Chapter 1: Measures for Taking Office

“Chieftain!”
The 19,000 cultivators at Tianfeng Fort at the Divine General stage were all shocked upon hearing Qu Yi’s words, followed by expressions of gratitude and excitement.
Over the years, everyone at Tianfeng Fort had grown accustomed to being controlled by Qu Yi, having long given up any resentment about their souls being controlled and now willingly submitted to him. All of them knew that they had been able to progress from the Divine Weapon stage to the Divine General stage thanks to Qu Yi taking them to the Divine Realm of Meteorfall and granting them Soul Beads. Naturally, to ensure this huge secret remained hidden, Qu Yi must have taken measures to control everyone at Tianfeng Fort.
At this moment, the 19,000 people at Tianfeng Fort, whose souls had been enslaved, did not turn against Qu Yi upon gaining their freedom; instead, they wholeheartedly supported and respected him, having truly regarded him as their master deep in their souls.
Seeing all the cultivators at Tianfeng Fort looking at him excitedly, Qu Yi waved his hand and said with a faint smile, “Brothers, after this battle, we have obtained the position of city lords, and it requires everyone’s efforts to manage and develop these cities. I propose that the 856 cities be evenly distributed among us Divine General-level cultivators from Tianfeng Fort, each responsible for governing one city.”
“Good! Good! Good!” Both those who had become city lords and those who hadn’t cheered enthusiastically.
Previously, Tianfeng Fort’s influence already spanned the entire Divine Realm, but because the eight royal families held overwhelming power, Tianfeng Fort dared not show itself openly and could only operate in secret. Now, with legitimate titles as city lords, Tianfeng Fort could freely expand its influence in any region under their control.
Everyone wore joyful smiles.
At that moment, Qu Yi glanced at Zong Jing, Xu Miao, and Qian Mao, the three Divine Kings beside him, and nodded with a smile.
“Brothers of Tianfeng Fort, we are all cultivators who have ascended from the lower realms, and it is only right that we assist those who have ascended. I also have another proposal: all ascended cultivators should be exempt from farming and mining tasks, allowing them to freely explore and cultivate in the Divine Realm after arriving here,” Qu Yi declared loudly once again.
This was something Qu Yi had promised the three Divine Kings before the battle, so of course he announced it directly in front of them now.
“Understood, Chieftain,” the cultivators at Tianfeng Fort responded enthusiastically once more.
Zong Jing, Xu Miao, and Qian Mao laughed joyfully. As Divine Kings, they too were emotionally stirred at this moment.

The three seemed to already envision all the ascended cultivators in the Divine Realm achieving a great turnaround. By then, every city in the Divine Realm would be occupied by the forces of the ascended cultivators, and the already rare native inhabitants of the Divine Realm would become even fewer before eventually disappearing entirely.

The eight great royal families in the Divine Realm had previously controlled the city lords, thereby monopolizing all resources there. This allowed them to provide the native inhabitants with superior cultivation resources, ensuring their strength. Now, with Tianfeng Fort controlling the cities, it could ignore the orders of the eight great royal families and implement measures that benefited itself. This would fundamentally undermine the foundation of the eight great royal families and cut off the cultivation resources for the native inhabitants.

At this moment, Zong Jingzheng shouted, “Friends of Tianfeng Fort, go ahead and act boldly! I, Zong Jing, will always stand by your side.”

By making such a promise, Zong Jing declared his alliance with Tianfeng Fort, vowing to help them in any future need.

Qu Yi smiled faintly and nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Wu Yuan and Qing Wugui, standing beside Qu Yi, remained calm, showing little interest in what had just happened. For them, the most important task now was to keep fighting in order to advance to the rank of Divine King.

However, in one-on-one battles, Wu Yuan and Qing Wugui had fought very few times, so they hadn’t gained much combat experience nor had they had the chance to advance in rank.

“Qu Yi, I want to go to the outer seas,” Wu Yuan and Qing Wugui transmitted their thoughts to Qu Yi, one after the other.

Of course, Qu Yi, who knew their cultivation methods, understood what they meant—they wanted to go to the core area of the outer seas to train, as only there were numerous sea beasts at the Divine Marshal level that they could fight against continuously.

Qu Yi nodded and then turned to Xu Miao and Qian Mao.

“Two Divine Kings, I have a small request. Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan want to go to the outer seas to train. Could you please help send them there? If you have time, could you also watch over them?” Qu Yi said with a smile.

Xu Miao and Qian Mao already liked Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan very much. Moreover, as Divine Kings, they were aware of the relationship between Qing Wugui and Wu Yuan and Qu Yi, and they also understood that the two had a great chance of advancing to the rank of Divine King. Naturally, they wanted to maintain a good relationship with them.

