Sage Monarch

"Quiet, Zi Qiong," Yang Qi said, and she immediately closed her mouth. All of a sudden, everyone present felt an immense aura of majesty filling the area. Before, Yang Qi had kept his aura reined in, which led to everyone assuming he was just some low-level disciple. After all, those who weren't in the Terrifying level were like children to those who were.

"Yes sir, Junior Sectlord!" Zi Qiong said, taking a step back. From the killing intent she could now sense in Yang Qi, she knew it wasn't a time to joke around or talk nonsense.

The purrling evidently sensed the same thing, and it began purring even more loudly. However, it didn't spit out any bubbles, but instead looked around curiously, mostly at Yang Qi.

Yang Qi ignored the purrling, and instead looked into the dining hall.

'Junior Sectlord?'

Everyone present was shaken, and had obviously been caught completely off guard about Yang Qi's status as a junior sectlord. Even the Inheritor, Zi Qiong, meekly followed his orders, and it was obviously not because of his title, but because of his own merits. Not even the junior pontiff of the Genesis Sanctum got such treatment. Although he was strong, the truth was that people followed his orders and treated him respectfully because of who supported him from behind the scenes, not because of his own strength.

Obviously, there was more to this junior sectlord than met the eye.

At this point, a languid voice echoed out from the dining hall. "Oh? So the junior sectlord of the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect decided to come along? I seem to remember your sect used to have three Inheritors. Shi Yuan, Xi Hua, and Zi Qiong. How come there's only one left? You would think that one of them would've been chosen as the junior sectlord. Why did some random nobody get picked instead?"

The voice was filled with immense psychic fluctuations that seemed to be targeting Yang Qi.

Yang Qi provided no visible reaction. Instead, he said, "That's some impressive psychic power, Sire. You're quite the expert. Would you mind taking us to meet this junior pontiff of yours?"

'What?! Wasn't that the junior pontiff talking just now?' Jadefall and Zi Qiong were both thinking as they exchanged a glance. The voice just now had seemed as majestic as a mountain, and both of them had assumed it was the junior pontiff, not one of his followers.

"Let them in, A'yu," the voice said. "He can actually stand up to my psychic barrage, and even deduce my identity from it. Quite extraordinary, Junior Sectlord. The junior pontiff does want to meet you, so I'll let you off the hook this time."

Swish!

A door opened at the end of the hall, revealing an even more spectacular scene beyond. Within the luxurious and extravagant chamber was an old man dressed in pure white, seemingly untainted by even a speck of dust. This was the person who had just spoken, and while his eyes were initially focused on Yang Qi, they quickly shifted to the purrling.

His cultivation base was immense, clearly no weaker than Sectlord Will Manifestation.

The most eye-catching item in the spread of food was a whole roasted godling. Its fangs and claws were ferociously bared, but its innards had been removed and replaced with all sorts of fragrant spices from the god world.

Zi Qiong shivered at the sight of it. "That's a cloudgyre from the god world. They're very formidable, and have killed plenty of Terrifying experts in ambushes on the Ancient Road to the Gods."

Suddenly, the sound of soft applause reached their ears and they noticed a young man sitting at the other end of the table in a royal throne, looking down at all of them.

Then a suffocating aura weighed down on them.

Purr, purr....

All of sudden, the purrling began making noise again, making it seem like it might start spitting bubbles again.

"So, it's an Inheritor," the young man said. "Miss Zi Qiong. It was a mistake not to invite you to this banquet, I offer my apologies for that. Please, I hope you'll extend me the honor of accepting a belated invitation."

"Junior Pontiff, it's good to see you treat the worthy with courtesy," Zi Qiong replied immediately. "You have my sincere admiration, and it's only natural that I accept your invitation."

Considering what Zi Qiong was like, she instantly recognized the wicked intent flickering in the junior pontiff's eyes. She was treacherous and sinister herself, so how could she not guess at what he was thinking? He was very strong, and although he was treating the women very courteously, there was no doubt that he wanted Yang Qi dead as soon as possible.

"I offer my greetings, Junior Pontiff," Yang Qi said. He offered a formal salute with both hands, then casually found a chair and sat down.

"Get up out of that chair," the junior pontiff said, and although his facial expression didn't change, his tone of voice became extremely cold. "You might be the junior sectlord of the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect, but that sect isn't particularly important on the Ancient Road to the Gods. And you dare to act so casually in front of me? How amazing... how oh so very amazing....'

Instantly, the atmosphere became very tense.

However, Yang Qi didn't move a muscle, much less rise to his feet. "It's a real pity, Junior Pontiff, to find that you're so narrow-minded. In fact, you clearly don't have what it takes to contend with the Woodfern Couple Palace. I think perhaps the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect ought to spend more time with them than you."

