Chapter 21: Breaking Through with a Smile

In the sealed space, Qu Yi comprehended the concept of time standing still. However, he never broke free from that sealed space—only to deceive the Eight Realms Divine King, so as to launch a surprise attack during the cycle battle and deliver a fatal blow. Of course, within the sealed space, Qu Yi also practiced time stillness diligently, but this practice took place within the Dimensional Sphere Universe. Waves of chaotic energy could instantly transform any space back to its original state the moment it changed.

At that moment, the Eight Realms Divine King emerged and promptly dismantled the Spatial-Time Transformation Array, restoring the entire space to a state of flux. Naturally, both Qu Yi and Gongye Ming could now move freely. Qu Yi had already regained consciousness and thus knew earlier than Gongye Ming that the Eight Realms Divine King was approaching. The moment the array was removed, he struck. His right hand formed a claw as he directly grabbed Gongye Ming by the neck! At the same time, his right hand was filled with chaotic energy. When he grabbed Gongye Ming’s neck, the latter was only briefly panicked before collapsing unconscious, without any resistance at all.

Chaos energy could even seal away the inner world of a divine king. Without the support of beings in their inner world, a divine king could not wield spatial power, let alone resist. At this point, Gongye Ming was like a dying rooster, helplessly held by Qu Yi.

“Big brother!” Gongye Zhong and Gongye Yu cried out in terror, their eyes blazing with anger.

“Gongye Ming!” The divine kings of the other seven realms also grew frantic upon seeing this and roared in anger.

Qu Yi merely smiled faintly, looking at the Eight Realms Divine King and saying, “Well? You managed to seal me with your array, but now I’ve outwitted you too. It’s a draw between us. As payment for 400 million years of imprisonment, I’ll take Gongye Ming’s life. You have no objections, right?”

Anger! Hearing Qu Yi’s arrogant words, the Eight Realms Divine Kings were filled with rage, but none dared to confront him. Gongye Ming was in Qu Yi’s grasp, and with one more tight squeeze, his entire body would collapse.

“Qu Yi, release Gongye Ming!” Though furious, Qiu Yan calmed down immediately and shouted.

At that moment, twenty-six Divine Kings such as Wuyuan, Qingwugui, Zongjing, and Qishen arrived beside Qu Yi, looking at him happily before turning their hostility toward the Eight Realms Divine Kings. On the side of the Ascended Divine Kings, their numbers far exceeded those of the Eight Realms Divine Kings—twenty-seven against twenty-three—giving them a complete advantage in momentum. Qu Yi looked at Qiu Yan and smiled, saying, “If you say release them, I will release them. You Divine Kings think that just by obtaining a formation from the Divine Emperor, you can suppress my cultivation level? How naive. I’ll show you now that a Divine King in my hands is nothing but a pile of sand.” Panic! Hearing Qu Yi’s words, the Eight Realms Divine Kings felt inexplicable panic, not knowing how to respond, and watched anxiously as Qu Yi took action. Meanwhile, Qu Yi’s chaotic energy filled Gongye Ming’s entire body. With a mere thought, Gongye Ming’s body collapsed instantly, his Divine King form turning to ashes before everyone’s eyes. Even Gongye Ming’s soul infant couldn’t escape; as soon as it appeared, Qu Yi punched it, shattering it outright. In the blink of an eye, a Divine King—one who even possessed a Primordial Pearl—died at Qu Yi’s hands. This astonishing scene was clearly visible to all the Divine Kings, proving just how powerful Qu Yi was. Could a Divine King die so easily? Not only the Eight Realms Divine Kings but also the Ascended Divine Kings like Wuyuan, Qingwugui, Qishen, and Zongjing were filled with fear as they watched Qu Yi effortlessly slay another Divine King. It took them a long time to calm down. “Qu Yi, you’re ruthless!” “Qu Yi, daring to kill a Divine King—you’ll surely face punishment from the Divine Emperor.” “Qu Yi, it’s time for your death in the Divine King Reincarnation Battle. Now, you’ll enjoy some freedom for a while.” The Eight Realms Divine Kings shouted in fury, feeling fear not only at Qu Yi’s ability to kill a Divine King so easily but also about their own fate and uncertainty about whether the Divine Emperor could defeat him. Hearing this, Wuyuan and the others immediately retorted angrily. “Are you Eight Realms Divine Kings scared now? Thinking you’re great just because you’re Divine Kings, always enslaving us Ascended cultivators. Now you’re finally afraid—someone is here to rule over you.” “You’re allowed to hunt Divine Kings, but not us from killing you?” “Why be angry? If you’re not convinced, let’s fight now.”

