Sage Monarch

Crack!

Yang Qi was wading bare-footed in the shallow water on the beach when a fierce fangfish leaped out to bite him. However, he quickly clenched his hand into a fist and hit it on the head as hard as he could, using some of his top fist techniques.

His blow struck true and the fangfish was knocked unconscious.

Meanwhile, more fangfish were closing in on him, an entire school it seemed. Grabbing the unconscious fish, he ran out of the water and up the shore. Some of the larger fangfish wriggled after him across the sand like enormous crocodiles. Thankfully, they couldn't stay out of the water for very long and quickly retreated.

Gong!

Yang Qi smacked the fish onto a nearby rock a few times until it was dead, simultaneously marveling at its powerful life force.

"You're going to have to use your own power to chop it up, Yang Qi," Brahma said. "We don't have any weapons or tools anymore, not even a knife. We'll have to eat it raw. At least we can absorb the quintessence energy from its flesh. One of the reasons we're so weak is that we only have our own true energy inside of us, but no godpower. But the fangfish are natives of this place. Consume them, and we can convert our true energy into godpower, and finally start getting strong again. We have a big advantage compared to ordinary people who first arrive in the god world. After all, you have the God Legion Seal."

Yang Qi quickly did just that, chopping the fangfish up into a bunch of tiny pieces for everyone to consume.

As soon as they ate the fangfish meat, they felt their quintessence energy thrumming and the weakness within them slowly fading away.

"How pitiful," Doom sighed. "In the immortal worlds, we're apex entities who can create worlds with a thought. But here in the god world we're as weak as could be, forced to eat raw meat like savages. That said, I can already sense my true energy converting into godpower."

"Well that's a given," Brahma said. "Yang Qi already imbued us with the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. Do you know what that means? That's the top technique in the god world! And his God Legion Seal can help harmonize us with the magical laws here. It won't be long before we can start cultivating our energy arts again."

After eating the fangfish, they felt a bit less hungry, and at the same time, realized how dangerous the god world was and how they needed to acclimate themselves as quickly as possible.

Continuing, he said, "Most people need four or five years to get used to the god world and turn their true energy into godpower. But we're different. I'd say we'll only need a few hours, thanks to Yang Qi." Sitting down cross-legged, he circulated his true energy and began working on his cultivation.

Yang Qi did the same, concentrating all effort on slowly turning his true energy into godpower, making sure it conformed to the vital energy of the god world.

The truth was that he was already incredibly strong, and just needed some time to get used to his new surroundings. And the God Legion Seal was constantly absorbing the god world vital energy and helping him to maintain his peak state.

'I see how it is. The magical laws of the god world are so strong that I can't release my true energy outside of my body, much less fly or manipulate space. I'll have to reach the peak Terrifying level first.'

As he performed his breathing exercises, the God Legion Seal quivered as if with anticipation, greedily absorbing the vital energy of the god world. At the same time, his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was undergoing transformations as his vital energy and blood grew denser and stronger.

RUMBLE!

A few hours later, he felt much stronger. Standing, he stamped his foot down, causing the ground to shake a bit. Then he launched an experimental fist strike, causing a whizzing sound to ring out.

He was already stronger, and although he couldn't release his true energy outside of him, at least he wasn't as weak as before.

One by one, everyone else opened their eyes and stood, already starting to feel a bit more at ease. As they breathed, they were growing more used to the god world and their bodies were getting stronger. At least now they could walk around a bit without gasping.

"Great," Brahma said. "You're already making progress. It's nearly nighttime, and there's no sun or moon in the god world. Days are simply marked by the alternating periods of light and dark."

It was only at that point that Yang Qi realized there wasn't a sun overhead. And yet light streamed down from above, leading to a very different sensation than in the mortal world.

"Why don't we chop down some trees and build a shelter?" Brahma said. "At least then we won't be caught unawares by any animals. Don't forget, we're commoners now. Actually, we're weaker than commoners! The animals in the god world are extremely fierce. You might as well consider the fangfish an appetizer compared to what's to come. If there's anything more dangerous than that on this island, we could be in a lot of danger."

The island was actually huge, almost like a continent. In fact, it was so large that they had no idea where the other side was. It seemed to be nothing more than an endless jungle.

No one had any doubt that Brahma knew what he was talking about, so they quickly headed over to the tree line to chop down some trees.

