Chapter 3: Why So Many People?

The Ascension Manor in Li Fei City was quickly transformed completely.
The multi-tiered tower covered an area of thousands of miles, with each layer in a different color. Its glowing flames were hazy, hidden among the clouds, appearing majestic and awe-inspiring.
Qu Yi was on the highest level of the tower.
At that moment, Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and twenty-two other cultivators who had come to Li Fei City with Qu Yi stood behind him, waiting calmly.
From the top of the tower, looking down at the Ascension Manor, it was still shrouded in white mist, making it impossible to see the Pearl-Forming Trees within. However, a storm eye had appeared in the mist.
“Finally, they’ve ascended,” Qu Yi said softly, his expression joyful, even excited.
Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the others were puzzled. They rarely saw Qu Yi show such excitement, and they naturally understood that the cultivators forming soul pearls on those trees must be closely related to Qu Yi.
Everyone waited eagerly.
After three days, the ascendant still hadn’t emerged from the mist, which puzzled Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the others.
Generally, an ascendant only needed to stay on the Pearl-Forming Tree for a day to condense their soul into a soul pearl. If it took three days, it meant the ascendant had extraordinary potential.
“As expected, those who can connect with the clan leader must also possess great cultivation potential,” thought Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the others.
Just then, Qu Yi said softly, “They’re out. I’ll go down first.”
With that, his figure disappeared, having already reached the ground.
The twenty-two of them followed suit, jumping down from the tower’s top and landing on the ground, their eyes filled with anticipation to see what this ascendant, who had taken three days to form a soul pearl, looked like.
Bai Man stepped out of the mist gracefully and lightly.
Although cultivators from the six realms were all undergoing the Divine Calamity, they had all voluntarily postponed their ascension dates so that Bai Man could ascend to the divine realm first.
“Qu Yi, I’m here.”
“Bai Man, welcome.”
The couple exchanged smiles, then immediately flew up and embraced each other.
“Ah… behind the clan…”
Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the twenty-two others exclaimed in surprise. They never expected the ascendant to be Qu Yi’s wife, and they cried out in shock.

Qu Yi and Bai Man separated, and he immediately said, “Don’t mention what happened today to anyone. I’ll take my wife to a mysterious place. Also, take good care of this Ascension Manor—many ascendants are coming here soon.” Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the others nodded immediately, not daring to ask more questions. Qu Yi took Bai Man and flew away right away. On the Three Gods Peak of Nan Yin Island, Qu Yi and Bai Man reappeared. Now, only Zong Jing and Qian Mao were on the Three Gods Peak, as Xu Miao had gone to the open sea to help Wu Yuan and Qing Wu Gui with their cultivation. “Qu Yi, you’re here,” Zong Jing said as he sat in the stone pavilion and saw Qu Yi arrive. As for Bai Man, Zong Jing and Qian Mao nodded politely—they certainly understood her identity, as the two of them appeared holding hands. Qu Yi didn’t say much more. He pulled Bai Man to sit down and then smiled, saying, “My lords, this is my wife, Bai Man, who has just ascended to the divine realm. As you know, the Eight Realms’ Divine Kings want to kill me. Before they kill me, they won’t touch the cultivators of Tian Feng Fort, but they won’t hesitate to target my wife. If they get the chance, they’ll surely try to capture her. That’s why I want to place my wife under your care on the Three Gods Peak.” Hearing this, Zong Jing and Qian Mao were overjoyed. Qu Yi’s words meant he regarded them as his own people—after all, entrusting his most important person to them showed absolute trust. “Qu Yi, rest assured. As long as I, Zong Jing, am alive, no one can harm Bai Man,” Zong Jing said immediately, giving his guarantee. Qian Mao said the same. Qu Yi smiled, glanced at Bai Man, nodded, and said, “Bai Man, these two lords are the Divine Kings Zong Jing and Qian Mao, whom I’ve mentioned to you. With their protection, I no longer need to worry about your safety. I can focus on my cultivation and reach the rank of Divine King.” With the Path of Fusion, Qu Yi was confident he could quickly reach the rank of Divine King. However, cultivation took time, and he didn’t want Bai Man to stay in the Star Luo Ding forever, so he brought her to Nan Yin Island. In fact, this was also Qu Yi’s final test for the three Divine Kings of Nan Yin Island. If they could truly defend her from the attacks of the Eight Realms’ Divine Kings, he would consider them his own people from then on. If they couldn’t protect Bai Man, Qu Yi could always step in to rescue her.

