Chapter 32: The Battle Begins

Tianfeng Fort sent out a hundred people, each with a spiritual body count of 100 million!
The cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage from the Eight Realms, upon seeing the performance of Tianfeng Fort’s hundred people and hearing the announcement by Jing of the Divine King Sect, all looked embarrassed, their faces as gray as dust. Their internal worlds trembled in frustration, and several of them nearly fell from their seats in the air.
The hundred people from Tianfeng Fort all had spiritual body counts exceeding those of the cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage from the Eight Realms!
Undoubtedly, the new rankings on the Heavenly List would now be entirely occupied by Tianfeng Fort’s people. Such a sudden turn of events was utterly unacceptable to the cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage from the eight great divine realms.
Each of those cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage was a prodigy, having gone through countless hardships and consumed vast resources to achieve their current status. Yet, the hundred weakest cultivators sent by Tianfeng Fort were actually stronger than them—all of this was a severe blow.
Though it was a blow, this was the reality.
“Dear cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage, is there anyone else who wants to show off their spiritual body count? If not, I will announce the new rankings on the Heavenly List,” said Jing of the Divine King Sect, the host, at that moment.
Only the top ten on the Heavenly List remained among the cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage—Qiu Guanyi, Tian Chaoyi, Bai Feiyi, Sang Yunyi, Gongye Yi, Jin Ziyi, Yan Tianyi, Wu Zhuangyi, Qiu Guanyu, and Gongye Qing. They had already received secret instructions from their respective divine kings not to reveal their strength in order to compete for these nominal positions on the list.
The other cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage from Tianfeng Fort naturally wouldn’t reveal their spiritual body counts either; instead, they smiled and congratulated the hundred people who had just gone up.
Seeing this, Jing of the Divine King Sect stood up, waved his hand, and immediately, a hundred names appeared above the region shaped like a yin-yang fish—those of the hundred people from Tianfeng Fort.
Yi Tianchou, Duo Xiangsi, Er Xin, Qin Qiuyun…
“The rankings on the Heavenly List have been recorded. All of these hundred people have a spiritual body count of 100 million, so their strengths are equal. However, their rankings will be determined by the order in which they came onstage,” Jing announced with a calm smile.
“Damn it!”
The cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage from the Eight Realms cursed inwardly, their gazes fixed on Tianfeng Fort’s region, like a thousand sharp knives aimed at the cultivators there.

Seeing this, Qu Yi immediately bowed with clasped fists and laughed heartily, “Brothers, congratulations! All of you are on the heavenly list—I’m truly overjoyed. Alright, the hundred of you can now choose a city and become its city lords from now on.”
“Yes, Chief.” The hundred cultivators from Tianfeng Fort immediately replied excitedly, their eyes fixed on Jing from the Divine King Sect.
Qu Yi’s words immediately caught the attention of the Eight Realms’ Divine Kings and Divine Marshals. They all felt a surge of concern, fearing that Qu Yi might instruct these hundred people to make some astonishing choices.
The Divine Kings were worried only about one thing: that these hundred people might choose the eight imperial cities, which would truly damage the reputations of those eight royal families.
As for the Divine Marshals, they were afraid that the hundred people from Tianfeng Fort would choose the cities they themselves favored. These Divine Marshals had previously been city lords or had recently improved their strength and sought to become city lords; none of them wanted the cities they desired to be taken away.
After hearing Qu Yi’s words, Jing from the Divine King Sect smiled faintly and then said, “According to the rules, the cultivators on the new heavenly list can freely choose a city lord position. Alright, you hundred of you can now pick a city.”
In the eight realms of the divine world, there are 108 cities in each realm, and now a hundred city lords will be chosen.
The Divine Kings of the eight realms were somewhat worried.
The Divine Marshals felt a mix of envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Yi Tianchou, Duo Xiangsi, Er Xin, Qin Qiuyun, and the other hundred Divine Marshals from Tianfeng Fort stood up happily and began shouting one after another.
“Dui Ming City!”
“Dui Xuan City!”
“Dui Wei City!”
…
In the Zedui Divine Realm, with its 108 cities, the hundred cultivators from Tianfeng Fort had already chosen a hundred cities. However, the imperial city of Zedui Divine Realm, Dui Ping City, had not yet been chosen.
“Are you seeking death?”
“Damn it! Next time I see you in the outer seas, I’ll definitely kill you.”
“Why? Why are you only choosing cities from the Zedui Divine Realm?”
As the hundred cultivators from Tianfeng Fort kept shouting, the Divine Marshals of Zedui Divine Realm became furious, their eyes filled with hatred so intense it seemed capable of tearing apart the void.
Even the three Divine Kings of Zedui Divine Realm—Gongye Ming, Gongye Zhong, and Gongye Yu—could not maintain their composure. The choices made by these hundred people from Tianfeng Fort were a blatant insult to the Gongye family, openly humiliating them.

Indeed, in order to avenge the God of Tools, Qu Yi has already started taking his revenge on the Domain of Ze Dui. Who could blame the gods of the Domain of Ze Dui and the Domain of Tian Qian for opposing the God of Tools? Qu Yi decided to strike first at the Domain of Ze Dui.

