Chapter 322

Master!

The strange situation here left the monkey stunned:

Over a thousand divine bodies lay here soundless and motionless, as if merely asleep…

Although these subdued ministers had their divine powers sealed, even without such power, the sheer might of their true‑god forms made them far from easy to kill; their immortal bodies were no trifle! Yet to the monkey, these true gods died in a most peculiar way—the earlier batches might possibly have been wiped out by a sneak attack, but those who came later were certainly not fools.

Even the most thick‑skinned person would panic at the sight of comrades' corpses littering the ground upon entry, and if they had offered the slightest resistance, they would not have died without a sound.

The only explanation is that the Master carried out the slaughter by some unknown divine means: they themselves did not know they would die this way, so they fell victim unawares…

Death? The stunned monkey immediately recalled the Master's earlier mention of an 'alarm clock': though he did not know exactly what an alarm clock was, the Master had said that anyone awakened by it appeared, to others, as if dead.

Could it be that these are the people awakened by the 'alarm clock'? Yet, although nearly everyone in the Heavenly Court has been awakened, why has this dream‑world not shattered? According to the Master, once the dream's owner awakens, everyone should immediately return to the so‑called 'Primordial Chaos'.

But now…

The monkey reacted quickly, trembling as it asked the white‑haired, mad old man:

"Master…… could it be that the dream's master is not among these people of the Heavenly Court?"

Lin Liu nodded woodenly, then fixed his gaze tightly on his disciple.

Hope, anxiety, madness… various complex emotions flickered in his eyes, that demon‑like expression making the monkey shudder: Master, he seems to have gone a little mad…

However, the monkey could also understand the Master's complex state of mind, for this plan was his own devising, aimed at leading all beings to a better 'Paradise'! He wished everyone immortal, a world without suffering, to fulfill all his fantasies of Paradise! Yet, if the plan faltered, the consequences would be catastrophic.

The Master himself might truly become a world‑destroying demon lord…

Therefore, this plan could not tolerate failure from the outset; the Master, having single‑handedly championed it, bore an unimaginable pressure! The admiring gazes and loyal cheers of billions would become his most effective death warrant:

Although these things would not directly harm him, the guilt and self‑reproach would erode his will, indirectly driving him toward madness and self‑destruction…

"Disciple…"

Lin Liu's eyes reddened:

"Master will tell you a story…… don't be afraid."

The monkey's heart gave a thud! It naturally knew what the Master was about to say—the indescribable 'alarm clock' would awaken its sleep, pushing it from illusion to reality, and it would then head toward death in this world…

The Master has now gone mad, suspecting that it is the dream's master! In fact, the monkey had thought the same.

Because it is so unique, it stands out like a torch in all of heaven and earth: it is the world's only non‑human intelligent life, capable of human speech and longevity, born from a stone womb, nearly identical to the legendary demons! It possesses the divine ability to perceive hearts, not only seeing good and evil in people but also instantly discerning the Master's special nature!

It can also find the inaccessible Lingtai Fangcun Shan, where from the Patriarch Bodhi it learns the Bodhi Cultivation Method, thereby transcending the mundane in one fell swoop…

Objectively speaking, if there must be a 'dream master' in the world, its suspicion is nearly the greatest!

Now, after the Master's near‑extermination of the entire Heavenly Court yielded nothing, he finally turned his mad gaze upon it…

Does the monkey fear death? Of course it does; if it weren't afraid, it wouldn't have crossed the oceans alone in search of immortality for itself and its descendants! Yet the monkey can also be unafraid of death, provided it bears a goal and responsibility that transcend life and death.

To ensure immortality for its kin, it even dares to set out on a lone plank, braving mortal danger, paddling a broken raft across the vast sea! Its promise and responsibility to its kin outweigh the fear of death.

Likewise, now that the Master's plan is obstructed, a single slip could doom the Master and everyone else; at this critical juncture, that sliver of hope rests upon it: the Master needs it, and all beings need it!

Thus, after a brief stupor and panic, the monkey gradually steadied its emotions…

It drew a deep breath, then even forced a smile: 'Please, Master, speak! At worst we'll just wake from the dream; I'll go wait over there for you, to scout the path!'

The disciple's feigned nonchalance seemed to rouse some of Lin Liu's reason.

Seeing the disciple's forced smile, a flicker of hesitation crossed Lin Liu's eyes… but in the end he still spoke:

"As Master, being the protagonist, my essence lies in there being an existence in the dark…"

"It is me, yet not me; it aids me in making some decisions, but does not constantly interfere with me."

