My Level Zero System-Chapter 295:

After the failed pursuit of the Netherworld Demon Sovereign, the Six Immortals reconvened for a secret council.

The recent chain of events revealed far too many suspicious elements to ignore.

The initial trigger of the entire incident had been the interrupted meeting between the five ninth-rank monsters and Minghe Yama Zi—a disruption that directly led the Immortals to launch a coordinated assault on Minghe Yama Zi.

In response, Minghe Yama Zi unleashed his trump card, summoning the projection of the Netherworld Demon Sovereign.

Up to that point, there was nothing amiss.

However—what followed raised grave concerns.

A mysterious figure suddenly appeared amidst the battle outside the Four Regions of the Nine Provinces, wielding Immortal-level power, and launched a surprise attack to assist the two Immortals under siege.

Immediately after, one of the ninth-rank monsters, Destruction King, fell in battle, and his Rule-bound Artifact vanished without a trace.

It became clear that someone had deliberately set the stage to play the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—

intending to weaken both factions, Immortals and monsters alike.

The only one capable of such a move—was Li Qing.

The first ninth-rank monster had died at Li Qing's hand, and shortly thereafter, the Rule-bound Artifact resurfaced elsewhere.

Though it bore no overt signs of tampering, the Immortals had to consider the likelihood that it had passed through Li Qing's grasp—

and thus might be compromised.

At the same time, doubts began to rise:

Had Li Qing uncovered the truth behind the Six Paths of Apotheosis?

Although their operation had been conducted in the utmost secrecy—

and certain protections were in place to thwart Li Qing's all-knowing artifacts—

the Rule-bound Artifact was simply too important.

If it had truly fallen into Li Qing's hands,

then it was entirely possible he could have reverse-engineered its secrets and uncovered their grand design.

Thus, they were forced to admit:

this entire trap-laced chessboard had been orchestrated by Li Qing—

using the five monsters' urgency to balance power as the hammer to strike one Immortal down,

then turning around to borrow the hands of the remaining six Immortals to eliminate another.

Finally, seizing that moment of chaos,

Li Qing, along with a mysterious ally possessing Immortal-tier combat power,

struck down Destruction King—one of the most brutal of the ninth-rank monsters.

The Six Immortals could no longer deny it—

the Six Paths of Apotheosis, their supreme creation, was also their chain.

Were it not for this burden,

they could have razed the world clean,

and Li Qing would have had nowhere to hide.

Yet they dared not destroy it.

Aside from the vast amounts of blood, effort, and divinity poured into its construction—

there was a far more pressing reason:

An external threat loomed ever closer.

Should they fail to preserve this foundation,

the entire world could fall into slavery,

and even Immortals—exalted as they were—

would become cattle.

Thus, in this very moment,

the Six Immortals began to seriously consider an accord with Li Qing.

Such a contingency served two purposes:

The ultimate goal: unite against the coming invaders from beyond.

The secondary aim: continue seeking a chance to destroy Li Qing—

for despite all his schemes and brilliance,

he still harbored one fatal weakness:

he was far too fragile in a direct confrontation.

—

At the very same moment, the remaining four ninth-rank monsters were holding an emergency council of their own.

Once again—

they had fallen into Li Qing's trap,

despite their precautions.

Their original plan had been ambitious but calculated:

to eliminate one more Immortal, thus achieving balance in overall strength.

But now, the Immortals still outnumbered them by two,

and they retained their ultimate trump card—the World-Origin Construct.

Whatever slim chance the monsters once had of victory was now slimmer still.

To regain the upper hand—

or at least to restore parity—

a new strategy was imperative.

But herein lay the true problem:

Any plan they devised would inevitably be seen through by Li Qing.

This was the greatest obstacle they faced.

The proof?

The mysterious figure with Immortal-level power who had intervened—

an individual neither they nor the Immortals had detected.

Yet Li Qing knew.

There was no denying it now:

Destruction King—the one among them with the most straightforward and inflexible combat rules—

had been deliberately targeted.

Li Qing's choice had not been random.

The goal had always been to weaken both factions,

and Destruction King had simply been the optimal sacrifice.

From this point onward,

the monsters resolved never to attempt direct cooperation with Li Qing.

He was too dangerous—

too perceptive—

too uncontrollable.