Gongye Yi and Gongye Qing, two former top ten figures on the Heavenly Ranking, fixed their gazes on Qu Yi, their anger as intense as an erupting volcano, which could be sensed by all the cultivators from the eight domains. Clearly, these two had resolved to fight to the death and kill Qu Yi right on the competition stage.

As for the three god kings—Gongye Ming, Gongye Zhong, and Gongye Yu—they quickly calmed down, each thinking to themselves, “You brat Qu Yi, enjoy your moment of triumph for now. It won’t be long before you lose your life on this combat stage.”

Regarding what had happened to the Domain of Ze Dui, the cultivators from the other seven domains did not show any pleasure in their misfortune. Together with the cultivators at the Divine General level from the Domain of Ze Dui, they all harbored hatred toward Qu Yi and the Tianfeng Camp.

If the hundred people from the Tianfeng Camp had chosen one city each from the eight domain cities on average, it might have seemed normal to the cultivators of the eight domains, and they wouldn’t have been too angry. But the choice made by the Tianfeng Camp was essentially a public declaration of defiance against all the cultivators of the eight domains.

The three god kings from Nan Yin Island—Zong Jing, Xu Miao, and Qian Mao—nodded at Qu Yi with a smile. Then, Zong Jing, as the host, stood up again.

“The rankings on the Heavenly Ranking are now finalized. Next is the individual battles. According to the old rules, I will first select a city, and any cultivator who wishes to become the city lord can sign up for the competition. The strongest one will win the position. Once one city lord is determined, I will select another city, and the process will continue. I must emphasize that each person can only sign up once,” announced Zong Jing.

The real individual battles were about to begin. After hearing this rule, everyone nodded slightly and then waited quietly for Zong Jing’s next announcement.

Zong Jing glanced at all the cultivators, nodded to the god kings of the eight domains, and then said with a smile, “Since only eight out of the 108 cities in the Domain of Ze Dui remain, let’s first determine the owners of these eight cities in our upcoming individual battles.”

Hehe…

Everyone smiled in understanding, except for the cultivators at the Divine General level from the Domain of Ze Dui, who looked annoyed and frustrated.

Zong Jingyang raised his hand to signal silence, then said, “The first battle will determine the ruler of Exchange Beast City. All cultivators who wish to claim the position of ruler of Exchange Beast City may come to the stage now to register, after which they will draw lots to determine their opponents.”
“I want to register!”
“I’ll register!”
……
As soon as Zong Jingyang finished speaking, cultivators immediately stood up from their seats in the air and flew down to the Yin-Yang Fish combat area.
These cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage were all from the Ze-Dui Divine Realm. Cultivators from the other seven realms, seemingly in tacit agreement, did not interfere.
The eight great divine realms had long had unwritten rules regarding the competition for the ruler’s position—each could only run for the ruler’s position of their own realm and could not seize it from another realm. This unwritten rule had been established since ancient times, and all cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage were aware of it and adhered to it voluntarily.
However, Qu Yi’s appearance meant he intended to break these old rules.
In the Yin-Yang Fish combat area, five cultivators from the Ze-Dui Divine Realm, already at the Divine Marshal stage, had registered.
At that moment, Qu Yi stood up with a smile.
The divine kings of the eight realms, the cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage from the eight realms, especially the top ten from the Old Heavenly Ranking, all fixed their gazes on Qu Yi, waiting for his next move. If Qu Yi entered the arena now, it was likely that those top ten experts would also register immediately and fight him to the death.
“Brothers of Tianfeng Camp, among these five guys, the strongest one has only about ninety million spiritual entities in his body. Brothers, let’s select five of us to go up there and have a proper fight with them,” Qu Yi said loudly, without flying to the combat area himself.
It turned out he was just rallying them.
Upon hearing Qu Yi’s words, the divine kings and Divine Marshal cultivators from the eight realms all showed a hint of regret on their faces. Especially those ten from the top ten of the Old Heavenly Ranking—Qiu Guanyi, Tian Chaoyi, Bai Feiyi, Sang Yunyi, Gongye Yi, Jin Ziyi, Yan Tianyi, Wu Zhuangyi, Qiu Guanyu, and Gongye Qing—once again emitted murderous glares at Qu Yi after hearing his words, showing their disdain for him.
Qu Yi simply smiled indifferently at all these provocations and casually sat back down.
Soon, five people from Tianfeng Camp flew off their seats and headed to the Yin-Yang Fish combat area.
“Registrant, Yang Guo!”
“Registrant, Guo Jing!”
“Registrant, Xiao Feng!”
“Registrant, Duan Yu!”
“Registrant, Xu Zhu!”

As soon as the five people from Tianfeng Fort stepped onto the stage, they immediately introduced themselves, then stood quietly on the fighting platform, waiting for Jing of the Divine King Sect to announce the start of the battle. No other cultivators signed up. Seeing this, Jing of the Divine King Sect smiled and said, “Alright, you ten people, draw lots now to determine your opponents, and then begin the battle.”