“You Eight Realms Divine Kings have been hiding for over 400 million years. Now that you finally stop acting like turtles, it seems you’re still terrified. How about we fight? Let’s have a life-or-death battle right now, what do you say?”
These Divine Kings, who originated as bandits, certainly wouldn’t use polite words at such a time; they all shouted aggressively, their faces filled with mockery.
Qu Yi, on the other hand, remained calm. He picked up the Origin Pearl left behind by Gongye Ming and his space ring, then smiled at the Eight Realms Divine Kings, his expression full of disdain.
“Since you’ve all come out, now is the time to properly fight against us brothers. Well, I know you’re all afraid of me, so I’ll just watch from the side while you fight.” Qu Yi said with a smile before vanishing and heading to the Three Divine Peaks, entering the palace where Bai Man was.
At that moment, Divine Kings like Wu Yuan, Qing Wu Gui, Qi Shen, Zong Jing, Xu Miao, Qian Mao, and Xiao Feng, upon hearing Qu Yi’s words, became overjoyed. They immediately grabbed their divine weapons and rushed toward the Eight Realms Divine Kings.
“Qu Yi, we won’t let you go,” the Eight Realms Divine Kings shouted angrily.
They instantly vanished into spatial turbulence, never intending to truly fight Wu Yuan and the others.
“Idiots, fighting won’t kill anyone. What cowards.”
“It’s boring. After hiding for 400 million years, they hide again as soon as they return. These Divine Kings are nothing but turtles.”
“Never mind. The Reincarnation Battle will start soon. By then, they won’t be able to escape. We’ll have to fight them one last time.”
Wu Wu, Qing Wu Gui, and the others were dissatisfied seeing the Eight Realms Divine Kings vanish instantly, but they could do nothing but complain.
Meanwhile, Qu Yi was in the palace, standing beside Bai Man who was in meditation. He watched her quietly without disturbing her.
However, Bai Man sensed something and immediately opened her eyes. Seeing Qu Yi, she soared up and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
“You’re finally free,” Bai Man said through tears, trembling.
Qu Yi also held her, smiling as he stroked her soft hair and her graceful back, though he felt a hint of guilt.
Throughout those 400 million years, Qu Yi could have easily broken through the sealed space, but to understand and practice time suspension, he had to stay inside, forcing Bai Man to wait for so long.

“I’m out now. I won’t make you wait anxiously anymore. I’ll be by your side always,” Qu Yi said gently.
Bai Man responded with a hum, then pushed him away, looking at him calmly before suddenly laughing.
“Qu Yi, do you know? I originally wanted to cry, but as soon as you touched my body, I felt like laughing. Haha… I don’t know why, but seeing you made me want to laugh all of a sudden.”
Bai Man swayed her graceful limbs, breathing slightly heavily.
Qu Yi was stunned, staring at her in confusion, almost not recognizing her. Of course, he knew Bai Man wasn’t crazy—likely, years of waiting had affected her emotions, causing her to need to release them by seeing him.
“Qu Yi, can you leave for a while? Just looking at you makes me laugh—I can’t help it,” Bai Man cried, holding her stomach and out of breath.
Qu Yi could tell she was truly laughing, not just venting emotions, which left him extremely frustrated. Had his appearance changed to something ridiculous just by coming out?
As Qu Yi tried to leave the palace, Bai Man laughed so hard that she fell to the ground, kicking and struggling for breath.
Qu Yi became even more frustrated. He had given up punishing the Eight Realms Divine Kings to come see Bai Man right away, only to cause her to laugh wildly. His emotions were all over the place—he didn’t know what to feel.
After Qu Yi left the palace, a powerful aura suddenly emanated from Bai Man’s entire body.
The Divine King’s will had awakened!
Amidst her laughter, Bai Man had found her true self and was now refining her own Divine King’s will.
Qu Yi, who had just left the palace, along with the twenty-some Divine Kings waiting in the air, noticed the changes inside and were all shocked by this incredible sight.
Could laughter truly lead to a breakthrough in cultivation?
These Divine Kings, who had gone through brutal battles and great effort to find their own Divine King’s will, were now filled with jealousy and envy at Bai Man achieving a breakthrough just by laughing.
Bai Man’s Divine King’s will appeared for a moment before disappearing quickly—obviously, she needed to meditate to reach Divine King status as soon as possible.
Qu Yi glanced at the palace, deciding not to disturb her. He then went to the Divine Kings like Wuyuan and Qingwugui, smiling happily.

“Everyone, I’m sorry for the wait. It’s time for us to head to Reincarnation Mountain. We must kill all the Eight Realms Divine Kings; from now on, this divine realm will belong only to us ascendants,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
The various divine kings immediately joined in with loud laughter, expressing their strong agreement.