"What incredible gall!" said the old man in white. "You've got a lot of guts to come here and say things like that. Aren't you worried about your sect getting wiped out of existence? I noticed that you're a talented fellow, so I let you in here in the hopes that you might join the junior pontiff's cause. Instead, you act like someone who doesn't know the difference between good and bad?"

"How about you shut the hell up, you damned servant!?" Yang Qi barked, slapping his palm down on the table.

CRACK!

The entire table shattered, sending fine alcohol and food splattering everywhere and startling everyone present. How could anyone have imagined that something like this would happen? How could anyone have the audacity to destroy the banquet table of the junior pontiff of the Genesis Sanctum!?

Even the old man was stunned into silence and was simply staring at Yang Qi, wondering how someone could be so aggressive and unreasonable.

Meanwhile, the junior pontiff shot to his feet in astonishment. After staring at Yang Qi for a moment, he waved his hand and said, "Clear the room and prepare the torture chamber!"

"Yes sir!"

RUMBLE!

The beautiful servant girls suddenly backed up as a host of armored soldiers poured into the room. Their armor looked to be leather, but it obviously wasn't ordinary leather. In fact, it seemed to be made from the skin of dead gods!

The soldiers efficiently removed the wreckage of the table, then hurried to stand in ranks off to the side.

As this happened, Yang Qi remained seated in his chair, with Zi Qiong and Jadefall standing on either side of him. Inside, Zi Qiong was getting very worried. She knew that the Genesis Sanctum was one of the absolute top sects on the Ancient Road to the Gods, so how could she not feel a bit nervous? When Yang Qi had smashed the banquet table, he had pushed things beyond the point of repair and now the swords were drawn and the arrows were nocked.

That said, she and Jadefall both simply stood there waiting to follow Yang Qi's lead.

"It seems you don't understand how important I am, Junior Pontiff," Yang Qi said. "You've really underestimated me. The little formation you've set up here is a far cry from anything that could contain me. Unless your pontiff himself shows his face, you won't be doing anything to me today."

"You've really got some guts," the junior pontiff said. "Well, that's fine. You're the first person I've ever met who's this gutsy. You even went so far as to destroy my table. In the entire history of the Genesis Sanctum, no one has ever dared to act so presumptuously at our dinner table!"

"Nobody?" Yang Qi replied. "From what I've heard, the Genesis Sanctum has actually been pushed around a lot by the Executors of the Ancient Road. They've even killed some of your people."

"You!" the old man shouted, yet again taken aback at how wildly presumptuous Yang Qi was being. "Do you really think your Will Manifestation Heaven Sect is on the same level as the Executors of the Ancient Road!?"

"I was speaking metaphorically, that's all," Yang Qi replied coolly. "Look, there's no need for this act of yours. Let's all be honest. I'm a junior sectlord, and you're a junior pontiff. We essentially have the same standing. Do we really need to stand here with swords drawn and arrows nocked? Do we really need to have some life-or-death standoff? When you meet someone stronger than you, you get on your knees. It's simple. Why are you acting so high and mighty?"

"Junior sectlord?" the old man said. "In the presence of people like us, you're nothing but a joke. And the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect is a joke, too. Our junior pontiff could issue a single order and have your sect razed to the ground. He wouldn't even need to lift a finger; there would be plenty of other sects who would jump to do his bidding. Luckily for you, there is virtue in sparing animal life, so we'll give you one chance to get out of this alive. Give these two women as concubines to our junior pontiff, and agree to be his servant. In that case, you people can live."

Looking at Zi Qiong and Jadefall, the junior pontiff said, "This matter doesn't have anything to do with the two of you, so please step aside. I tend to have tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex, and I would hate to see you two hurt. The criminal here is your junior sectlord, but don't worry, after I execute him I won't hold the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect responsible."

"Who do you think we are, Junior Pontiff?" Zi Qiong said. "Jadefall and I are with the junior sectlord. Do you really think we would just agree to be your concubines? Very funny. Although, it's not out of the question. For example, if you go and kill a hundred Inheritors and give their godpower seeds to me, then I might join you."

Meanwhile, Yang Qi just sat there quietly, glad to see that Zi Qiong was following his lead.

"Enough blathering, Junior Pontiff," Jadefall said. "We're all old hands from the Ancient Road to the Gods, so we know exactly what you're thinking. The whole reason you invited me here was to get this purrling of mine, right? Why are you beating around the bush? If you think you can get what you want with some clever tricks, you're wrong. And not even you can pay the price necessary to wipe out the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect. Did you know that the Executors of the Ancient Road came to wipe us out, but failed? We sent them back home with their tails between their legs."