Sage Monarch

The Heaven-Devil Zone was filled with heaven-devils that were rushing toward them like a cloud of locusts. And they weren't advancing individually, but sticking together in formation.

"Everybody scatter!" shouted one of the disciples. "Don't stick together. These heaven-devils are too strong. Focus on taking out the heaven-devil kings. Remember, all you have to do is get three souls and stay safe for six hours until they teleport us out."

Whooosh!

Some of the disciples charged forth to meet the incoming heaven-devils. Those heaven-devils that had developed godhood were called heaven-devil kings, and the only way to pass this test was to collect the souls of three such creatures.

Of course, everyone knew that this was only the first stage of the test. Law enforcement disciples started out as veterans of numerous battles, so it was a given that there would be more parts to the test.

RUMBLE!

Looking out, Yang Qi saw that there was a group of several hundred thousand heaven-devils who were in a formation that made them an enormous devil hand rumbling toward the disciples.

Devil energy surged around it, and flames burned, making it obvious that it was strong enough to kill even gods.

When heaven-devils got into formation, they could produce results that vastly surpassed what humans were capable of. Humans could power huge formations, but because their hearts would never be completely in unison, the results were less desirable. The only exception would be if a sect created an army of thralls to do the job.

When humans became gods, they became more unique and independent than ever, which precluded them from acting like soldiers who simply followed orders. And of course, they would never agree to live and die as a group.

But heaven-devils could do that. They were born as devils, and under the direction of the heaven-devil kings, they could easily form into huge, unified groups that could focus their godpower to deadly effect.

As the enormous devil hand rumbled forth, some of the disciples were too slow, and were crushed to death, whereupon the heaven-devils devoured their godhood.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

As Yang Qi saw the heaven-devils approaching, he realized that the group of disciples around him were like fish food, floating in the water, just waiting for a fish to gobble it up.

There were actually thousands of heaven-devils in this huge group, and even just the cries that escaped their lips were enough to strike fear into the hearts of the disciples.

'The perfect opportunity!' Yang Qi thought. Taking advantage of the chaos among the disciples, he turned into a beam of light and vanished without a trace. When he reappeared, he was right in the middle of the heaven-devils and their roiling devil energy. Waving his sleeve, he sucked in eight heaven-devil kings, and before any of the others realized what was happening, he disappeared again.

Yang Qi wasn't interested in carrying out a mass slaughter here, as it would attract too much attention. He just wanted to finish the mission. Planning ahead in case unforeseen circumstances arose, he took eight heaven-devil kings instead of the required three, then went into hiding.

Meanwhile, the enormous heaven-devil army was spreading out everywhere. Some of them had entered a formation that resembled an ancient bell, whose tolling was so deadly it actually killed some of the disciples. It was no exaggeration to say that this test was deadly.

And there weren't just early Lesser Gods. Yang Qi had spotted some who were in the late level, some in the peak, and even a handful of Common Gods.

Swish!

All of a sudden, a stream of sword light slashed into the bell formation, causing it to crumble. Yang Qi looked over to find a young man of about fifteen or sixteen years of age who was already a Lesser God with a godhood rating of thirteen.

Normally speaking, people with godhood ratings over ten were Common Gods, so the fact that this young man was still just a Lesser God went to show that he was very powerful, and had a lot of potential. Even stranger, when Yang Qi looked at him, it was as if he wasn't a single person, but rather a split between yin and yang, a combination of the sun and moon. Yin begets yang, yang begets yin. Harnessing that principle could lead to vastly superior power.

The young man had a jade sword, and seemed completely at one with it. When he wielded it, the sword light was like strands of silk that slashed this way and that, allowing him to cut his way through the formation right toward one of the heaven-devil kings. Without a hint of mercy, he cut it down, absorbing its soul into his sword.

Unfortunately, that attracted the attention of over a hundred heaven-devil kings who joined forces to launch a massive palm attack, creating a huge devil hand that slammed into his sword light. The sword light instantly went dark, and the young man tumbled backward.

The young man regained his footing and sent forth another beam of sword light.

Unfortunately, the heaven-devil kings shifted their formation, creating a huge eye that glared at the young man in a deadly attack.

