Chapter 2: It’s Time to Ascend

“What!”
At the top of the Huoyuan Tower in the imperial city of the Fire Departure Divine Realm, Liyuan City, Yan Que shouted in fury—his voice audible to all the cultivators in Liyuan City.
Just moments earlier, Yan Que had received news that the other 107 cities in the Fire Departure Divine Realm had all announced three measures, completely altering the original order there.
Ascended beings were exempt from labor duties; those who seized minerals and land first would keep them; and the privileges of the Yan clan were abolished.
These three measures shattered the Yan clan’s forces completely, making it impossible for them to maintain such a large power base. More importantly, the native cultivators of the divine realm would no longer have any advantage in cultivation, having to compete with the numerous ascended cultivators. With their overwhelming numbers, the native cultivators would have no place left to stand.
Yan Que knew this was Qu Yi’s plan to completely destroy the eight great imperial clans—how could he not be enraged?
“Qu Yi, you, a Divine Marshal-level cultivator, dare to challenge our eight great imperial clans? You definitely won’t survive,” Yan Que said viciously after calming down.
At that moment, Yan Yi suddenly appeared inside the Huoyuan Tower.
“Qu Yi’s intentions are now clear. Since he dares to confront us eight great imperial clans so openly, we can’t just sit idly by. Let’s go to other divine realms, gather the eight regional divine kings, and discuss how to deal with Qu Yi,” Yan Yi said as soon as he appeared.
Yan Que nodded, his eyes gleaming with fury.
Immediately afterward, the two divine kings disappeared.
※※※
In Lifei City, Qu Yi had been in the city lord’s mansion the whole time.
At that moment, Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, and Yang Guo sat on either side of Qu Yi, waiting for his orders.
Qu Yi smiled faintly and said softly, “Brothers, Lifei City has announced three measures that completely disrupt the existing order. Chaos will persist for some time. I need to leave the divine realm temporarily. You four will take care of matters in Lifei City. My only instruction is to strictly enforce these three measures. You may use any means necessary—I have your back.”
With Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, Yang Guo, and the other cultivators from Tianfeng Fort, each possessing 100 million spiritual entities, their strength already surpassed that of other Divine Marshal-level cultivators in the Fire Departure Divine Realm. As long as the divine kings didn’t intervene, the 22 people following Qu Yi would be invincible.
“Fort King, we understand,” the four said, licking their lips and smiling knowingly.
Any means!
It was a clear message: if anyone acted recklessly, they could simply be killed.

In the Divine Realm, strength reigns supreme. Those without strength who dare to openly criticize new measures should be killed—there’s no need to waste words trying to gain understanding. After all, there are far too many cultivators in the Divine Realm; the absence of one won’t stop it from functioning.

Qu Yi nodded with a smile, then took out the Boundless Star Compass and left Li Fei City immediately. In fact, Qu Yi could now use the power of the universe to traverse space, but he preferred to keep this a secret. During the Void Battle, he merely utilized the power of the Inch Realm Universe, creating an illusion of spatial isolation. However, if he used the power of the Five Elements Universe now, it would be discovered by those who were watching, and his secret would be exposed.

Xiao Feng, Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, and Yang Guo saw Qu Yi leave and immediately stood up, exchanging glances. “The days ahead won’t be boring anymore. How about we compete to see who can subdue more people?” Xiao Feng said boldly. “Good, let’s compete once a year, with a divine artifact at stake each time,” Yang Guo replied right away. Duan Yu and Xu Zhu had no objections either. The four left the city lord’s mansion and went to various areas of Li Fei City, ready to act at any moment.

※※※

On Jin Xuan Star in the Immortal Realm, Bai Qu Palace. Bai Man stood in the room on the palace roof, her expression calm, exuding an innate sense of divine authority. Over the years, as she helped Qu Yi govern the Immortal Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Fiend Realm, she naturally developed an air of superiority that made it impossible for others to disrespect her.

“Qu Yi, when will you return? Isn’t the one-on-one battle over yet?” Bai Man murmured as she watched the stars twinkle in the sky.

Suddenly, a figure appeared—it was Qu Yi. “Bai Man, I’m here,” he said with a smile, spreading his arms wide.

With a cry, Bai Man rushed into his arms. Only then did she show her gentle side, daring to reveal her true self. Having been separated for so long, their reunion was filled with affection.

On the white jade bed carved with dragons and phoenixes, Qu Yi rested his hand on Bai Man’s head, playing with her hair, looking proud and satisfied. “Bai Man, now you can issue the order. All cultivators in the Immortal Realm, Demon Realm, and Fiend Realm can ascend to the Divine Realm freely. As for the Spirit Realm, Magic Realm, and Combat Realm, I’ll go there personally to announce that all cultivators who have reached the peak should ascend to the Divine Realm,” Qu Yi said calmly.

The number of cultivators who have reached the ranks of Upper Heavenly Soul Immortals, Upper Heavenly Soul Demons, and Upper Heavenly Soul Monsters is countless. However, due to the lack of orders from Qu Yi, none of them dare to undergo the heavenly tribulation and can only suppress their cultivation levels while hiding in some place.

Upon hearing this, Bai Man immediately turned over and stared at Qu Yi in shock. “Qu Yi, have you already become the lord of Li Fei City?” she asked right away, her face filled with joy.

