Chapter 41: This Is Also Acceptable

The two cultivators from the Shan Gen Divine Realm stood stunned on the combat platform, their expressions full of surprise as they watched the number of divine artifacts in Tao Hua Yun and Fan Tao Hua’s hands.
The explosion of ten divine artifacts—such power—they had witnessed many times before. The cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage from the Ze Dui Divine Realm had been utterly defeated by such explosions. Who among the cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage across the eight realms didn’t know the destructive power of these divine artifact explosions?
Naturally, when these two cultivators saw Tao Hua Yun and Fan Tao Hua pull out ten divine artifacts, along with their sinister smiles, their hearts began to pound in fear.
“Am I going to die from being attacked by these ten divine artifact explosions?”
The real danger immediately filled them with panic. The more they thought about it, the more they realized how perilous the situation was. If they failed to react in time, they would truly die on this combat platform.
It wasn’t long before…
“I give up the fight,” the two said, stopping further consideration.
Although the position of city lord was glorious, one’s life was what truly mattered. No one would risk their life. Undoubtedly, after much deliberation, they realized it was impossible to avoid the power of those divine artifact explosions, so they decided not to take any chances.
“Your decision is wise,” Tao Hua Yun said with a faint smile as he put away his divine artifacts.
“It’s a shame to win without fighting. But congratulations—this decision is the right one for you,” Fan Tao Hua said with a giggling tone.
The two cultivators immediately flew away from the combat platform, as if staying any longer would cause them to burn to death. Being around Tao Hua Yun and Fan Tao Hua was simply torture for them.
At this point, only the two from the Tian Feng Camp remained on the combat platform.
“Tao Hua Yun, do you want to steal the position of city lord from me?” Fan Tao Hua asked, her eyes sparkling like autumn streams, her body swaying temptingly as she spoke in a seductive voice.
The cultivator at the Divine Marshal stage was stunned, unable to believe that Fan Tao Hua was such a woman—so unrestrained in front of everyone.
“I also want the position of city lord,” Tao Hua Yun replied calmly, his resolve unshaken.
Zong Jing, who was overseeing the match, had no patience to watch them bicker any longer. He immediately called out, “Tao Hua Yun, Fan Tao Hua, you can start the fight for the position of city lord of Gen Bao City now.”
Since even the Divine King had spoken, Tao Hua Yun and Fan Tao Hua, who had wanted to continue arguing, immediately became serious and stared at each other.
“Let’s go!”
“Okay.”
Suddenly, the two rushed forward, flying into the air. Then, under everyone’s gaze, they embraced each other and immediately kissed, sucking passionately.

“What…”
“This is acceptable…”
“It blinds my eyes…”
“Amazing, exciting, so full of courage—can a fight be any better than this?”
In an instant, countless wide-eyed gazes sparkled with disbelief, followed by noisy shouts—a rare instance of collective cheering in the vast battlefield.
Some even stood up from their seats, clapping their hands loudly.
Qu Yi shook his head in disbelief. These two were well-known lovers in Tianfeng Fort, often showing affection in front of the cultivators there without any shame. Yet Qu Yi couldn’t believe they would dare do such things even in this situation.
“Enough, enough. I really don’t understand their minds,” Qu Yi sighed and closed his eyes.
He had to keep his eyes closed—Zong Jing, Xu Miao, and Qian Mao had already turned to look at him, seeking his opinion. Qu Yi couldn’t offer any advice on this matter. The best course of action was to act as if he hadn’t seen anything and let Zong Jing handle it.
Although Zong Jing was the organizer, he couldn’t dictate the rules of the fight. So, watching the kissing scene between Taohuayun and Fan Taohuafa, he could only cluck his tongue and stop watching, waiting for them to end it on their own.
A day, a month, a year…
That passionate kiss lasted for ten years until Taohuayun and Fan Taohuafa finally separated and fell from the sky. Taohuayun looked utterly depressed.
“Fan Taohuafa, you’re ruthless. You won this time,” Taohuayun said through his swollen, blood-red lips.
It turned out they were indeed fighting by kissing, seeing who could hold on longer. The one who gave in first lost. In the end, Taohuayun, the male cultivator, couldn’t bear the strange looks from the handsome cultivators around him, his emotions fluctuating, and he ultimately lost.
Fan Taohuafa stuck out her beautiful, rosy tongue, enticingly.
She slid her tongue over her lips, smiling delightfully, and said, “Since you admit defeat, the position of the city lord of Genbao City belongs to me.”
Taohuayun shook his head, sighed, stamped his foot, and flew away from the fighting platform. Amidst the thumbs-up gestures of the 19,000 people in Tianfeng Fort, he sat back down in his seat.
Fan Taohuafa smiled at Zong Jing.
“Fan Taohuafa will be the city lord of Genbao City,” Zong Jing declared decisively, seemingly a bit afraid of her.

