Sage Monarch

"Yang Qi!? It's you!" The moment Elder Brother Yue caught sight of Yang Qi, his eyes flared with intense hatred.

He had originally assumed that, after Yang Qi left, he would be able to take control of the mines. Never could he have imagined that Yang Qi's subordinates would be so fierce. They unified all of Yang Qi's allies against Elder Brother Yue, which made his mine extremely inefficient. Even worse, the Demonfolk seemingly targeted him alone. And the new disciple sent to take charge of Mine Thirteen was little more than a puppet who followed the orders of his subordinates.

On one occasion, disciples of the dao of devils ambushed Elder Brother Yue and severely injured him.

After recovering, he stormed over to Mine Thirteen to make a scene and take control. However, to his complete surprise, he was soundly beaten by Zhang Jufang and had to crawl away in humiliation.

Returning to his own mine, he bitterly submitted an application to relinquish his position as foreman. It took a lot of bribes, but he finally managed to get himself a relatively good position as a manager of sect thralls.

Thralls were essentially slaves, and they were much easier to deal with than miners. They were given plenty of good food and alcohol, and were allowed to focus fully on their cultivation. The only downside was that all the godpower they built up would eventually have to be given to weaker disciples.

And of course, the techniques given to the thralls to cultivate were pure and focused on beneficial elements. They weren't combat arts, which ensured that the thralls weren't particularly dangerous.

Miners never lasted very long; they all died. As for thralls, they would also eventually run out of stamina and wither up into death.

Both experienced miserable fates.

Thrall managers would benefit from the energy arts of the thralls, much the same way that disciples who managed the Scripture Pavilion could read any books they wanted.

Both were very cushy positions.

In fact, most people considered the position of thrall manager better than being posted in the Scripture Pavilion. After all, the disciples who came to benefit from the thralls also had to show their "filial piety", otherwise matters would turn difficult for them. The House of God Ordainment was a veritable empire, so it was a given that there would be some corruption here and there.

Elder Brother Yue's cultivation base had clearly increased dramatically. His godpower thrummed with power, so much so that, as he faced Yang Qi, he looked like he was about ready to start fighting.

Before he could do anything, though, a young man reached out to block his path.

"Calm down, Tianlin. You'll get your chance for revenge. Remember, we're here to turn in books and get merit points, there's no need to start a fight." From the look of it, he was another member of the Yue Clan. Taking a step forward, he looked at Yang Qi and said, "I heard that you're a friend of Jadefall. Unfortunately, you're a bit too arrogant. You're a disciple of the Scripture Pavilion, but you still try to manipulate things back at the mines, stuffing your pockets as a result. Maybe I should report you to the parliament of elders. Then you'll really get what's coming to you."

The one to reply wasn't Yang Qi, but Bai Yin. "Well, look who the cat dragged in. Yue He of the Yue Clan. Look, this is the Scripture Pavilion, so don't you dare make a scene here! If you don't calm down immediately, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Don't try to act tough, Bai Yin!" one of the other disciples shouted. "Everybody knows that you won't become a god because you want Paramount will convergence first. But even people favored by the heavens fail when they try to do that. They either experience cultivation deviation, or they die. Who do you think you are? You'd better not take the Yue Clan lightly!"

"Oh really?" Bai Yin waved his hand, sending out a white streak of light.

Yue He smiled coldly and stepped forward. "I've long heard it said that Brother Bai Yin is unparalleled under heaven, with a profoundly mysterious cultivation base. You know, I've always wanted to see what you're capable of."

Thrusting his palm out, he sent a stream of godpower flying at Bai Yin.

BAM!

Both of them shivered, making it seem as though they were completely evenly matched.

"Hmm?" Bai Yin frowned. "Since when did your cultivation base advance so much, Yue He?"

"You think you're the only one who wants monarch godhood, Bai Yin? Truly ambitious disciples aren't quick to form their godhood. They take their time. So what do you think? How does your stockpile compare to mine?" Looking over at Yang Qi, he said, "Presumably, you also want monarch godhood."

"Enough of this," Yang Qi said. Waving his hand, he sent out a surging stream of energy that forced Yue He to step back a few paces.

Looking at Yang Qi in shock, he said, "Your energy arts, they—"

"You're here to hand in some books, right?" Yang Qi said. "Not try to resolve personal grudges. If you want to seek revenge, you can seek me out personally. Hand over those books and let us have a look."

Even as the words left his mouth, he made a grasping gesture.

The carts full of books and records flew over, and one plopped onto the ground.

