Sage Monarch

"Devastation of the Furious Dragon!" Dragon Floret growled, unleashing a palm move that was like a divine dragon rising out of the sea.

His palm met Yang Qi's fist, and considering they were both incredibly powerful moves, it was little wonder that the resulting shock wave of godpower devastated the reef around them. The water was shoved away with such force that many of the sea beasts within were ripped to shreds.

SPLAT!

Blood spewed out of Dragon Floret's mouth as he staggered backward across the shattered remnants of the reef.

On the other hand, Yang Qi was standing right on the surface of the ocean, which had crystallized for acres around him.

"I hit you with my Devastation of the Furious Dragon, boy. And we both wasted just as much godpower in that interchange. You won't last much longer!" Dragon Floret was spitting up blood, but he was convinced that there was no way Yang Qi would be able to stand up to his Devastation of the Furious Dragon. It was an attack that involved sending a cyclone of dragonfire into the target's godhood, which would ignite it and cause it to drain godpower rapidly.

Yang Qi had indeed spent a lot of godpower in the exchange. And any other expert in his situation would have already lost all of their fighting prowess. But even when Yang Qi was almost completely drained of energy, he could take a few breaths, and the God Legion Seal would draw on the essence of the god world to replenish his godhood.

"Your Devastation of the Furious Dragon is impressive. You definitely deserve to be a Consummate God. And if you weren't injured, I would never be a match for you. But sadly, you're not going to live through the rest of this day!"

"What? You aren't out of godpower?" He could sense that Yang Qi's godhood was rotating at full speed, and could even see a godflower above his head, burning with light and fire as it blessed him constantly.

"Infernal Deity Spear!"

It had been a long time since Yang Qi had used the Infernal Deity Spear, but it felt just as familiar as ever. That spear had accompanied him since his days in the impure lands, but this was his first time using it in the god world.

This time, the spear was corporeal. It was pitch black and surrounded by countless swirling hell vortexes, the might of which revealed the ultimate meaning of death.

In fact, he was currently surrounded by a pulsing death energy.

In the blink of an eye, the area for dozens of kilometers in all directions surrounding Yang Qi became like a pitch-black hell, its space completely locked down as he held the Infernal Deity Spear in his hand, pointed straight up. "You're going to die today, Dragon Floret. No matter what."

"What energy art is that?" Dragon Floret asked.

"The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth," Yang Qi replied. "Considering you're about to die, I don't mind telling you."

"The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth?!" Dragon Floret said, his jaw dropping and his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. "But that's...."

Yang Qi didn't give him a chance to finish speaking. His spear became a black streak of deathly light that pierced through everything, surrounded by the screams and wails of infernal deities from hell.

"Die!" Yang Qi said, and before anything else could happen, the spear was at Dragon Floret's throat.

Dragon Floret was shaken to the core, but in that moment of deadly crisis, he achieved a sudden state of peace and calm. Reaching out with fingers splayed like the claw of a dragon grasping at a chiliocosm of worlds, he said, "Power to Smash a Chiliocosm!"

A move designed to claw at a chiliocosm of worlds grabbed toward the Infernal Deity Spear.

"Death Symbols!" Yang Qi swept the Infernal Deity Spear around like a pen, causing numerous strings of text to appear in front of Dragon Floret. This wasn't something from the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, but rather a result of the Unspoiled Body, pushed to such a high level that no one could possibly defend against it.

The Infernal Deity Spear slipped through Dragon Floret's grasp, and no matter what he did to try grabbing it again, he failed.

SNICK!

The spear stabbed deeply into Dragon Floret's shoulder, causing a plume of blood to spray out.

Dragon Floret let out a muffled grunt as he leaped backward, then tried flying up into the sky to escape. He had just received a grievous injury; after all, when gods were hit by the Infernal Deity Spear, they almost always perished. Already, the aura of tribulations and infernal deities was coursing through Dragon Floret's meridians and blood, heading right into his sea of energy.

Reacting with blinding speed, he pulled out a medicinal pill and popped it into his mouth, then glared at Yang Qi and said, "I refuse to believe that you know the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth."

