Immortal Ascension Through Marriage: Investing in My Wife Get Returns

Emperor Tianxu had raised a single hand from his throne.

He did not stand. He did not shout. But his voice resonated directly within the spiritual sea of every living entity present, carrying the unquestionable authority of a Mid-Stage Void Refinement sovereign. Even the wind that stirred the banners along the Grand Court’s high walls seemed to hold its breath, the fabric going still as though the very air itself did not dare disobey.

"Be calm," Emperor Tianxu commanded.

The two words were absolute law. The roaring crowd, the screaming patriarchs, and the frantic adjudicators were instantly silenced, their voices dying in their throats as though invisible hands had closed around them. The sheer, overwhelming dominance of the Emperor’s aura reminded everyone present that they were merely guests in a court of gods. Somewhere near the front, an elder who had been shouting himself hoarse a heartbeat earlier now knelt frozen, mouth still half open, unable to remember what he had even been saying.

Then, the Emperor’s golden eyes swept over the kneeling, trembling Chu delegation. The weight of that gaze alone seemed enough to press them another inch into the marble floor.

"If the nominee Lin Yuan has violated the primary edict by executing a surrendered foe, then I will automatically disqualify him, and pass judgment. But if he hasn’t, his tokens are valid. His standing is absolute."

Tianxu slowly lowered his hand, the crushing pressure receding just enough to allow the cultivators to breathe again. All across the Grand Court, thousands of chests heaved in near unison, a great collective gasp swallowed by thousands of throats at once.

"The preliminary round will not be interrupted," the Emperor decreed, settling back into his throne. "Let the battlefield end. When the thirty days conclude and the nominees return from the pocket realm, everything will reveal itself."

The finality of the Emperor’s words left no room for debate. The Chu Provincial lord grit his teeth so hard blood leaked from his gums, the metallic taste flooding his mouth, but he bowed his head in forced, humiliating submission, his fists trembling with a fury he did not dare voice.

Silence reclaimed the Grand Court, but it was a tense silence. Thousands of eyes remained glued to the glowing monolith, watching the number 6 slot, waiting for the final days to bleed away. Whispers began to creep back in at the edges of the crowd, hushed and fevered, every one of them carrying the same name.

For the remaining three days within the battlefield, the tension in the outside world was thick enough to cut with a sword. Merchants closed their stalls early. Entire sects sent junior disciples to camp outside the Grand Court gates overnight just to be the first to hear news. No one dared look away from the monolith for too long, terrified of missing the moment everything changed.

In the pocket realm, time continued to flow, but the rankings at the top of the monolith remained frustratingly stagnant. Chu Kuang’s name did not reappear. Lin Yuan’s token count did not fluctuate. It was as if a tense ceasefire had fallen over the absolute apex of the battlefield, both sides holding their breath, waiting to see who would blink first.

Every hour that passed in the real world felt like an eternity for the Zhao Province. Lord Zhao Shenming did not sleep. He sat in his chair, his eyes fixed on the monolith, praying to his ancestors, his knuckles white where they gripped the armrests. More than once his attendants offered him tea, and more than once it went cold, untouched, forgotten at his elbow.

Finally, the seventy-two hours went by.

A massive, resonant gong echoed across Sky Jade City, a sound so deep and ancient it seemed to vibrate the very tectonic plates beneath the continent. Birds scattered from every rooftop for miles, and even the hardened stone lions guarding the Grand Court’s gates seemed to tremble under the weight of that toll.

The star-iron plates of the Grand Court’s central arena suddenly shifted, pulling apart to reveal the massive teleportation array beneath. The runes ignited, glowing with a blinding white light that pierced the evening sky, so bright that many in the crowd had to shield their eyes, peering through the gaps between their fingers, unwilling to miss a single second.

Above the arena, the colossal monolith flashed one final time, locking the numbers permanently into place.

VOID ASCENSION BATTLEFIELD - PRELIMINARY RANKINGS (DAY 30 - FINAL)

1. Xuan Mingzhe (Xuan Province) - 110 Tokens

2. Jiang Wan (Jiang Province) - 83 Tokens

3. Ye Ao (Ye Province) - 80 Tokens

4. Feng Yao (Feng Province) - 70 Tokens

5. Ling Chuan (Ling Province) - 66 Tokens

6. Lin Yuan (Zhao Province) - 61 Tokens

...

Ye Ao had managed to squeeze out two more tokens in the final days, but the top six had held. A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd as cultivators leaned toward one another, pointing at the sixth line with disbelief still written plainly across their faces, as though half of them expected the name to vanish the moment they blinked.

The first preliminary round had ended!

Lin Yuan had successfully secured enough tokens. He had survived the battlefield, maintained his tokens, and fundamentally shattered the invincible myth of the Upper Division. Somewhere in the crowd, a young disciple from a minor sect let out a whoop of pure disbelief before a sharp elbow from his neighbor silenced him, though the excited grin never quite left his face.

As the blinding light of the spatial array began to deposit the battered, exhausted, and bloody nominees back onto the stone floor of the Grand Court, tens of thousands of cultivators held their breath, straining to catch the first glimpse of the man who had turned the entire tournament on its head.

Necks craned.

Bodies pressed forward against whatever restraint remained. Even the stoic adjudicators along the arena’s edge found themselves leaning in, unable to help their own curiosity.

The real war was about to begin.

Note: For anyone asking if Lin yuan qualifies since he got 6th, the preliminary round hasn’t ended, the void ascension battlefield was the first round , there’s still another round. The preliminary round is of two rounds.