Pacifying the Three Divine Kingdoms! (Please Vote)

As a former Legendary Heavenly God, Zhao Ji could be said to be the undisputed number one in this world, whether in strength or methods.

And now that she had reclaimed the top spot in the world, the defensive array she had set up should have been impossible for anyone but herself to breach.

This allowed Qiu Tu to advance without worry.

Arriving at the Array Eye Zhao Ji had indicated, Qiu Tu sat down and began adjusting his condition.

As he did so, he also recalled the precautions Zhao Ji had explained to him.

According to Zhao Ji, advancing from Eighth Order Peak to Heavenly God was a major threshold for all living beings.

Because it was a transformation from an "Earth Deity" into a "Heavenly God."

During the Earth Deity stage, a living being's authority was bound to a region. It was tangible, visible, and limited by boundaries.

Qiu Tu was the Earth Deity of East City, so he could exert his peak strength within East City. But once he left East City, he would be reduced to his original state.

But the Heavenly God realm was different.

A deity's authority would shift from the "tangible" to the "intangible." Though they would still have a domain under their control, their authority would extend into every corner of the world.

Just from the description alone, one could tell how vast the gap between these two realms was. Thus, throughout history, no deity had ever completed this step on their own. They all required the aid of an External Object—the Heavenly God Level.

Only by refining the Heavenly God Level into their bodies and absorbing it completely could deities elevate their souls and spirits, allowing their "authority" to permeate the entire world.

That was the importance of the Heavenly God Level.

And after advancing to Heavenly God, one would need to expand one's authority in order to advance further to "God King."

According to Zhao Ji, reaching perfection in the Heavenly God realm was actually quite easy.

One only needed to achieve two goals.

First, one had to develop a profound understanding of the domain one controlled, forming one's own interpretation and internal logic.

Second, one had to let one's power permeate every area in the "world one inhabited" related to one's authority.

It was basically the same as the method for improving the Calamity Path.

And because of that, most Heavenly Gods' "authority" was their own Calamity Path.

I wonder just how easy Zhao Ji means when she says it's easy.

I have a bad feeling about this.

After sorting through all his thoughts, Qiu Tu gradually calmed down.

He spread out his Mental Power and surveyed the entire manor once more. Only after confirming that everything was ready did he slowly close his eyes and begin his formal advancement!

Meanwhile.

Just as Qiu Tu finished adjusting himself and officially began advancing, Qing Lan was flying toward the East Kingdom while recalling the Entire Process of her earlier "exchange" with Qiu Tu.

As a monstrous genius whom Zhao Ji had rated at ninety points, Qing Lan might have been a little lazy, but she was not stupid.

Earlier, she had simply lacked experience and been wholly focused on escaping the fate of being eaten by Qiu Tu, which was why she had been PUA'd. But after coming to her senses, she finally noticed that something was Not Right!

Tilting her head, her palm-sized face was filled with confusion.

Wait. Did Qiu Tu trick me?

Wasn't our deal supposed to end once the Heavenly God Trial was over? Why am I suddenly going to help him conquer the East Kingdom?

At that thought, Qing Lan's watery eyes filled with indignation.

And! I even forgot to negotiate my payment with him!

Oh no! I got the short end of the stick!

Thinking this, Qing Lan stopped in midair and could not help looking back toward Burial Dragon City.

At this moment, Burial Dragon City was once again concealed by Zhao Ji's array, preventing all spying and approach. Clearly, Qiu Tu was in the middle of advancing.

Seeing this, Qing Lan knew she could not go back to settle accounts with Qiu Tu, so she angrily stomped her foot in the air!

Then she muttered softly, "It's fine, it's fine. Qiu Tu has money. He definitely won't stiff me."

"So a few days later is fine. At worst..."

"I'll charge him a late fee!" Qing Lan smiled mischievously, looking adorably wicked.

Having come up with a solution herself, Qing Lan's mood immediately brightened.

