Sage Monarch

'Who would've thought that God-King Ruthless would use a Nation-Fate God Pill to try to improve my cultivation base? Although he's obviously only doing it to control me and seize control of the Sage Monarch League, it's still an incredible pill. Will I be able to deal with the side-effects? I'm curious to see what a god pill made of the fate of an entire nation is going to be like.'

God-King Ruthless grabbed Yang Qi and stepped into the void, where spatial tempests whipped about everywhere.

Wormholes and vortexes were all around, some of which resembled enormous castles, and some of which resembled primeval godworms. Others looked like rivers of bladed weapons, enormous beasts, or spirits. They were formed from ancient divine elements, and were incredibly powerful, and while they lacked consciousness, they roamed the spatial tempests, ejecting or slaughtering intruders.

The depths of space-time were profoundly mysterious and contained unending dangers, yet at the same time, there were magical treasures for the taking. Sometimes, Consummate Gods would enter the depths of space-time, but get lost and never be able to escape.

In such cases, they would ultimately die. The only people who could safely traverse such places were Perfect and Paramount Gods, who would often go there to set up spell formations or god kingdoms.

The space-time of the god world was filled with crevices and rifts. It was similar to the ocean floor, in which some areas were perfect places for fish or other sea creatures to thrive, but also featured places of extreme danger.

Right now, God-King Ruthless was leading Yang Qi into a huge maelstrom.

It contained numerous spatial tempests, and shockingly, had a huge spell formation in the middle. It looked almost like the map of a nation, pulsing with a sensation of history, civilization, knowledge, and culture.

It was a spell formation whose foundation was built on the fate of a nation, and it was powerful beyond belief.

The Eternal-Life God-Dynasty had been a domineering force in the god world for many years, and administered innumerable vassal states, sects, clans, and cities. Considering that, it was almost impossible to say how abundant its destiny was. As for the crown prince, he was a child of that nation, which meant that he had access to the fate of the nation, and could unleash it in mysterious ways.

Buzzzz.

The spell formation trembled.

"Get inside, boy," God-King Ruthless said, shoving Yang Qi forward. The power of time flowed across Yang Qi like water as everything outside the spell formation was sealed. Then, the power of time stabbed into him like needles.

"Converge the fate of the nation. Use the small to see the large. The large is the country, the small is the needle." God-King Ruthless pointed his finger at Yang Qi. "You're lucky, boy. This spell formation was personally created by the crown prince to draw on the fate of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. It also contains boundless vital energy from the god world, which it converts into the same kind of nation fate. The Eternal-Life God-Dynasty is a dynasty that will last for all eternity, and is invincible in all heaven and earth. As for this god pill the crown prince concocted, it's nothing short of amazing. Normally speaking, you'd never be able to consume this pill, but in this circumstance, it's going to be very useful for you. Once you consume it, your destiny will link with the destiny of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. Afterward, no matter what dramatic things happen, you'll always belong to the dynasty. Understand? Your life will always be connected to the dynasty. If it falls, you die. You will work for the crown prince forevermore, and that will never change. It's only in this way that the crown prince will truly trust you." With that, he burst out laughing.

'Crap,' Yang Qi thought. This was going to be a breakthrough that involved extreme danger. If he consumed the Nation-Fate God Pill, his destiny would become linked with that of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. It was similar to the purification ceremonies of the buddhist schools, except more powerful.

The experts from the buddhist schools could purify monsters, transforming their hearts and minds, removing the evil from them and turning them into virtuous monks. Of course, it had to be done voluntarily.

Consuming a Nation-Fate God Pill would give him a huge boost in power, but would transform him, forcing him to be subservient to the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. He would be a faithful minister or a loyal general who would die for his country if he had to.

It was terrifying to think of completely losing himself and turning himself over to become the loyal tool of some country.

At the same time, Yang Qi realized that God-King Ruthless' fate was also completely tied up with that of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. He was a loyal servant who would do anything for his country, and would view dying for it as going home.

"Giving up his life for the sake of his country; He looks toward death as a journey home!"