Qu Yi had told Bai Man about matters in the Divine Realm, so she naturally understood that his words meant Li Fei City was now under his control.

Qu Yi nodded and smiled faintly. “Not just Li Fei City. I’ve taken control of all cities in the Divine Realm, except for the eight imperial cities.”

Bai Man was shocked. She quickly broke free from Qu Yi’s embrace, stood up from the bed, and stared at him in disbelief. “You’ve taken over so many cities?” she said, visibly excited.

At that moment, Qu Yi himself was also wide-eyed in astonishment. He pointed at the standing Bai Man, his eyes gleaming.

Bai Man lowered her head, let out a scream, and immediately hid under the blanket, too ashamed to show herself. It turned out she had been naked just moments ago.

“Alright, Bai Man. We’re husband and wife. Let me admire you like this once—it fills me with great ambition. Not only these cities now, but the entire Divine Realm will be under my control in the future,” Qu Yi laughed, then turned over and pressed himself onto Bai Man again.

The blanket tore apart and turned to dust, as the two bodies became entwined once more.

……

“Among the Upper Heavenly Soul Immortals in the Immortal Realm, the True God has issued an order: from today onward, they may undergo the tribulation and ascend to the Divine Realm.”

“Among the Upper Heavenly Soul Demons in the Demon Realm, the True God has issued an order: from today onward, they may undergo the tribulation and ascend to the Divine Realm.”

“The Monster Realm…” “The Spirit Realm…” “The Magic Realm…” “The Combat Realm…”

Almost simultaneously, the six cultivation realms that worshipped Qu Yi issued orders: all cultivators who had reached the peak could undergo the tribulation at any time and ascend to the Divine Realm.

Praises and celebrations echoed throughout the six realms, continuing without end.

At the same time, in these six realms, the three types of tribulation thunder—Human Punishment Thunder, Earth Punishment Thunder, and Heaven Punishment Thunder—shone everywhere, as if celebrating. All cultivators could witness this process of undergoing the tribulation and experience the immense power of the heavens.

Bai Man also had to undergo the tribulation. After waiting so long at the rank of Upper Heavenly Soul Immortal, she could finally ascend to the Divine Realm.

Qu Hanxin, Mu Han, Jin Qilin, Huan Wu Die, Wei Yan, Zhen Nantian, Long Hu Wei, and other old acquaintances of Qu Yi naturally had to go through the tribulation together as well, preparing to venture into the Divine Realm and experience once again the cruelty and joy of cultivation.
Amidst the six realms, there was a scene of joy and festivity.
After watching Bai Man and his son Qu Hanxin both overcome the divine tribulation, Qu Yi left the Immortal Realm and immediately returned to Li Fei City, ready to welcome the arrival of cultivators from the six realms.
In the city lord’s mansion of Li Fei City, Qu Yi suddenly appeared, then went to the Ascension Manor by himself.
The Ascension Manor was the place where Qu Yi, Wu Yuan, and Qing Wu Gui had ascended from the lower realms to the Divine Realm; it would naturally also become the place where cultivators from the Immortal Realm, Demon Realm, Monster Realm, Spirit Realm, Law Realm, and Combat Realm ascended.
Qu Yi soon appeared in the Ascension Manor.
“Ah… Chieftain, you’ve come.” Xiao Feng, the head of Li Fei City’s enforcement team, who was inspecting the work at the Ascension Manor, was surprised to see Qu Yi arrive and exclaimed in astonishment.
Qu Yi smiled, then looked at the white mist filling the manor, recalling the scene of his own ascension.
The Bead Trees hidden in the mist were invisible to the naked eye; only those who had ascended could see them. Qu Yi didn’t linger too long and scanned the entire Ascension Manor with his spiritual sense.
“This manor isn’t grand enough. With many people ascending from the lower realms in the near future, we should renovate it to make it more magnificent, so that new ascendants will be filled with anticipation for the Divine Realm at first sight,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Xiao Feng didn’t understand what he meant—how many cultivators would actually ascend?
However, Xiao Feng always regarded Qu Yi’s words as absolute orders. He would never doubt or hesitate when given instructions and would carry them out firmly.
“Chieftain, leave this to me. I’ll surely satisfy you,” Xiao Feng declared cheerfully.
Qu Yi nodded with a chuckle and said lightly, “Brother Xiao Feng, has there been any activity in Li Fei City recently?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Feng’s face showed anger—obviously, the changes in recent times had exceeded his expectations.
“Chieftain, there really hasn’t been any activity in Li Fei City. Everything remains as before. I even made a bet with Duan Yu, Xu Zhu, and Yang Guo to see who could suppress rebellions the most. But after all this time, the old forces in Li Fei City haven’t resisted at all and have obediently accepted the new measures,” Xiao Feng said indignantly.

This is also quite normal. The performance of the cultivators from Tianfeng Fort in the Void Battlefield has long been known throughout the entire Divine Realm. The leaders of each faction are all astute and understand the current situation; naturally, they wouldn’t confront Tianfeng Fort under such circumstances.
Qu Yi smiled faintly and said, “It seems the Eight Realms Divine Kings have already given orders to all factions. Good. I’ll see what other tricks the Eight Realms Divine Kings have in store, then I’ll deal with them.”