She began humming a tune again as she took off toward the East Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Mandala Sand Sea.

Zhao Ji was walking across the boundless sea of sand.

Yellow sand filled the sky, blotting out the sun like the end of the world. Yet when it reached Zhao Ji, it eerily parted on its own, not daring to touch this deity in the slightest.

The East Kingdom was rather far from the northwest region, but the West Kingdom was close to it.

And Zhao Ji had always acted decisively, so not long after parting with Qiu Tu, she arrived at the Mandala Sand Sea.

As a Peak Heavenly God from several hundred years ago, Zhao Ji was highly familiar with the aura of the "World Passage" and the "Heavenly God Battlefield."

Thus, the moment she arrived at the "Mandala Sand Sea," Zhao Ji knew that her and Qiu Tu's guess was likely correct.

The West Divine King had most likely not died, and he had opened the "World Passage."

Thinking this, Zhao Ji arrived at the center of the Mandala Sand Sea.

When she saw the remains of the "Sky Piercer" and the bottomless pit at the heart of the sand sea, Zhao Ji's expression turned even colder.

She did not act rashly or strike immediately. Instead, she silently circled the pit several times.

Only after determining roughly when the "World Passage" had formed did Zhao Ji slowly spread her arms and close her eyes.

Her figure was tall and elegant, like an iceberg standing in the desert, radiating the aura of a high-ranking Heavenly God.

The next second, clusters of green vines sprouted from beneath her feet. Those green vines were as delicate as newly born shoots, yet incomparably delicate.

Then, the vines began spreading toward the enormous pit before her.

At first, the vines grew slowly, but gradually they became faster and thicker.

In just a few minutes, vines thicker than the trunks of great trees burst from the ground and began endlessly winding down into the pit.

As more and more giant vines appeared, the "World Passage" became increasingly crowded, with less and less empty space.

Yet the vines seemed endless, continuing to emerge and extend deeper into the "World Passage."

To make more room, the vines already inside began expanding outward madly, as though they wanted to force the World Passage wider.

The "World Passage" clearly tried to restrain the vines' growth, constantly suppressing them.

But it was useless. The powerful "Heavenly God" aura on the vines continuously supplied them with power, contending against the "World Passage."

Compared with that mighty power, the lifeless World Passage was clearly far too weak. It could only endure in silence.

And so, as the vines continued pouring in, the "World Passage" expanded, expanded, and expanded again, until it finally reached the limit of what it could bear.

For a moment, grating cracks that made people uncomfortable began echoing through the air.

The crisp sounds of "crack, crack" continued for a full hour. Then, accompanied by a thunderous boom!, the Calamity Power throughout the entire "Mandala Sand Sea" began to churn violently.

The next second, the massive pit buried deep underground exploded outward! Scorching air swept up sand and gravel, soaring into the sky with Calamity Power and scattering across the Mandala Sand Sea.

A second before the explosion, Zhao Ji had been lifted into the air by an enormous deadwood vine resembling a giant dragon.

She looked down at the shattered "World Passage," her gaze devoid of joy or sorrow.

This was the Heavenly God Skill possessed by her previous life's Calamity Path, "Life-Growth": Destructive Growth.

As a Legendary Heavenly God from several hundred years ago, Zhao Ji had not only successfully deciphered Calamity Abilities, but had also creatively deconstructed "Heavenly God Skills."

This had allowed her, even in her previous life, to possess more than one "Heavenly God Skill."

These included the Life Path, Destruction Path, Mystery Path, and more.

However, before advancing to the Heavenly God realm, she could at most use Heavenly God Skills suited to her own "Path" type, and even then, they would be downgraded into "Pseudo-Heavenly God Skills." She simply could not use Heavenly God Skills across different Paths.

Now that she had finally Returned to the Heavenly God realm, she was naturally no longer bound by that restriction.

It could be said that only now had Zhao Ji's strength truly been unsealed.