As God-King Ruthless recited the two lines of poetry in a stern and awe-inspiring voice, energy surged out of him, and the Nation-Fate God Pill appeared. As the pill hovered above Yang Qi's head, God-King Ruthless said, "Consume the pill, and remember these lines. Giving up his life for the sake of his country; He looks toward death as a journey home! Understand? If the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty wants to send you to your death, you won't feel the least bit of grievance!"

"Understood!" Yang Qi said loudly.

"Good. Let's begin!" God-King Ruthless thrust his palm out, and the Nation-Fate God Pill exploded into numerous streams of power that shot into Yang Qi, filling him with the will of countless passionate heroes rushing forth to do the bidding of the nation.

Inside, Yang Qi snorted coldly. 'Trying to brainwash me? That's not going to happen. Let everything become empty. Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana. Fame and fortune, honor and glory, let them all be abandoned. Leave only thoughts; independence is empty. Let the psyche experience ultimate freedom....' He could feel the powerful fate of an entire nation trying to change him, force thoughts of glory and heroism into him, and transform him into a Consummate God expert.

It was hard, but he held on to himself. An undying spark burned in his brain, and his psyche clung to freedom. And the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was at work, using the illusions of Life-Death Void-Destruction to fool God-King Ruthless.

"Godhood Infusion!"

God-King Ruthless never could have guessed that Yang Qi would be causing mischief in this situation. How could a Lesser God trapped in the middle of a formation like this, with his psyche under assault, ever fight back?

Yet that was what Yang Qi was doing, right under God-King Ruthless' nose.

Under the immense pressure, his psyche advanced. The invincible destiny of the entire Eternal-Life God-Dynasty was weighing down on him, with another will trying to take control of him and restrict his freedom.

However, there could hardly be any better training than this. On a few occasions, he very nearly succumbed, and fell into the mindset of a noble hero willing to sacrifice for the country. But each time, his own spirit rebounded.

If this assault had occurred before he learned so much from King Immortal-Slayer and the purrling, then not even the God Legion Seal and his monarch godhood would have been of any help. The reason was that the God Legion Seal couldn't control his heart.

In contrast, the fate of a nation, the spirit of the country, heroism, nobility, loyalty, and other such things were related to the heart. Thankfully, Yang Qi was keeping a firm grip on such things.

Immense power flowed into his godhood, which emitted creaking and crunching sounds. Although he was keeping the truth hidden, his monarch godhood, his psychic power, his will, and his power were all rising dramatically.

RUMBLE!

He suddenly rose from the mid Lesser God level to the late level. Then he exerted some more effort, and rose to the Common God level.

No one in existence actually knew exactly how much power it required to improve monarch godhood. It was an astronomical amount that could wipe out all the medicinal pill reserves of even the largest sect.

But right now, the power of the Nation-Fate God Pill was flowing into Yang Qi, which was normally something that only Perfect Gods or higher could sustain.

Off to the side, God-King Ruthless was working hard to keep the formation going and to balance the vital energy streams. It was only because the crown prince had personally provided this pill and formation that something completely unthinkable was happening.

"Blessing of Nation-Fate!" An hour passed, whereupon the sweating God-King Ruthless had to start drawing on his own power.

A vortex appeared above his head, swirling with explosive force as he sent his own animadestiny true energy into the formation.

"Crown Prince Talisman!"

Seeing that Yang Qi seemed on the verge of losing control, he waved his hand, pulling a dragon-shaped talisman out of his garment. After throwing it out, it turned into a host of magical symbols that settled onto Yang Qi, piercing into his sea of consciousness.

"The boundless will of the crown prince is one with the fate of our nation. It will transform your spirit and soul on all levels. Even if you die and are reincarnated, you will still be a loyal subject!" God-King Ruthless burst out laughing.

Yang Qi was in unprecedented danger. The immense will of the crown prince rumbled forth, fusing with the fate of a nation and bringing to bear immense force as it unrelentingly battered against him.

1. This is a line of poetry from a famous poem called On the White Horse, by Cao Zhi in the Three Kingdoms Period. .