Sage Monarch

Someone important was making a move!

The booming voice combined with the massive hand made Yang Qi felt like he was suffocating.

At play was an energy art that surpassed the level of any Lifeseizer he had ever encountered.

This person had clearly achieved multiple lifeseizings, and was on a similar level as the elders at the Academy of Sage Studies.

It was no wonder this person was so arrogant.

Despite that, Yang Qi didn't show an ounce of fear. Laughing coldly, he said, "Go in and say hello? You think you qualify to be honored like that? Who are you trying to impress, anyway? My ass? If you want to propose to my Aunt Susu, you have to get past me first. If you can't, then kindly screw the hell off."

With that, Yang Qi stamped his foot onto the ground.

RUMBLE!

Countless streams of true energy erupted from his foot, which merged together above him into an enormous, ever-growing sphere.

"How utterly useless," the voice said, booming even louder than before. Suddenly, an enormous pagoda of true energy appeared in the palm of the True Energy Megahand. It was nine stories tall, and pulsed with an aura that seemed capable of crushing any and all demon-devils.

Yang Susu recognized the technique immediately. "That's the Profound Yellow Pagoda from the Great Emperor Energy Art! Longxuan Ye, if you dare to harm my nephew, then you and I are going to have a serious problem!"

"Don't worry, Susu. I just need to teach this over-arrogant nephew of yours a bit of a lesson. If he goes around with his nose stuck in the air like this, he's going to lose his life eventually." However, the true energy at play didn't change at all, and in fact, the pagoda grew larger and larger, making it seems as though a great emperor were descending, causing the entire square to tremble and shake.

"Aunt Susu, this guy sure talks big. I'm afraid I have no choice but to destroy this supposed Profound Yellow Pagoda." Yang Qi simply stood there looking like some sort of god as his sphere of true energy exploded, becoming millions upon millions of streams of sword energy that shot toward the pagoda.

"Eee?" the voice said, clearly shocked. "Not bad. Your sword technique has reached the point of perfection. Unfortunately, it's still not enough to overcome me. This pagoda is powered by a great emperor!"

RUMBLE!

The massive pagoda descended, smashing into Yang Qi's sword energy, causing it to shatter into countless fragments.

With every moment that passed, the pagoda grew larger and larger. It was now several meters tall, seemed just on the verge of completely crushing Yang Qi

Furthermore, it was now just barely possible to see what appeared to be some sort of god within it, formed from true energy, like a great emperor from the distant past, ready to guide the pagoda in crushing a host of wretch-devils. Boundless, majestic power caused a heavenly thrumming sound to fill the area.

Anyone could tell that this was a completely invincible attack.

After all, this was the legendary Great Emperor Energy Art, which was imperial-class. The Profound Yellow Pagoda was an aspect of the technique just like the Infernal Deity Spear was an aspect of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

A sound like a massive, booming bell filled the square as Yang Qi looked up at the pagoda. Even the wind had been completely stilled.

There was no way that Yang Qi could evade this blow.

"Don't worry about your nephew, Yang Susu. I won't kill him. I'll lock him in the Profound Yellow Pagoda for three days and three nights. Once he acknowledges how powerful I am, I'll take him back to the Sun Moon Institute to offer a formal apology. After that, I'll let him go. Very well, come back inside so we can continue to discuss the marriage proposal."

Even as he spoke, the pagoda descended completely onto Yang Qi.

However, that was when something completely unexpected happened.

From within the yellow pagoda of true energy, Yang Qi's voice emerged. "You're Longxuan Ye, right? You think you're going to imprison me for three days and three nights? Are you shitting me? Be destroyed!"

KABOOOOM!

Cracks spread out over the surface of the Profound Yellow Pagoda, and then Yang Qi burst out from inside, surging with so much power that no one could possibly do anything against him.

He had completely destroyed the pagoda!

The chaotic energy that was unleashing raged like tornadoes, slamming into some of the off-guard Sun Moon Institute students, provoking agonized shrieks as their skin was flayed from their bodies.

They were powerful Lifeseizers, but the conflict between Yang Qi and Longxuan Ye was beyond shocking. Furthermore, just when they had assumed everything was over, a massive shock wave roiled out, completely destroying their defensive true energy.

"What?" an angry voice growled. "You destroyed my pagoda?" At that point, a yellow blur of light shot out from the palace.

At long last, Longxuan Ye was appearing in person.

He wore garments as yellow as the moon, embroidered with five-clawed dragons, making him look like the picture of an imperial prince.