"So I call it【Another Self】… of course, you may also call it by its name."

【"Its name is Zhao Si…"】

【……】

【Soon, your mad self finished explaining a rough concept, and to make it easier for the disciple to understand, you even went into many details.】

【The monkey listened, growing ever more astonished; it had always known you were someone who could restart, yet never imagined there were so many secrets involved!】

【The 'Another Self' in the dark, life's choice nodes, each node representing a branch line…】

【Unable to contain its curiosity, it asked: "Can the person named Zhao Si truly help you make choices? Where is this person from? The Eternal Primordial Chaos?"】

【"Someone so formidable is probably even mightier than the Heavenly Emperor's true form in the Primordial Chaos…"】【Your account seemed to open a new world for it; curious, it kept popping up question after question, having completely forgotten some of what had just happened.】

【But you did not answer its one question after another, not only because these questions are tricky, but chiefly because…】

【"You… all right?"】

【You stared, mouth agape, at the monkey's face full of curiosity, feeling that everything before you was even more bewildering than the world's destruction!】

【It, why can it still stand?】

【Those Heavenly Court ministers before, all of them, after hearing this in panic and bewilderment, promptly collapsed unconscious, without exception!】

【Thus, you had even made two preparations: if the monkey truly is the master, then once the dream‑world shatters and we return to the Eternal Primordial Chaos, you would celebrate together with them, even if it meant facing apology and self‑punishment.】

【And if the monkey awakens yet the world remains unchanged, you would continue sounding the 'alarm clock' for all beings until you find it!】

【But you never considered what to do if it does not awaken…】

【Thus, master and disciple stared at each other…】

【"I… I'm alright?!"】

【Upon your hint, the monkey instantly reacted, its face filled with relief and bewilderment: not dying is certainly good, but… why didn't it die?】

【Something's off!】

【You disbelievingly checked its condition, even trying a few times…】

【But no matter how you examined it, the monkey was perfectly fine; having heard this supposedly fatal secret, it suffered not a scratch!】

【Having found nothing, you could only fall into contemplation…】

【In contemplation…】

【In contemplation…】

Lost and confused, you gave up thinking...

"Who cares!"

You simply can't figure it out, so you just stop thinking!

Anyway, this experiment already lets you confirm one thing: you can't find a breakthrough on the monkey.

No matter whether it is the master of the dream or not, you have no way to verify it; for now you can only assume it isn't, and then shift your attention to others.

And if by then everyone else awakens but only the monkey remains asleep, then it must be it!

Therefore, you decided to use the method of elimination...

But right now, the gods of the Heavenly Court have been almost completely slaughtered by you; the only suspicious targets left between heaven and earth are your subordinate gods and billions of commoners.

Just as the Heavenly Emperor previously analyzed for you, if you want to act against them, it could very well provoke the most severe rebellion; for this you must prepare in all aspects.

For your subordinate gods, you cannot trick them into action like you did with the Heavenly Court gods whose divine power was sealed, because they are not fools; once they sense danger they will surely resist.

You can't act rashly; you must think of a way to make them obediently listen...

Soon you had a good idea: Blood God Son!

Blood God Son can completely control a person's mind; back when you were just starting out and building your fortune, it saved you countless hardships—just one intangible Blood God Son can yield an absolutely loyal brainless fan.

If you implant the Blood God Son in your subordinate gods and then use the "alarm clock", then...

However, you hesitated again.

Because you have always despised using this method to control people's thoughts, aside from having once used it at the start to control a group of mortals to aid in spreading the faith, you have never used it before.

Now, are you going to use it again to massively control others' minds?

Reason tells you: those who accomplish great things are not bound by petty details!

But emotion tells you: wantonly toying with people's hearts is a method only the most evil would adopt!

Thus you fell into a dilemma...

Ding! Faced with whether to use Blood God Son on a large scale, your heart is torn, reason and emotion each take a side, simultaneously explaining their reasoning to you… you choose: (?)

A: No, how could a just ally recklessly use heretical methods? The Blood God Son is ultimately just a convenient heretical tool used at the start; if used frequently, you will eventually lose yourself in this wanton playing with and controlling people's hearts' power and desire! B: Use! Do it for the sake of all beings under heaven? Use the Blood God Son on the gods!

……

(End of chapter)