Qu Yi possesses cosmic power, allowing him to travel through the universe at any moment.
“Thank you, both Divine Kings. I’ll be troubling you from now on,” Qu Yi said with a gentle smile as he stood up.
Zong Jing and Qian Mao also stood up, repeatedly saying it was no trouble.
Qu Yi arranged for Bai Man to take care of things before leaving Nan Yin Island to start his own cultivation.
※※※
At the Ascension Manor in Fei City.
One storm eye after another appeared in the white mist, signifying that ascendants had arrived in the divine realm and were forming soul orbs on the Pearl-Binding Tree.
Normally, it would take millions of years for just one cultivator to ascend at the Ascension Manor. But now, it was bustling—hundreds of cultivators ascended every day, with storm eyes appearing in the white mist, leaving Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, and others in charge of guarding the manor in astonishment.
What was even stranger was that these cultivators seemed to have greater potential than ordinary ascendants. While other cultivators could form soul orbs in a day, these ascendants took three days or more, indicating their exceptional potential.
The sudden appearance of so many cultivators with outstanding potential greatly challenged Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, and the others’ assumptions, and they quickly understood Qu Yi’s intention in assigning them twenty-two people to guard the Ascension Manor.
Secrecy—absolute secrecy.
Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, and the other twenty-two were personally in charge of guarding the manor for one reason only: Qu Yi wanted them to keep secret that once these ascendants from the six realms successfully formed their soul orbs, they would appear in the white mist and be immediately taken into the Thousand-Layer Tower, without being sent to Fei City.
After all, if so many cultivators left the Ascension Manor at once, it would be obvious that something had happened there, and people might guess that Qu Yi was hiding something in the lower realms.
One thousand, two thousand… ten thousand.
Storm eyes appeared in the white mist, and one after another, cultivators emerged from it.
Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the other twenty-two never left the Thousand-Layer Tower. As soon as they saw someone emerge from the white mist, they would reach out and grab them, pulling them into the tower.
“Brother Duan Yu, how many ascendants have you received this year?” Xiao Feng asked, staring at the edge of the white mist in the Ascension Manor.
A large number of ascendants arrived every day, and their numbers were increasing rapidly—from initially a thousand per day to ten thousand per day, with the trend seemingly continuing upward.

The twenty-two of them wore expressions of constant surprise. They couldn’t understand how these people could have ascended from a special cultivation realm—how so many could reach the peak of cultivation in such a short time and ascend simultaneously. It was simply unreasonable.

Yet, accustomed to the miraculous deeds created by Qu Yi, these twenty-two were able to adapt and tirelessly accepted the cultivators who ascended one after another.

Over more than 200 million years, the number of cultivators from the Immortal Realm, Demon Realm, Monster Realm, Spirit Realm, Law Realm, and Combat Realm who reached the peak of cultivation was countless—at least in the tens of billions. Most of these cultivators hid themselves, so even with the strength of the Three Tripod Gate, it was impossible to count them all.

Now, these cultivators finally received the order and ascended together, rushing to ascend like a tide at the same time.

One year, two years… a thousand years passed.

Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the other twenty-two were utterly numb. They could only mechanically accept the cultivators who ascended one after another, staring fixedly at the Ascension Manor. Whenever any movement was detected, whether there was someone there or not, their divine essence would emit a powerful absorption force that enveloped the area. If someone was present, they would be directly drawn into the Thousand-Layer Tower; if it was just an anomaly in the mist, they would be left alone.

“How many people are there?”
Xiao Feng, who was usually bold and unrestrained, suddenly exclaimed. Even he couldn’t figure out which realm’s cultivators could produce so many ascendants at once—it was completely impossible, not even the Divine Realm could reach such a scale.

“Yes, there are too many.”

“How did the Fortress King do this? How did he create so many ascendants? It’s utterly baffling.”

“We can’t figure it out. Let’s just keep accepting these ascendants.”

The twenty-two, all on the top floor of the Thousand-Layer Tower, were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

However, after a thousand years, the number of cultivators from the six realms ascending finally decreased until it vanished completely.

“The True God endures forever; our faith shall never fade.”

Hundreds of billions of cultivators who had just ascended suddenly shouted in unison within the Thousand-Layer Tower. Their voices spread throughout the entire Li Fei City.

Even after ascending to the Divine Realm, these cultivators still believed in Qu Yi.

At the moment these sounds arose, Qu Yi, who was cultivating somewhere in the divine realm, suddenly opened his eyes, and his entire demeanor changed drastically, as if his whole body had merged with the divine realm, ready to shatter it at any moment.