"Not worth anything," he said. "It's just someone's record of the tribulations and vital energy transformations they experienced when forming godhood."

The fact that Yang Qi had read the book so quickly caused Yue Tianlin and Yue He to react with visible shock.

Before long, Yang Qi had looked through all of the books. "Only ten of them are worth anything. The rest can go down to the first floor. We'll give you three merit points apiece, for a total of thirty. What do you say?"

"Like hell!" Yue Tianlin said, taking a step forward. "You're going to take all of these books, and you're going to give us five merit points apiece for them. If you don't, I'll make sure you're kicked out of here by tomorrow, believe me."

Clicking his tongue and sighing, Bai Yin said, "You people from the Yue Clan really have a lot of nerve to stir things up at the Scripture Pavilion. Yue He, the fact that your Yue Clan produces disciples like this is just a guarantee that you'll eventually end up getting wiped out."

"Shut your mouth!" Yue He growled at Yue Tianlin. He knew that now wasn't the time for altercations. "Fine. I see how it is. We'll accept your terms this time. But next time you come to the Thrall Camp to get some godpower, we'll see how things go for you."

"You think we want godpower from thralls?" Bai Yin burst out laughing. "People who advance their cultivation base that way are complete morons."

"Maybe, maybe not," Yue He replied. "You'll need a lot of godpower to reach the Paramount level, and it's the same for forming godhood. Considering the level of your cultivation base, I'd say you'll have no choice but to come to the Thrall Camp eventually! I guess we'll just have to wait and see!"

"Bye. You can see yourselves out. Here's a talisman with your merit points." Bai Yin tossed out a paper talisman.

With that, the people from the Yue Clan left.

"Those people don't know the height of the heavens and the breadth of the earth!" Bai Yin said, a grim expression on his face. "The Yue Clan has a really bad reputation in the House of God Ordainment. Unfortunately, they also have a lot of power, so we have to watch our backs."

"What did he mean about kicking us out of the Scripture Pavilion?" Yang Qi asked. "Could they do that?"

"No way," Bai Yin replied with a smile. "They don't have that much influence. The elders in the Scripture Pavilion are well aware of the broader situation. If a faction like the Yue Clan could remove disciples from the Scripture Pavilion, what else could they do? Besides, Jadefall is your friend, and her Master recently became a Consummate God, whose words carry enormous weight."

All of a sudden, one of Yang Qi's command medallions started buzzing. Pulling it out, he said, "Brother Bai, I have a matter to take care of. It shouldn't take more than a few days. Can you keep an eye on the Scripture Pavilion while I'm away?"

"No problem." Bai Yin wasn't inclined to pry into Yang Qi's business. Besides, his responsibilities in the Scripture Pavilion were so easy that he had handled them by himself for ten full years.

Yang Qi hurried to the main teleportation portal in the House of God Ordainment's headquarters. It whirred to life, and he stepped out into the god world at large, finding himself in a boundless mountainous region. He was back in the Guardian Mines.

Having been inside a god kingdom for several months, he was suddenly reminded why so many people preferred living in a place like that; the weather in the god world really was horrible.

He sped into motion, and before long, was at Mine One.

Zhang Jufang was there waiting for him with a retinue of disciples including the new foreman. He was an official disciple, but living under Yang Qi's shadow, he had no choice but to fall in line.

"My respects, Elder Brother Yang Qi!" said the new foreman, offering a polite salute.

He knew that Yang Qi was the true power in the mines.

"You're doing well," Yang Qi said. "Keep working hard and I'll make sure you go a long way. I always take care of my people." Pleased that the disciple knew his place, Yang Qi waved his hand, causing a pile of godsand to appear in front of them all. "This is noble caliber godsand. Take it. First, use it to expand the defensive spell formations to encompass the entire mining district. Second, buy all the medicinal pills you need to strengthen yourself. And third, use what's left to meet the yearly quota. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" the disciples all replied, looking at Yang Qi as if he were an actual god.

"I'm going into the mountains to talk things over with the Demonfolk. Stay busy while I'm gone." With that, he flew into the air, blurring into motion and leaving behind afterimages as he achieved a flight speed far beyond what the demonlings were capable of.

Soon, he was deep in the mountains.

He had been called to a meeting by the snake goddess and the ghostface monkey-god, in order to go to visit the jade discs left behind by the Demon Master. He had made a lot of advancement in the Scripture Pavilion, and was considering taking advantage of his time among the Demonfolk to achieve his breakthrough to the Paramount level.

If he acquired monarch godhood, he would definitely come to be viewed as a genius among geniuses in the sect.