exclusive, singular master-level talent.

First and foremost, the sheer magnitude of the talent's effect — gaining 1,000 times the ascension energy upon killing an enemy — was nothing short of staggering.

It was as if a Supreme Will-tier being, upon slaying a lower-tier Supreme Will-tier entity, instantly absorbed the ascension energy equivalent to having slain 1,000 such lower-tier beings.

A full 1,000!

Ordinary Supreme Will-tier beings might never encounter even a single peer in their lifetime — let alone 1,000. Yet, under this talent, his subordinates could effortlessly amass the ascension energy from killing 1,000 such beings.

And if we were speaking of Will-Transcendent-tier beings, the effect would be even more extraordinary.

For one such killing would grant the same ascension energy as slaying 1,000 Will-Transcendent-tier beings.

So what significance does gaining ascension energy hold for beings at the Supreme Will-tier or Will-Transcendent-tier stages?

The answer is:

The warriors of these two stages, after absorbing the ascension energy, had effectively engaged in one or multiple campaigns against the primordial entities of alternate timelines, gaining growth effects equivalent to the annihilation of such entities.

A simple example would be:

A lower-tier Supreme Will-being, after defeating 1,000 entities from alternate timelines, would achieve a strength enhancement equivalent to what his subordinates would attain by merely slaying a single lower-tier Supreme Will-being.

One might say:

With the blessing of the War Will, the Supreme Will-beings and Will-Transcendent beings under his command will save vast amounts of cultivation time, ascending swiftly.

Previously, his subordinates did not possess this killing-based growth effect.

At that time, the War Supreme God Teris’s protection was merely a Supreme-tier, Exclusive Lord’s Gift, which only granted such growth effects to beings beneath the Supreme God.

Now, having ascended to a Transcendent-tier, Exclusive Lord’s Gift, this power allows those who defeat Supreme Will-beings or Will-Transcendent beings to gain 1,000 times the ascension energy, drastically reducing the cultivation time required for both Supreme Will-beings and Will-Transcendent beings.

"With the blessing of the War Will, I don’t even need to cultivate the Universal Origin Unity anymore."

"Directly eliminating enemies at the Supreme Will Realm and the Will Transcendence Realm is far more efficient than cultivating the Universal Source Unity."

"Once I elevate my Will Technique and Will Source Power Realm, I can rapidly advance my cultivation level during both the Supreme Will and Will Transcendence stages."

Zhou Zhou felt satisfied within.

With this Lord's Talent, the growth rate of his subordinates—especially the Devoted Officers at the Supreme Will and Will Transcendence levels—would skyrocket by a thousandfold!

Then he checked on Tres's condition.

To his surprise, Tres remained at the fourth-tier Supreme God level, not advancing to a Will Transcendence cultivator due to the enhancement of the Lord's Talent.

The very thought formed in his mind caused him to chuckle involuntarily.

If Will Transcendence cultivators were so easily created, the Supreme Cosmos would long ago have countless such beings beyond just the Supreme Will.

And even if the Supreme Will could personally forge a Will Transcendence cultivator, the cost would likely not be merely the consumption of his Source Power—but rather a severe depletion of his vital essence, a level of damage that would leave him utterly weakened.

The Supreme Will was no fool.

It was enough to help its own disciple elevate their lordly talent; it would certainly go no further, creating a powerhouse of willful transcendence on a whim.

Were he in its place, he would not have done so either.

There was simply no need.

At that moment.

The supreme will-realm powerhouses of the grand supreme cosmos could no longer contain themselves, flying over one after another to seek out their own newly ascended peers from among the fifty-six.

Among those fifty-six newly ascended supreme will-realm powerhouses, twenty-two were immediately drawn away.

The remaining thirty-four were the true supreme will-realm powerhouses belonging to the Divine Kingdom of the Scorching Sun.

Zhou Zhou smiled at the sight, utterly unbothered, and even walked forward on his own initiative to converse with them.

In the end, he went so far as to generously bestow upon every supreme will-realm powerhouse and the many supreme gods present a set of willful sacred artifacts and supreme divine artifacts tailored precisely to each of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the newly ascended warriors, as well as those who have previously received or borrowed divine artifacts and sacred relics from Me."

"The Supreme Cosmos is now under relentless assault by the Wandering Race!"

"This time, it is different."

"To all the warriors already engaged in the Twilight Battlefield—you must have felt the sheer ferocity of this invasion by the Wandering Race."

"The Supreme Deity need not be spoken of; even the transcendent willful warriors and those who have transcended willpower are pouring forth without hesitation."

"If their assault succeeds..."

"Not only will our Supreme Cosmos and the adjacent Crimson Cosmos be destroyed."