After using the power from her previous life to effortlessly destroy the "World Passage," Zhao Ji willed it, and the enormous vine dragon collapsed and completely transformed into ashes.

She slowly descended to the ground, her gaze lingering for a moment over the spot where the hollow had vanished before she prepared to leave.

But at that moment, her eyes suddenly narrowed, and she beckoned with one hand.

The next second, several slips of paper flew out from the sand and gravel and landed in her hand.

She unfolded them and glanced over them. Each slip bore the same sentence in messy handwriting:

"Don't come back! Don't come back! Run! Run!"

Seeing the words on the slips, Zhao Ji's brows furrowed slightly. She could not help glancing at the place that had been leveled by the yellow sand.

Don't come back? Run?

Judging by how worn the slips were, they had not been written recently.

It wasn't Heavenly Fury? Then... were they left behind by a Heavenly God or Divine King on the "Heavenly God Battlefield"?

Zhao Ji hesitated for a moment.

Then she could not help recalling Qiu Tu's analysis from their conversation earlier that day: a minor "Heavenly God Trial" had actually been given six slots. That was abnormal.

And as the most important ritual for selecting Heavenly Gods, the "Heavenly God Trial" was often closely tied to the "Heavenly God Battlefield."

The more Divine Kings that were born and the more unified the Paths became, the fewer slots the "Heavenly God Trial" would grant.

The fewer Divine Kings there were and the more Heavenly Gods had fallen, the more slots the "Heavenly God Trial" would grant.

Therefore, Qiu Tu believed that something had most likely gone wrong on the "Heavenly God Battlefield."

Now, judging from this slip of paper, his words had come true.

As she thought this, Zhao Ji's clear, cold eyes grew even deeper and more inscrutable.

If something had happened on the "Heavenly God Battlefield," then the various Small Worlds would inevitably be affected. That was certainly not a good thing.

Fortunately, they still had time.

With that thought, Zhao Ji quietly pondered for a while, then raised her hand. The next second, those slips of paper all turned to ash.

She had checked them earlier. They were all ordinary slips of paper, neither Cataclysmic Treasures nor carrying any Heavenly God Aura that could be used to track someone.

Therefore, the "variable" from the "Heavenly God Battlefield" could not use these slips of paper to locate this world and reconstruct the "World Passage."

But that did not mean this world could rest easy.

Because—

With that thought, Zhao Ji's gaze involuntarily fell upon the spot where the enormous crater had once been.

When she destroyed the "World Passage" earlier, she had sensed the aura of the "West Divine King."

It seemed that the West Divine King... had traveled to the "Heavenly God Battlefield" through the "World Passage."

Though the slips of paper could not locate this world, the West Divine King had ruled it for centuries. Who knew how many trump cards and contingencies he had left behind?

He likely possessed a treasure or method capable of locating this world.

As expected, I left behind a threat.

After silently sighing to herself, Zhao Ji did not let it affect her mood.

She knew that she had only been at the eighth rank back then. Winning that great battle and killing the Divine King had already been difficult enough. Completely eradicating a Divine King was simply impossible.

Forget it. I'll leave these complicated matters to Qiu Tu.

I trust he has a way to deal with the West Divine King.

Thinking this, Zhao Ji could not be bothered to dwell on it any longer. She put away the Sky Piercer's remains, then transformed into a phantom and vanished into the Mandala Sand Sea.

With her departure, everything seemed as though nothing had ever happened.

Yet perhaps even she had not noticed that, as a former Legendary Heavenly God, she had somehow begun relying on Qiu Tu.

As the great winners of the Heavenly God Trial, three of the six Heavenly Gods belonged to the Human Faction.

This also meant that the ruler of the entire Boundless Mind Sea had already quietly changed.

Before Zhao Ji and Qing Lan advanced, the three Divine Kingdoms could still outwardly comply while inwardly resisting.