Fan Taohua then swayed her graceful figure, floating in the air like a fairy, bathed in the envious gazes of the cultivators from the eight regions. She calmly descended to her seat and went straight to sleep.
With the position of city lord in Genbao City already decided, it immediately sparked fury among the cultivators at the Divine General stage in the Shanggen Divine Realm.
It was then that these cultivators realized the pain endured by those from the Zedui Divine Realm earlier—having their city lords taken away by the people of Tianfeng Camp brought such bitter suffering, and they couldn’t even complain about it.
The cultivators of Tianfeng Camp each carried ten divine artifacts, ready to deliver a fatal strike at any moment. Which cultivator from the Zedui Divine Realm would dare risk their life? Moreover, the shameless behavior of the people from Tianfeng Camp, along with the incident of Taohua Yun and Fan Taohua kissing in public for ten years, made it even less likely for the cultivators of the Shanggen Divine Realm to consider such actions.
Tragedy!
All the cultivators at the Divine General stage in the Shanggen Divine Realm felt a sense of powerlessness.
“Defend Genyuan City at all costs. As long as we keep the position of city lord, that’s enough. As long as we don’t lose to the Zedui Divine Realm, there’s no shame.” At this point, the cultivators of the Shanggen Divine Realm had already lowered their standards, aiming to match those of the Zedui Divine Realm.
As the host, Zong Jing certainly couldn’t let the fighting platform remain empty. After observing the expressions of the cultivators from various divine realms, he smiled faintly and immediately called out, “For the next match, for the position of city lord in Genzhuang City, those who wish to compete may come onto the platform now.”
After a long while, not a single cultivator from the Shanggen Divine Realm stepped onto the fighting platform.
Zong Jing was slightly surprised, his expression stiffening as he became unaccustomed to such a situation. After all, as a Divine King with countless experiences in one-on-one battles among Divine General-level cultivators, he had never seen a match with no participants.
Of course, Zong Jing also understood the thoughts of the cultivators from the Shanggen Divine Realm—it was all forced by Tianfeng Camp.
But as the host, he didn’t want every match to be empty, as that would make him feel neglected.
The 19,000 people from Tianfeng Camp laughed arrogantly at this scene. Clearly, they were proud of the fear-stricken state of the cultivators from the Shanggen Divine Realm, filled with enthusiasm, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Qu Yi waved his hand and smiled, saying, “Brothers of Tianfeng Fort, since even the cultivators from Shanggen Divine Realm don’t want to go onto the fighting platform, we can’t keep waiting indefinitely. How about this: let’s first select one brother to go there. If any cultivators from Shanggen Divine Realm decide to go later, then we’ll send more brothers to the platform.”

These words were meant for the Divine Marshal-level cultivators of Tianfeng Fort, but also for those from Shanggen Divine Realm. Qu Yi was taking advantage of the fact that Tianfeng Fort had far more Divine Marshal-level cultivators than Shanggen Divine Realm to bully them outright.

Unconvinced? Then send someone to give it a try.

How could the Divine Marshal-level cultivators of Shanggen Divine Realm fail to understand Qu Yi’s words? But even though they understood, this was an entirely predictable outcome, which still dissuaded them from risking it by going onto the fighting platform.

Still, not a single Divine Marshal-level cultivator from Shanggen Divine Realm stepped onto the platform.

Seeing the situation, Zong Jing saw no further hope and simply smiled as he watched the cultivator from Tianfeng Fort who had just flown onto the platform.

“Now, there’s only Zhang Wuji on the platform, with no one to fight him. Therefore, Zhang Wuji will assume the position of the lord of Genzhuang City,” Zong Jing announced calmly.

Hehe…

The 19,000 people of Tianfeng Fort immediately laughed, delighted by this turn of events.

As for the Divine Marshal-level cultivators of Shanggen Divine Realm, they all pretended to sleep, unwilling to care about what happened next. It didn’t matter who became the lords of their cities—as long as the Imperial City remained intact, that was enough.

Now, the Divine Marshal-level cultivators of the eight realms realized that likely no one would want to go onto the platform and fight against those from Tianfeng Fort.

Apart from the eight imperial cities, all other city lords would eventually be taken over by the Divine Marshal-level cultivators of Tianfeng Fort.

After watching Zhang Wuji leave the platform, Zong Jing immediately smiled and called out, “Next is the position of the lord of Genwei City. Any cultivator who wants to compete can come forward and register now.”

For a long time after that, the Divine Marshal-level cultivators of Shanggen Divine Realm remained completely still, showing no reaction.

In the end, it was again Tianfeng Fort that sent a cultivator onto the platform.

…

One after another, the city lords of Shanggen Divine Realm were easily taken away by the cultivators of Tianfeng Fort. The cultivators of Shanggen Divine Realm didn’t even bother to show any signs of regret, allowing the cultivators from Tianfeng Fort to proudly claim those positions.

Qu Yi kept smiling; he was extremely happy with this situation. Zong Jing, Xu Miao, and Qian Mao, the three Divine Kings, were also happy. The more city lord positions Qu Yi secured, the more beneficial it was for the growth of the Ascendants’ forces, so naturally, the three of them were also smiling joyfully. In the end, only the Imperial City of Gen Yuan remained in the Divine Realm of Shan Gen.