"But the entire Ultimate Void Cosmos will suffer as well."

"Thus, I make this decision."

"From this day forward, all artifacts and sacred relics bestowed upon or loaned to you by Me are now entirely yours!"

"In the days to come, within our Supreme Great Universe, whenever a newly ascended Supreme God, a freshly minted Supreme Will, or even a newly emerged Will-Transcendent powerhouse arises, they may come to Our presence and receive, entirely free of charge, a set of divine or sacred artifacts tailored specifically to them."

"In bestowing these gifts, Our intentions are simple. We desire only that when you face the enemy in battle, you may possess a few more advantages to vanquish your foes, or at the very least, to preserve your lives and stave off grievous wounds."

"That alone is what We seek."

"It is Our deepest hope that those gods and Will-level powerhouses who receive these divine and sacred artifacts from Our hands will take the utmost care of themselves while campaigning in distant lands."

Upon hearing these words, the gathered Supreme Wills and Supreme Gods felt a profound wave of emotion and gratitude stir within their hearts.

Those powerhouses who had already been graced with Zhou Zhou’s gifts of divine or sacred artifacts were particularly struck, deeply moved by the sheer scale of his devotion and the magnanimity of his spirit.

It was at this moment that Zhou Zhou spoke once more.

"Furthermore."

"As all of you surely know by now, Our undertakings here upon the Twilight Battlefield have been fully brought to fruition."

"Therefore, We have come to a decision."

"I shall lead the vast majority of my generals and soldiers to the Dusk Battlefield, joining you all in combat side by side."

"Previously, I did not come because my strength was still insufficient. Under the counsel of myself and my comrades, I had to temporarily set aside the idea of arriving early to fight on the Dusk Battlefield."

"But now, I can say without hesitation that my power has surpassed the vast majority of the Supreme Will Immortals within the Highest Cosmos, and even many Will Transcendence Immortals have already fallen beneath my blade."

"If I still do not come now, then I would truly be a coward."

"For the safety and future of our Highest Cosmos, I shall henceforth join you all as comrades-in-arms, standing together against the invasion of the Illusory Race!"

Clap. Clap. Clap...

All the powerful beings who heard Zhou Zhou's words burst into smiles and thundered their approval.

At this moment,

some of the stronger ones stepped forward, suggesting that with Zhou Zhou's abilities, he could remain behind, cultivating more Supreme Will Immortals within their Highest Cosmos. Through such indirect contributions, they could effectively resist the invasion of the Illusory Race.

They believed that rather than sending Zhou Zhou to the Dusk Battlefield, where he would face the enemy in a life-or-death struggle of unknown outcome, it would be wiser to keep him safely behind.

Why not remain behind, continuously forging more powerful warriors for their Supreme, Vast Cosmos?

The impact of such a contribution would surely surpass that of Zhou Zhou personally stepping onto the battlefield, facing enemies in direct combat.

Otherwise, should Zhou Zhou fall in the twilight battlefield, the Praja Sun Empire would lose its ability to generate further masters of Supreme Will—potentially causing a greater loss to their Supreme, Vast Cosmos.

The other warriors, upon hearing this, began to reflect deeply.

Suddenly, they recalled the hundreds of Supreme Will-level warriors Zhou Zhou had created over the past period. They realized with shock that Zhou Zhou had, without any conscious effort, already generated so many powerful beings for the Supreme, Vast Cosmos.

Adding to this, his previous contributions—such as bestowing divine artifacts, even Will-Saint artifacts and inheritances—had been nothing short of transformative.

He had, single-handedly, amplified the combat strength across every tier of the Supreme, Vast Cosmos by more than threefold!

The more they thought about it, the more astonished they became.

And the more they came to understand Zhou Zhou’s indispensable role within the Supreme, Vast Cosmos.

At this moment, even bold thoughts began to stir within them.

Perhaps…

Now, Zhou Zhou, in the eyes of the Supreme Cosmos, has grown—without realizing it—into a presence of equal weight to the Supreme Will itself.

He had long since surpassed the Three Supreme Commanders—Tian Cheng God King, Spring-Autumn Law Master, and Ten Thousand Evil Demon Lord—those so-called Reserve Masters of the Supreme Rulers—without any of the great powers even noticing.

And so, those who thought thus, unanimously agreed: do not let Zhou Zhou enter the Dusk Battlefield.

At this very moment, in the hearts of most Supreme Will beings, a consensus stirred: it was best that Zhou Zhou remain behind, in the rear lines. The fighting, the bloodshed—let those among us, the true strong, handle it.

