Chapter 18: The Will of the Divine Kings

The purge of the native cultivators of the divine realm began swiftly.
The ascended cultivators, who already harbored resentment toward these native cultivators, now, with the support of the Divine Marshal-level cultivators from Tianfeng Fort, hesitated not at all. They immediately seized their divine artifacts and pursued the native cultivators throughout the divine realm.
By killing these native cultivators, they could seize all their wealth. No cultivator would miss such an opportunity.
In an instant, a wave of rampant plundering swept through the divine realm, targeting all native cultivators.
Whenever any native cultivator resisted, Divine Marshal-level cultivators from Tianfeng Fort would emerge and suppress them forcefully, resulting in their immediate execution.
Death!
The once-glorious native cultivators, without the support of the eight great royal families, became like fallen leaves in autumn, instantly crushed into blood and mud.
All forces in the divine realm were swept away. From then on, the lower-level forces in the divine realm were entirely under the control of the ascended cultivators, with no longer any territory left for the native cultivators. Moreover, the native cultivators now dared not show themselves, hiding in secret places, too afraid to emerge.
Not a single one of the Eight Realms Divine Kings stepped forward to take control of the situation.
In the stone pavilion on the Three Divine Peaks of Nan Yin Island, Zong Jing, Xu Miao, Qian Mao, Qi Shen, Wu Yuan, and Qing Wu Gui gathered again.
“These Eight Realms Divine Kings clearly intend not to show up. If we want to kill them, we really have to wait until the Divine Kings’ Reincarnation Battle,” Zong Jing said angrily.
They had hoped to use the purge of the native cultivators as a catalyst to provoke the Eight Realms Divine Kings, allowing the six of them to act together and kill those who showed up. But things went contrary to their plans—none of the Divine Kings appeared.
“If they don’t show up now, they will have to come eventually. Since they’ve decided to wait until the Reincarnation Battle, then we’ll kill them all there. I don’t believe they’ll be able to escape our attacks then,” Wu Yuan shouted angrily.
They had expected to force the Eight Realms Divine Kings to emerge so they could kill them mercilessly, but the outcome was so disappointing that Wu Yuan was naturally furious. Yet this only strengthened his resolve to kill all the Eight Realms Divine Kings.

The Divine Tool God laughed softly and said, “It doesn’t matter. There are only a few hundred million years left, and the Cycle of Battle will start soon. In these few hundred million years, we can train those cultivators at the Divine General stage in Tianfeng Fort into several Divine Kings. By then, if the number of Divine Kings on our side exceeds those of the Eight Realms Divine Kings, I think those Eight Realms Divine Kings will be so frustrated they die.”

Upon hearing this, Zong Jing, Xu Miao, and Qian Mao all lit up with excitement.

“Good. The five of us are almost ready to master all the spatial rules, and Qing Wu Gui isn’t bound by them either. The strength of all six of us can rival that of a Divine King who wields a Primordial Pearl. As long as we train a few more Divine Kings, we’ll be able to duel those of the Eight Realms Divine Kings and wipe them out completely in one go,” Zong Jing said firmly.

Although the Ascended Ones currently dominate the entire Divine Realm, as long as the Eight Realms Divine Kings remain alive, they can reproduce a new batch of native cultivators in the Divine Realm. Therefore, only by completely killing the Eight Realms Divine Kings can the Ascended Ones firmly hold onto the Divine Realm.

“That’s right. Qu Yi has already captured Qiu Guanyi, Tian Chaoyi, Bai Feiyi, Jin Ziyi, and Gongye Qing and placed them in a special spatial formation. The cultivators of Tianfeng Fort can fight against these five at any time. I believe that as long as they keep challenging them, they will awaken the obsession within them, and then they’ll be able to form a Divine King’s will. Breaking through to the Divine King level will then be a natural consequence,” Xu Miao said with a smile.

Xu Miao had witnessed Wu Yuan and Qing Wu Gui break through to the Divine King level, so she was very interested in such matters and eager to help the cultivators at the Divine General stage in Tianfeng Fort advance in strength.

“Then let’s each go to a different place to help those cultivators in Tianfeng Fort advance,” Qing Wu Gui said calmly.

Soon, the six of them reached an agreement. Qing Wu Gui would continue to guard Nan Yin Island, while Zong Jing, Xu Miao, Qian Mao, the Divine Tool God, and Wu Yuan would each go to a different place to guard the spatial formations and help the cultivators of Tianfeng Fort refine their Divine King will.

※※※

Inside the Thousand-Layer Tower in Fei City, there was a special spatial formation—the Ever-Changing Spatial Formation. It actually contained a hundred parallel spaces, each with a different battle scenario. To maintain this formation, Qu Yi had also set up numerous other formations around it, absorbing vast amounts of primordial energy from the five elements and channeling it all into the Ever-Changing Spatial Formation.

And inside this formation was Qiu Guanyi, who had been enslaved by Qu Yi—once the number one expert on the ranking list.