"Whether or not you believe doesn't really matter. You'll die either way." His spear began to thrum, and although he didn't launch an attack, a vortex formed that seemed to lock down Dragon Floret's soul. Dragon Floret could sense the immense power involved, and instantly knew that Yang Qi's next blow would be a killing move.

"You're forcing my hand, Yang Qi. If the purrling were here, I might be a bit worried. But I'm not afraid of you. Prepare to see one of Patriarch Deva's consummate techniques, and my true killing move. Heaven-Deteriorating Earth-Waning Finger!"

All of a sudden, immense power started coursing through Dragon Floret, causing him to vibrate as it converged on his fingertip.

WHACK!

A wild aura surged out of Dragon Floret as he seemed to physically transform into a person that actually resembled Patriarch Deva.

As he pointed his finger out, massive pressure weighed down on everything, causing Yang Qi's Infernal Deity Spear to crumble.

"The Heaven-Deteriorating Earth-Waning Finger?" Yang Qi had seen Patriarch Deva's talisman being used, and knew how amazing the patriarch was. When that talisman had been unleashed, it was something Yang Qi couldn't handle; only the purrling had been able to deal with it.

And although Dragon Floret wasn't unleashing something on the same level as the talisman, Yang Qi knew he couldn't afford to take the attack lightly. Throwing his palms out, he drew on his monarch godhood to use the God Legion Seal's god-absorbing abilities.

"Sage Monarch Grand Magic; Time Immemorial, Everlasting Existence; Invert the River of Time; Transform Ancient to Modern!"

A manifestation of his personal dao appeared behind him, the Sage Monarch Grand Magic, and a fist technique that could strike into the past itself.

WHIZZZ!

The two attacks were like two shooting stars heading toward each other, and when they collided, a crack rang out. Eight holes were punched into Yang Qi's body by the Heaven-Deteriorating Earth-Waning Finger, even piercing into his sea of energy and revealing his monarch godhood. Another of the holes stabbed right into his sea of consciousness.

Any other person would already be dead.

But not Yang Qi.

Meanwhile, Dragon Floret was hit with the Sage Monarch Grand Magic, which caused his chest to cave in.

Both parties had been badly hurt.

Laughing heartily, Dragon Floret landed on the rubble of the reef. "Still not dead yet? I pierced your sea of consciousness! The Heaven-Deteriorating Earth-Waning Finger is going to wipe out your mind!"

"Oh really?" Yang Qi said, rising to his feet, his body rapidly stitching itself together and the God Legion Seal quickly refilling his godpower.

Even if he had been killed, he would have been born again, but in this case, he didn't die, nor had his godhood been damaged.

"Your Heaven-Deteriorating Earth-Waning Finger couldn't even hurt my godhood, and you think I'm going to die from it?" To kill a god, one had to destroy their godhood.

"Your godhood wasn't crushed?" Dragon Floret blurted in surprise. "How is that possible? My Heaven-Deteriorating Earth-Waning Finger couldn't even damage your godhood? How?"

"Simple. Because I have monarch godhood." Yang Qi unleashed an energy field that pulsed with the will of a monarch, the kind of godhood that would make all other godhoods kneel in allegiance to it.

"Monarch godhood?" Dragon Floret's eyes glazed over. However, a moment later, he regained his senses. "I can't believe that someone in the god world has actually formed monarch godhood! You.... Wait! There's something I want to say. We don't need to be enemies! We can work together! We—"

Swish!

Yang Qi wasn't going to give Dragon Floret any more chances. He knew about the God Legion Seal and Yang Qi's monarch godhood, which was far too much information. If word spread, it would cause huge problems.

Yang Qi unleashed a bevy of attacks that included aspects of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and the Unspoiled Body.

He included King Immortal-Slayer's techniques, the Seventy-Two Monarchs Energy Art, the buddhist schools' Secret-Ensconcing All-World Anything-Everything Fundamental-Law Magic, the Great Necropolis God Art, the God Tombstone Palms, the Purrfect God Art, and the Sage Monarch Grand Magic.

He unleashed every consummate technique he had, giving Dragon Floret no room to escape.

Seeing that death was approaching, Dragon Floret angrily shouted, "Time to go for broke! Maybe I'm going to die, but I'll make sure you pay for it!"