It is not vital that we perish. As long as Zhou Zhou and the Supreme Will endure, the Supreme Cosmos shall never lose its hope.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhou felt a flicker of emotion—yet mostly, a deep, unyielding sorrow.

"Esteemed ones," he spoke, his voice deep and resolute, "my decision is final."

"You need not urge me further."

"I shall go to the Dusk Battlefield—there is no doubt in my mind."

"Nevertheless, please rest assured—only a copy will be dispatched; the original self will not go."

Upon hearing this, some of the powerful ones exhaled in relief, while others murmured skeptically, "What if there's a method capable of affecting the original body?"

Zhou Zhou naturally heard these words from the powerful ones.

Yet he showed no intention of responding.

Nonsense.

He currently possessed the divine talent of War Will's protection—an utterly transcendent, unique Master of the Realm—how could he possibly refrain from going to the Evening Battlefield, that place of fierce enemies, no, rather, of abundant ascension energy and war spoils?

To stay behind would be regretful.

After that, Zhou Zhou conversed with the powerful ones for a while, then watched as they joyfully led their newly recruited warriors away, heading toward the Evening Battlefield.

Then Zhou Zhou began calculating the strength of his main combat forces.

His original forces consisted of: 11,685 yao, 7,491 jing, 1,237 zhao, 3287 bi, 2893 wan, and 2931 soldiers; 3,123 yao, 2,382 jing, 2,381 zhao, 2,391 bi, 2,781 wan, and 2,387 divine beings; 723 zhao, 3368 bi, 2222 wan, and 9,272 true gods; 100 million, 2525 wan, 4605 master gods; 11,921 supreme gods; 89 beings at the Unparalleled Will Realm; and 12 beings at the Will Transcendence level!"

Adding today's 2.4 zhi-level deities newly recruited and transferred, 100 jing-level heavenly soldiers, 120 million 2349 million 2381 newly ascended main deities, 8121 newly elevated supreme deities, and 34 transcendent will-level warriors,

the total strength under His command has reached an astonishing 11,685 tai 7591 jing 1237 zhao 3287 billion 2893 million 2931 soldiers, 27,123 tai 2382 jing 2381 zhao 2379 billion 1234 million 8271 deities, 723 zhao 3368 billion 2222 million 9272 true deities, 13 billion 4874 million 6986 main deities, 20,042 supreme deities, 123 transcendent will-level warriors, and 12 will-transcendent-level warriors!

Zhou Zhou felt satisfied within.

Now, a curious phenomenon had emerged among His generals and soldiers:

the number of ordinary deities had surpassed the number of ordinary soldiers below deity rank.

In any other lord’s domain, such a thing would be nothing short of absurd—unthinkable, unbelievable to anyone.

Yet within Zhou Zhou’s Sun-Bringer Divine Realm, it had become a tangible, observable reality.

"As I continue to recruit more deity-level recruits, ordinary soldiers are gradually evolving into deity-level warriors. The number of non-divine generals and soldiers under my command will inevitably shrink."

"Perhaps in the near future, every general and soldier beneath my banner will be composed entirely of deities."

"A fully divine army!"

"There's something exhilarating about it, isn't there?"

Zhou Zhou's mind brimmed with anticipation as he thought it over.

And besides the fact that the number of divine-level soldiers now surpasses that of non-divine soldiers, the number of Supreme Deities under His command has now reached twenty thousand!

The number of beings at the Unparalleled Will Realm has soared beyond one hundred, reaching a staggering 123!

Even the number of Will-Transcendent-class warriors has surpassed ten.

"My current power base is no longer merely the first among all entities within the Supreme Cosmos."

"Even within the Ultimate Void Cosmos, my Jiaoyang Divine Nation stands as one of the preeminent master factions."

Zhou Zhou mused.

This, of course, doesn't count the sheer might of Himself—a being of utterly transcendent strength.

If one includes His own power, along with that of countless divine avatars, he believes his entire domain now rivals only the Great Heng Ultimate Sacred Nation or the Huangtian Cosmos—those realms blessed by near-eternal, unbreakable immortals.

Then He returned to the Palace of Cyclic Rebirth, resuming his cultivation.

He wished to elevate his mastery swiftly to the level of Supreme Supreme Will.

And ideally, he would subdue dozens of Will-Transcendent-tier masters.

He would then refine every Law Technique upon his body, upgrading them into Will Techniques fully aligned with his current strength.

By that time,

He would dare to challenge the entire Huangtian Great Cosmos.

Once the entire Huangtian Great Cosmos was secured, leveraging the immense resources of such a premier Master Cosmos, he would have no doubt in achieving a rapid ascent of his Master Domain to the Will-Transcendent level!