But now, two Heavenly Gods had been born, one of whom was a super powerhouse capable of killing a Divine King while still at the eighth rank.

Thus, the Various Factions of the three Divine Kingdoms finally no longer dared to stall, immediately surrendering at the first sign of trouble.

Not long after Doris had advanced to become a Heavenly God, under Man Huang and Shu Xia's persuasion, all the Various Factions of the Northern Kingdom surrendered.

The West Kingdom was much the same. Having received the West Divine King's orders, the Various Factions surrendered with remarkable decisiveness.

The moment Heavenly King Zhi Yan and Li Feng went to persuade them, they readily agreed.

Thus, before long, only the East Kingdom remained among the three Divine Kingdoms.

In truth, the Various Factions of the East Kingdom had been wronged as well.

Most of them wanted to surrender too. But none of them knew Qiu Tu.

The only person in the entire East Kingdom who had met Qiu Tu was Takikawa Ei, the East Divine King. And Qiu Tu had killed her.

So they genuinely had no way to surrender even if they wanted to.

Just then, Tang Feifei led an army of one hundred thousand Pseudo-Humans into the East Kingdom in grand force.

With Qing Lan holding down the fort, wherever Tang Feifei's army went, enemies surrendered at the first sign of them.

Of course, during this time, some factions fiercely loyal to the East Divine King put up a futile resistance. Several eighth-rank Great Evil Gods also attempted to assassinate Tang Feifei.

But while Qing Lan was lazy, she was not weak.

Even among those of the same realm, she stood among the best. Let alone now that she was a Heavenly God.

So, with a few Salted Fish and several Black Pots, those eighth-rank Great Evil Gods directly transformed into Boundless God Crystals, becoming Tang Feifei's spoils of war.

When Qing Lan learned that Tang Feifei had withheld her spoils, she was practically furious enough to explode. She stormed over to Tang Feifei, itching to use the Heavenly God Skill she had just learned—a skill perfectly suited to her Calamity Path—on Tang Feifei.

But Tang Feifei put on the bearing of a commander. Her wheat-colored face turned cold as she stated her reasoning, "When an army goes to war, all supplies seized are spoils belonging to the entire army. Rewards will only be distributed according to merit after the operation is over."

"If everyone who killed an enemy took that enemy's possessions for themselves, wouldn't everything descend into chaos?"

"So, Lady Qing Lan, please patiently wait until this operation is over. Then come collect your reward."

At that, Tang Feifei paused before adding, "When the time comes, Qiu Tu will most likely decide how the spoils are distributed."

"Even if you don't trust me, you should trust Qiu Tu, shouldn't you?"

It had to be said that the final sentence truly moved Qing Lan.

So after hesitating for a while, Qing Lan ultimately agreed to Tang Feifei's proposal and left the military camp.

When she barged into the main tent, Guan Xiao, Rain Butterfly, and Shen Ling Shuang had all been nearby.

Guan Xiao and Rain Butterfly had no objections to Tang Feifei's decision, but Shen Ling Shuang was somewhat curious.

She blinked her lively eyes, then looked at Tang Feifei and asked, "Sister Feifei, Qing Lan is one of the most important fighting forces in our faction."

"Why are you restricting her if you're not going to placate her?"

"Aren't you afraid of angering her and causing trouble?"

Upon hearing Shen Ling Shuang's words, Tang Feifei looked up, her gaze sharp as a blade. Her wheat-colored face was completely expressionless, and she was as quiet and dangerous as a lioness.

The recent period of frenzied expansion had caused her strength to grow explosively. It had also made her the second-strongest person in the Human Faction, surpassed only by Qiu Tu.

Only after confirming that Qing Lan was not eavesdropping did she slowly say, "Actually... this was a task Qiu Tu gave me."

"Qiu Tu?" Shen Ling Shuang froze for a moment, somewhat confused. "Why would Qiu Tu do this?"