“No problem,” Xu Miao and Qian Mao replied immediately.

Soon, Xumiao took Qingwugui with him, and Qianmao took Wuyuan; they immediately broke through the void and traveled straight through the spatial turbulence to reach the outer seas. After that, Qu Yi gathered with the 856 city lords to discuss their next steps. Jing of the Divine King Sect also excitedly offered several suggestions. It was a bustling scene. A month later, Qu Yi took out the Boundless Star Map, gathered all the cultivators from Tianfeng Fort into the Star Luo Ding, and then sent each city lord along with the Tianfeng Fort cultivators assigned to those cities there, taking control of each city one by one. The individual battles determined who would become the city lord, and once someone won that position, no one could remove them unless they died unexpectedly. The Tianfeng Fort cultivators smoothly took over the city lord positions and began to make arrangements. ※※※ At Feifei City, Qu Yi arrived with 22 Tianfeng Fort cultivators. The city lord’s mansion was empty at the moment—the original city lord had long left on his own, clearly unwilling to hold a handover ceremony with Qu Yi, leaving him a mess. Now, Qu Yi arrived with those 22 cultivators. Among them were Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, and Yang Guo. Qu Yi greatly admired their performance in the individual battles and thus brought them along. Entering the city lord’s mansion, Qu Yi glanced at the messy scene and simply smiled. “Xiao Feng, you and your brothers, tidy up this mansion,” Qu Yi said with a smile at the entrance. With the abilities of these cultivators at the Divine General stage, it didn’t take long to tidy up the mansion. In no time, Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the other 21 quickly cleaned it up, turning it back into a noble, majestic, and splendid residence. Qu Yi smiled as he headed to the council hall, with the 21 following closely behind and sitting down with him. “Xiao Feng, you’ll be in charge of the law enforcement team from now on.” “Duan Yu, you’ll be in charge of the merchant alliance.” “Xu Zhu, you’ll be in charge of coordinating between the various cities.” “Yang Guo, you’ll be in charge of identifying ascendants with cultivation potential.” … Without wasting words, Qu Yi announced their assignments as soon as he sat down, completing the task allocation for all 21. “Yes, Fort King,” the 21 replied with smiles. “Everyone, please note that I am now the city lord,” Qu Yi reminded them with a smile. “Yes, City Lord,” the 21 replied with laughter.

Qu Yi smiled and nodded, then looked at Xu Zhu with a faint smile, saying, “Brother Xu Zhu, you can go to the city now to spread the news. Share the measures we at Tianfeng Fort have developed with all the residents of Lifei City.”
Xu Zhu understood immediately. Without hesitation, he got up and left the city lord’s residence.
Lifei City had a designated place for announcing news, known as the Announcement Platform—a towering stone pillar over a thousand meters high. On that pillar was inscribed a sound-amplification array that allowed voices to cover the entire city.
Xu Zhu then flew up to the pillar.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
The residents of Lifei City already knew that Qu Yi was the new city lord and that he had arrived. Now, seeing Xu Zhu on the Announcement Platform, they understood that Qu Yi was taking office and about to implement new policies.
“All the cultivators in Lifei City, here are three measures that will take effect immediately across the entire city. Listen carefully. First, cultivators who ascend to the divine realm will be exempt from farming and mining tasks and will immediately gain the status of divine realm cultivators. Second, resources within Lifei City’s territory will follow the principle of ‘first come, first served.’ Third, the privileges of the Yan clan in the Huoli Divine Domain will be revoked.”
Xu Zhu’s calm voice carried a sense of confidence and arrogance.
These three measures were announced simultaneously in 856 cities across the eight regions of the divine realm. The first was to fully liberate all ascending cultivators, the second to break the monopoly of the eight royal families, and the third to weaken their influence.
As soon as Xu Zhu finished speaking, it caused widespread astonishment among the city’s residents, followed by loud applause and praise.
These measures completely disrupted the existing order of the divine realm, restoring a free environment for cultivation. From then on, cultivators could rely on their own talents and opportunities to explore different parts of the divine realm and continuously improve their skills.
“Great! Great! Great…” The residents of Lifei City cheered excitedly.
Of course, they quickly spread these three measures throughout the entire city, informing their relatives and friends.

Similarly, the existing organizations, sects, factions, and families in Li Fei City also quickly gathered to discuss the upcoming changes in the situation and then made a decision. Most of them decided to follow this new measure and send a large force to take control of the areas under Li Fei City’s jurisdiction.
Xu Zhu returned to the city lord’s residence and reported the situation to Qu Yi.
Qu Yi nodded in approval and then said with a gentle smile, “The Fire Departure Divine Realm is about to change—the divine world is about to change. The situation ahead will likely be quite exciting.”