They could, however, consider manipulating him indirectly.

Only when a plan was entirely under their control

would they allow him any involvement.

Furthermore,

they would henceforth never split their forces again.

No more gaps to exploit.

No more lone targets to be ambushed.

Even more drastically,

they would consider leaking select intelligence about Li Qing to the Six Immortals—

not out of goodwill,

but to prevent him from playing both sides ever again.

If both factions now refused to act as his pawns,

Li Qing would be forced to step forward himself to implement his schemes.

And when that day came—

when he had no buffer, no smoke and mirrors, no proxies—

that would be their chance.

—

The information soon reached the Six Immortals:

the one who attacked and lured Destruction King into a trap had worn a Human-Dynasty Battle Armor—

a supreme artifact once exclusive to the now-fallen Human Dao Dynasty.

This immediately drew the attention of the Six Immortals to a familiar figure—

Tu Zimo, the ancestral patriarch of the Military Clan,

the Eighth Prince of the Human Dynasty,

and the infamous traitor who had defected to join the Immortal Dao.

As a result, Tu Zimo's direct superior—the Saint of Vast Radiance—was compelled to step forward in his defense.

Though it was Sun Zimowho had "coincidentally" discovered the secret meeting between Minghe Yama Zi and the monsters,

and though the mysterious Immortal-tier fighter wore armor of the Human Dynasty,

the coincidence was too unnatural to ignore.

First,

Tu Zimo, immediately after passing on the intelligence, had retreated into his fortress,

claiming fear of retaliation from the monsters—

and had not emerged since.

Second,

the gap between stage eight and stage nine cultivators was immense.

Moreover, a traitor like Sun Zimowould never gain the approval of the sacred Human-Dynasty Battle Armor,

whose loyalty ran deeper than blood.

Third,

it was plausible that Li Qing merely manipulated Tu Zimo's appearance,

using him as a convenient scapegoat to obscure the identity of his true ally.

Fourth,

Li Qing must have already anticipated that the monsters, furious after losing one of their own,

would leak the incident to the Six Immortals—

especially since both factions had been played by him in the end.

Thus, it was highly likely this was a calculated move:

a diversion,

an intentional misdirection.

Li Qing had always been one to operate from the shadows—

and this had all the marks of his schemes.

Fifth,

even though such intricate misdirection was well within Li Qing's capabilities,

a ploy like this still required a foundation of believability.

And up to this point,

Sun Zimohad shown no signs of betrayal toward the Immortals.

He had once betrayed his own kingdom to survive,

but that was precisely the point:

now, as long as he stayed loyal to the Immortals and waited for the completion of the Six Paths Apotheosis,

he would earn eternal life.

He had no reason to risk everything now

just to join forces with someone as dangerous and unstable as Li Qing.

In conclusion,

while every thread of suspicion pointed to Tu Zimo,

each one could also be interpreted as a part of Li Qing's greater plan—

a masterstroke of smoke and mirrors

that left both the Immortals and the monsters uncertain

and unwilling to act hastily.

The Immortals had pondered the matter with the utmost care—

yet they had no idea that Li Qing had already accounted for every single layer.

---

The First Layer:

Li Qing crafted a flawless alibi for Tu Zimo—

having him retreat to his headquarters and remain in seclusion,

backed by a convincing psychological motive: fear of monster retaliation.

Thus, Sun Zimoappears innocent.

---

The Second Layer:

At the same time, Li Qing deliberately directed all suspicion toward Tu Zimo—

from the "coincidental" discovery of the secret meeting,

to the fact that the Human-Dynasty Battle Armor would inevitably be seen by the monsters

and reported back to the Six Immortals.

The overwhelming trail of evidence pointed to Tu Zimo.

But therein lay the brilliance—

because it was too perfect,

the Immortals began to think:

> "Surely Li Qing would have considered all of this.

He must have wanted us to suspect Tu Zimo—

and so Sun Zimomust be a scapegoat.

Which means... Sun Zimois innocent."

---

The Third Layer:

Yet even that—

was Li Qing's trap.

He anticipated that the Immortals would see through both the surface alibi

and the redirected suspicion.

He used their own logical deductions against them,

making them believe that Sun Zimowas innocent—

precisely so they would overlook the possibility that Sun Zimowas truly guilty.