"Hai!" The Shepherd targeted a tree about as wide as a bowl, and chopped his hand toward it. Unfortunately, all that happened was that the tree shook and a few leaves fell to the ground. "Damn it all," the Shepherd growled. "I can't believe that my amazing—"

"Look, I told you," interrupted Brahma, "this is the god world. Use the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to get used to the magical laws. If you do, you should be able to chop down some trees." He circulated his energy until everyone saw his face glowing with golden light. Then he launched a fist strike that hit the very same tree, splitting it right in half.

Panting a bit, he said, "I did that thanks to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth. Yang Qi, you're the strongest of us all. Why don't you head back to the water and get some more fangfish for us to eat? If we run out of energy, we won't be doing any tree felling. I can help everyone else figure out how to use the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to get used to the magical laws."

"Alright!" Yang Qi said. Thanks to the God Legion Seal, he had been constantly absorbing the surrounding vital energy, making him much stronger than he was when he first arrived.

He took another experimental leap, and this time he was able to jump about as high as an average person was tall. Nodding in satisfaction, he headed toward the shallows, instantly attracting the attention of the school of fangfish.

This time, he wasn't as afraid as before. Dodging the attack of a small fangfish, he thrust his finger out in a powerful attack that pierced right through its head, killing it instantly.

Not wanting its blood to attract even more dangerous sea creatures, Yang Qi grabbed it before it hit the water and threw it up onto the sand.

During that time, several other fangfish had latched onto his legs. If it had been anyone else, their legs would already be mincemeat. But Yang Qi was too tough. Sending a powerful pulse through himself, he killed the fishes and sent them flying up onto the beach.

It was with casual ease that, over the course of the following hour, he caught upwards of a hundred fangfish. The largest was over two feet long, and pulsed with immense energy.

Meanwhile, Brahma was using his extensive experience to help everyone with their cultivation, assisting them in getting used to the god world. Before long, they felt a bit of familiarity with the magical laws and were able to use the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to conform to the vital energy, then use it to start chopping down trees. And with plenty of fangfish to keep them energized, they were very efficient.

One tree after another fell, and before long, they were able to piece together a small cabin.

They were already about as strong as a martial arts expert from the mortal world who had been training his fleshly body for a decade or more.

Around this time, night fell.

Unlike the gradual transition that would normally occur when the sun set, this involved a sudden change. One moment it was light, the next moment, it was dark. In fact, it was so dark that it was impossible for them to see their hands even when holding them right in front of their noses.

Everyone suddenly felt as lonely as if they had been cast into an incomparably deep abyss. Yang Qi prepared to draw on the God Legion Seal to provide some light, but Brahma quickly reached out and stopped him. "Are you trying to get us killed?!" he said. "You definitely can't do that. What are we supposed to do if the light of the God Legion Seal attracts some powerful godlings? Everyone, get in the cabin, and stay inside!"

Groping in the dark, they managed to get inside the wooden cabin. To people like this, there was virtually no difference between day and night in the immortal worlds. They could even sweep entire worlds with their thoughts. But here in the god world, they weren't even able to use their divine sense.

"Night here in the god world is completely freakish," Sword Seventeen said. "No stars and no moon? You can't even see your hand in front of your face. I feel like I'm an ordinary person again, and I can't say I like the feeling. I definitely need to reach godly ascension as soon as possible. At the very least, I need to be able to fly. Hey, why don't we start a fire?"

"Yeah, how do we do that?" Sectlord Will Manifestation asked.

Brahma shook his head. "Starting a fire won't be easy. We'll have to wait until we reach the peak Terrifying level. Then we can use our internal true flame to ignite wood. The only other option would be to find an inhabited area where we can get some man-made flame sparks. Other than those two methods, starting a fire is impossible."

"I need to work on my cultivation a bit more," Yang Qi said calmly. "Once I understand more profundities of the God Legion Seal and the god world, I should be able to send my true energy outside my body, and hopefully reach the peak Terrifying level. We've only been here a day, and I've already gained quite a bit of enlightenment."

Aaaaoooooo!

All of a sudden they heard what sounded like the cry of a wolf.

"So, there are some animals out there," Brahma said. At night, we're basically blind, but the animals aren't. I wonder if this little cabin can keep us safe."

Everyone shivered in fear at his words.