Not only did he thrum with extraordinary power, he actually looked like a great emperor from the heavens.

Completely ignoring Longxuan Ye, Yang Susu looked with delight at Yang Qi and said, "Qi'er? When did you get so strong?"

She knew that Longxuan Ye was well-known in the Sun Moon Institute for being extremely powerful. He was already at Tertiary Lifeseizing, and with his Great Emperor Energy Art, could easily kill other Lifeseizers of a similar level as himself. Considering that Yang Qi had just completely vanquished the Profound Yellow Pagoda, didn't that indicate that he was at the same level as a Tertiary Lifeseizer?

'Heavens, what good fortune did Qi'er encounter?'

Of course, Yang Susu had been aware that, even as a Master of Energy, Yang Qi had been able to tangle with Lifeseizers. But this was even more shocking than that. After all, the gap between Primary and Secondary Lifeseizers was massive, much less Tertiary.

"Not bad," Longxuan Ye said, looking up at Yang Qi. "Not bad at all. I've never met a Primary Lifeseizer who can vanquish my Great Emperor Energy Art. That said, I'm tired of your showboating. I only used thirty percent of my true energy just now."

"You think it would have made a difference if you used a hundred percent?" Yang Qi said coldly. "If you've got what it takes, why don't we have a real competition?"

"Don't do anything rash, Qi'er," Yang Susu said.

"We can have a competition!" Longxuan Ye said, his expression tinged with killing intent. "As long as you don't regret the outcome! However, not today. When the time comes for conflict between our two institutes, then you'd better not back down from the fight! Come on, everyone. Let's go!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and left with the other Sun Moon Institute students.

Having completely failed to deal with Yang Qi, he had lost so much face that he had no other choice but to leave. Furthermore, there was no way he could actually kill Yang Qi while on the grounds of the Demi-Immortal Institute.

After Longxuan Ye and the other students were gone, Yang Susu breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was that all about, Aunt Susu?" Yang Qi asked.

She shrugged. "I met Longxuan Ye once when I was out hunting demonlings. We joined forces for a while at the time, and afterward, he wouldn't stop pestering me. Recently, he came to ask my master for my hand in marriage. Thankfully, I was in secluded meditation at the time, and didn't have time to see him. But he stuck around all the way until now. Thankfully, you showed up and saved me a lot of hassle."

"Next time I run into a guy like that, I'll kill him," Yang Qi growled. "By the way, did you finish with the Sage Devil Painting? Did you reach Secondary Lifeseizing?"

"I did, after gaining enlightenment of sages and devils! In fact, I'm just on the verge of Tertiary. Once I reach Tertiary Lifeseizing, then according to the rules of the institute, I can apply to be a conclave student. Actually, that Longxuan Ye just recently reached Tertiary Lifeseizing, which is why he came to propose marriage. Qi'er, you're simply terrifying! How could you possibly be strong enough to defeat someone like him?"

"If I go all out, then I could definitely defeat a Tertiary Lifeseizer. But please keep that a secret, Aunt Susu. It wouldn't be good if word got out."

"Of course. Eventually, when you're strong enough, you'll be able to use your energy arts publicly. By the way, you really need to find a master that you can rely on. That will make your position much more stable. My master is Holy Daughter Manyflowers, a grand elder in the institute. She should be coming out of secluded meditation very soon. Once she is, I'll ask for her to introduce you to some potential masters. Considering your amazing energy arts and cultivation base, I'd imagine that countless elders would be willing to accept you."

"Oh?" The idea of having a powerful expert as a master was quite intriguing, and would definitely bode well for the future.

At this point, Yang Susu led him into Manyflowers Palace, of which she was the current sole occupant. There was no one else on the entire mountain other than her and the various devillings.

Being a grand elder, Holy Daughter Manyflowers had a similar rank as War-Soldier and his brethren. Years ago, Yang Qi had been furious that someone had taken his Aunt Susu away from him. Later, his anger had cooled, and he had begun to grow curious to see what that person was like.

As it turned out, she valued silence, which was why she spent her time on a lonely mountain.

In fact, if she hadn't been in seclusion, she would personally have driven away Longxuan Ye and the other students.

And the reason Longxuan Ye was so quick to make an escape was that he feared what might happen if she appeared.

1. Longxuan Ye: Long means "dragon". Xuan means "profound, black" and a bunch of other things. It's really common in xianxia novels because of how cool and mysterious it sounds. Ye means "leaf".

2. The number of claws of a dragon is important, and there were even laws in ancient China regarding who was allowed to wear garments with claws of a certain number. .