Qiu Guanyi’s task was to fight against the cultivators at the Divine General stage of Tianfeng Fort, without any chance to rest, as these cultivators were always waiting in line to challenge this top-ranked expert in order to strengthen their own Divine King will. The cultivators of Tianfeng Fort had already refined their Soul Beads and mastered all five elements’ laws. However, since they hadn’t found their own obsessions, they were unable to take the final step and advance to the Divine King realm. At this moment, Xiao Feng entered the Ever-Changing Spatial Array. “Qiu Guanyi, it’s Xiao Feng. Over the years, I’ve fought you ten times already. Now it’s my turn to challenge you. I hope you won’t slack off—give it your all, or if I defeat you, your life will end immediately,” Xiao Feng said confidently, holding a long sword at the Divine General level. Many cultivators from Tianfeng Fort had gathered near Fei City, so even as one of its rulers, Xiao Feng couldn’t use his authority to fight Qiu Guanyi casually; he had to register and take turns entering the array to challenge him. Qiu Guanyi’s soul was under Qu Yi’s control, forcing him to accept challenges from Tianfeng Fort’s cultivators without any complaint. “Hmph, if you want to fight me, go ahead. I hope you won’t disappoint me,” Qiu Guanyi said, his anger evident as killing intent spread around him. Within this Ever-Changing Spatial Array, Qiu Guanyi had already faced tens of thousands of challenges, including ten battles with Xiao Feng. Naturally, his anger was so intense that if allowed to vent freely, it could destroy an entire divine realm. But now, he could only accept Xiao Feng’s challenge and give it his all—otherwise, defeat would mean immediate death. With a swing of his sword, Xiao Feng flew in front of Qiu Guanyi. The sword slashed downward, leaving a brilliant white trail as it aimed straight at Qiu Guanyi’s body. The power of this strike equaled that of two hundred million spiritual entities. It seemed Xiao Feng had grown stronger with each battle over the years. Qiu Guanyi also suffered greatly—throughout these years, he had managed to defeat each challenger, but after each defeat by these Tianfeng Fort cultivators, they would return with even greater strength. Thus, Qiu Guanyi knew that sooner or later he would be defeated, and then he would truly die.

But Qiu Guanyi would still persevere, as he wanted to extend this trend until the Endless Cycle Battle of Divine Kings ended. As long as the Divine King of the Eight Realms won the battle, he would naturally come to rescue Qiu Guanyi, and then Qiu Guanyi would survive.
“Hmph, the power of this sword strike is too weak,” Qiu Guanyi snapped angrily, picking up a long sword in his hand to block it directly.
The long sword in Qiu Guanyi’s hand was, of course, provided by Qu Yi—there were many of them. Whenever Qiu Guanyi lost a divine artifact, another new one would immediately appear in his hands.
The sword strike Qiu Guanyi launched this time seemed ordinary, but because it contained 400 million spiritual entities, it easily blocked Xiao Feng’s full-power strike.
“Qiu Guanyi, your strength is great, but I’ve mastered a new technique—come and experience it,” Xiao Feng laughed heartily, moving swiftly as his long sword swept downward.
With the sword strike, space trembled, and eighteen yellow dragons emerged, rushing at Qiu Guanyi at once.
“Still just trivial tricks—unable to stop my strike,” Qiu Guanyi said indifferently, quickly swinging his own long sword.
The 400 million spiritual entities formed eighteen sword auras, which confronted the eighteen yellow dragons and severed their heads in one go.
Xiao Feng’s expression froze. He hadn’t expected that after fighting tens of thousands of battles, Qiu Guanyi’s number of spiritual entities hadn’t increased, yet his swordsmanship had improved greatly. He had effortlessly broken through Xiao Feng’s painstakingly devised technique, “One Sword, Dragon Soar,” which was quite disheartening.
Clearly unwilling to continue fighting Xiao Feng, Qiu Guanyi, after breaking through “One Sword, Dragon Soar,” darted forward and thrust his long sword at Xiao Feng. Space trembled, and a thin crack appeared.
“It won’t be that easy to defeat me,” Xiao Feng retorted defiantly. A surge of energy erupted from within him as he shouted, his eyes flashing with an unusual light.
A spirit of never giving up burst forth from Xiao Feng.
Although Qiu Guanyi had countless spiritual entities, his single sword strike only injured a small area of flesh on Xiao Feng’s chest, as most of the entities were dispersed by the aura emanating from Xiao Feng.
“I understand now… My obsession is responsibility. To bear everything for my brothers, endure hardships for my friends, and take on duties for my family,” Xiao Feng muttered suddenly, standing firm on his feet.
At that moment, Qiu Guanyi placed his long sword against Xiao Feng’s neck.
“You’ve lost,” Qiu Guanyi said calmly.

Xiao Feng merely nodded, then looked at Qiu Guanyi happily and laughed loudly, “Qiu Guanyi, thank you! With one strike of your sword, you shattered the technique I had painstakingly mastered, awakening the obsession I’ve carried throughout my life. Haha, the Will of the Divine King—I’ve found it! I’ll go back now to refine it.”
Qiu Guanyi was stunned, soon filled with regret. His own sword strike had once again helped Qu Yi obtain a Divine King—this was truly heartbreaking.
The Artifact God, who was in charge of the ever-changing spatial array in Li Fei City, naturally saw everything that had happened just now. His eyes were filled with joy as he patted his thigh repeatedly, delighted for Xiao Feng.
“Since this method can create one Divine King, a second, a third, or even more Divine Kings can also be born within this ever-changing spatial array,” the Artifact God announced happily.