'A heaven-devil-eye,' Yang Qi thought. He could tell that the young man was at a big disadvantage, facing so many heaven-devils. And in formation as a devil-eye, they could definitely slaughter even Common Gods.

After all, Yang Qi knew that these heaven-devil kings were actually ghost-eye heaven-devils, which could unleash psychic attacks that would devastate all sorts of living creatures.

Among the seventy-two monarchs, there had been one named King Ghost-Eye, who was an exalted figure among ghost-eye heaven-devils.

Without any further hesitation, Yang Qi blurred into motion, grabbing the young man and vanishing. When he reappeared, it was in a cloudy location with no heaven-devils.

"Who are you?" the young man asked.

"I'm Yang Qi. It seems your sword technique is a cut above the rest, and you even have special godhood. Yin-yang grand-brightness gemini godhood. I just couldn't bear to see you killed by that devil-eye. Those devil kings were all ghost-eye heaven-devils, and in formation, they make a force you couldn't possibly defeat."

"Many thanks." the young man said. "I'm called Cold Jade. You know, there are only limited spots for students to pass this test. For all we know, we might end up as opponents later. Do you really think it was worth it to save me?"

His voice was quite cold and emotionless, as if he were the kind of person who wouldn't easily be moved.

Yang Qi burst out laughing. "Nobody can stop me from becoming a law enforcement disciple. Saving you won't cause any problems for me at all."

"You really talk big," Cold Jade said, looking Yang Qi up and down. Then he shivered. "Those ghost-eye heaven-devils are chasing us."

All of a sudden, a huge eye became visible. It was fully fifteen kilometers from end to end, and looked like an enormous meteor rumbling toward them.

The hundred ghost-eye heaven-devils that made it up were wailing like ghosts or gods, and were moving so quickly that, in the blink of an eye, they were closing in on Yang Qi.

"Get out of the way!" Cold Jade said, then reached out as if to push Yang Qi aside. However, that was when he found that Yang Qi was as immovable as a mountain.

Then, to his shock, he saw Yang Qi reach out with blinding speed to grab the huge eye. When he did, the ghost-eye heaven-devils screamed plaintively as he crushed them with pure strength. A moment later, they had been smashed down into the form of a tiny eyeball that dropped onto Yang Qi's palm.

He casually closed his fingers, and the eyeball disappeared.

Cold Jade was so shocked he nearly passed out. "You... what kind of cultivation base do you have? You just killed over a hundred ghost-eye heaven-devils with a single move? That group was strong enough to kill a peak Common God!"

"A peak Common God?" Yang Qi said. "What do they count for? Here, take a few of these souls. Now you don't have to do any more fighting. Just wait until we're teleported out of here. You're obviously a genius, and you also have a special constitution, so it's a given that you're an apprentice of some important person in the House of God Ordainment."

"My Master is Exalted Celestial Cold Cruelty. A peak Greater God."

"I see. Yes, someone important indeed." He nodded. "Well, I'm planning on forming my own faction. Want to join?"

"You really talk big," Cold Jade replied. "You might be strong, but you're still only a Lesser God. And there are too many factions to count in the House of God Ordainment. Why would you make your own tiny faction instead of joining a group like the Dragon Society or the Preheaven Society?"

Yang Qi laughed again. "Dragon Society? Preheaven Society? They're too trashy. You see, I normally stick to myself. But when I decide to do something, I go all out. When I make my own society, I'll crush all the others. And that includes the number one organization, the Mystery Society."

The Mystery Society was indeed the top group in the House of God Ordainment, and as their name stated, they were very mysterious. In fact, most people didn't even know who their members were. Some people claimed that the leader of the Mystery Society was actually the junior houselord.

Of course, it was only a rumor.

Yang Qi had been a member of the House of God Ordainment for two years now, so he knew a lot about the organization. However, he wasn't completely certain of what kind of cultivation base the houselord had, or the other top old-timers.

"Are you kidding me?" Cold Jade said. He laughed. "So you just randomly ran into me, and you're already trying to recruit me? And you're basically even asking me to rebel? If you were in my place, what would you do? Would you fall for something like that?"

Yang Qi chuckled. It was more obvious than ever that although Cold Jade looked young, he was no less capable than Yang Qi's current subordinates. That was why he was attempting to recruit him.