A trace of recollection appeared in Tang Feifei's eyes. She said, "Qiu Tu told me at the time: the most important thing in politics is 'rules.' But the least important thing is also 'rules.'"

"As those at the top, we must both make the rules and disregard them. Only then can we better control those below us and make the entire ruling system stable."

Shen Ling Shuang was already somewhat dizzy from Tang Feifei's words.

She could not help saying, "Sister Feifei, could you put it more simply?"

At that, a faint smile appeared on Tang Feifei's wheat-colored face.

She gave Shen Ling Shuang a calm glance, then asked in return, "Have you heard the saying? Thunder and rain alike are blessings from Heaven."

Shen Ling Shuang first nodded, then shook her head slightly. Clearly, she had heard it before, but did not fully understand it.

Tang Feifei said, "If however much work you did, however many enemies you killed, and however many merits you earned directly determined how much pay you received, how much honor you gained, and what position you were promoted to, then what would those above you be for?"

"After receiving your pay, honors, and promotion this way, would you thank those above you, or believe that you earned it through your own efforts?"

Shen Ling Shuang paused, then said, "Of course I earned it through my own efforts."

Tang Feifei smiled. "Exactly. You earned it through your own efforts. So... you have hollowed out the authority of those above you."

"Because everything you gained no longer has anything to do with them. You have no need to obey them."

"Do those above you still have any control over you?"

Shen Ling Shuang froze at once.

Looking at Shen Ling Shuang, Tang Feifei said calmly, "Therefore, as a ruler, as someone at the top, although you must establish rules, the rules you establish should be simple and vague."

"Because when punishments are unknowable, authority becomes immeasurable."

"If you do the same work, I can give you your regular salary, or I can give you an extra bonus, some allowances, or holiday benefits. These are all things your labor has earned, but once they become extras granted to you, doesn't that win your loyalty?"

"You and another person achieve the same merits. You get promoted while he remains where he is. Doesn't that demonstrate how highly I value you?"

"The same applies to Qing Lan. The spoils are hers, but she cannot simply take them. How much she takes and how she takes it must be decided by Qiu Tu."

"Qiu Tu can punish her and give her less, or win her over by giving her more. But the power to decide how much she receives belongs to Qiu Tu. That is politics."

At this point, Tang Feifei paused. Her amber eyes looked beyond the command tent, as though they had settled on Qing Lan.

She said, "Qing Lan is talented, but she is far too carefree and undisciplined."

"Qiu Tu will not interfere with her personality, but if he wants to bring her into his service, he must find a way to integrate her into our system."

Hearing Tang Feifei's words, Shen Ling Shuang hesitated for a moment, then muttered softly, "But... isn't that too complicated?"

"And it kind of feels like we're plotting against her."

Upon hearing Shen Ling Shuang's words, Tang Feifei gave her a calm glance, as elegant and dangerous as a cheetah.

She said, "Have you forgotten Qiu Tu's Calamity Path?"

"Order-Politics."

"This is the path he is practicing. If the people around him do not follow his 'order,' how long do you think his 'Calamity Path' can endure?"

As she spoke, a thoughtful look appeared in Tang Feifei's eyes. She said softly, "Besides, bringing the people and forces around him into his 'order' is only the first step."

"In the future, he must bring the entire 'Boundless Mind Sea,' the 'Heavenly God Battlefield,' and even the Heavenly Gods and God Kings within the 'Heavenly God Battlefield' into his 'order.'"

"That is the real challenge."

Hearing Tang Feifei's words, Shen Ling Shuang could not help falling into thought as well.

Meanwhile, Qiu Tu, who was advancing to become a Heavenly God in "Dragon Burial City," was also quietly "watching" this scene within the East Kingdom military camp's command tent.

In the midst of his advancement, he felt as though he had entered a very wondrous state.--

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Book recommendation: "High Martial Arts: From Breaking Limits to Walking the Path of Myth"