Sage Monarch

As it turned out, the supreme concubine was an Ascendant. However, that didn't mean that Yang Qi was just going to reveal the secrets of the impure lands to her. Furthermore, he was a complete expert at fabricating lies when he needed to.

The supreme concubine listened attentively and didn't interrupt.

After he finished, she said, "There are a lot of magical treasures in the impure lands, the most important being King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions, and the second being the God Legion Seal. Are you aware of them?"

Obviously, this subject was what the supreme concubine was most interested in.

Yang Qi thought for a moment, then said, "I've definitely heard of King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions and the God Legion Seal. Supposedly, a fellow named Proud Heaven took them. He brought a lot of bloodshed to the impure lands, ultimately winning the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, King Immortal-Slayer, and the God Legion Seal! His path to the god world threw the entire Ancient Road to the Gods into complete and utter chaos."

"What? Proud Heaven?" The supreme concubine looked shocked.

"That's right, Supreme Concubine. I think he's from the Proud Clan. There was also a rumor that he visited the god world, then went back to the impure lands. But everyone's always said that the magical laws of the god world prohibit that, so I'm not sure how he did it. Do you have any idea?"

"It's true that no one has been able to go to the lower worlds since the Sovereign Lord disappeared. Proud Heaven. Proud Heaven.... I almost can't believe he acquired so many important valuable treasures. The Proud Clan is certainly keeping plenty of secrets. No one even knows where their headquarters is located. That said, this is heaven-shaking, earth-shattering news. And of course, I'm going to reward you well for it. Guards! Bring in a reward for these people. Get each of them a Jade-Dew Heart-Refining Pill, a magical treasure, and a suit of armor. And since you're all Ascendants, it would be a real pity for me to not help you. I hereby give you permission to enter the Sage Hall for three months of training and cultivation."

They all dropped to their knees and kowtowed. "Many thanks, Supreme Concubine!"

"You're dismissed. Eunuchs, take this order from me and lead them to the Sage Hall for cultivation. They're free to interact with anyone else there who's training or cultivating. You have three months, don't waste any of that time. Along the way, make sure to explain the secrets of the Sage Hall. Jadefall, you stay here. I have some personal training for you, considering you're the leader of the Sage Monarch Society. Your current cultivation base is simply far too lacking."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qi inwardly sighed in relief.

Meanwhile, some of the eunuchs led them toward another location in the mountains. As they walked along, they passed numerous palaces and buildings, all of them shining and pure.

"The Sage Hall existed back in the days of the halls of heaven. Nowadays, it's set aside for the imperial clan for use in training. Lesser Gods can train on the lower platforms, Common Gods can use the middle platforms. And Greater Gods can use the upper platforms. You can cultivate martial arts, or use the power of the halls of heaven to purify your bodies. You can also strengthen your fleshly soul. The supreme concubine blessed each of you with a Jade-Dew Heart-Tempering Pill, which is an extremely rare item. They're made from jade dew harvested in ancient times, and can clear the heart and help the psyche to transcend."

As they neared, the eunuchs guarding the entrance made to block their path. However, the eunuch leading them produced the supreme concubine's command medallion and they were let in.

Inside, Yang Qi felt his godhood surge. The holy power in this place was many times stronger than outside, to the point where it was almost corporeal.

The others in Yang Qi's group felt a painful sensation as black smoke rose up from them, making them seem like zombies that had suddenly been thrust into direct sunlight.

"This sagelight is so incredibly strong!" the Shepherd exclaimed. "It has a tempering effect, but it's painful. This light is actually vastly more intense than the light of the god world!"

If the Shepherd hadn't been cultivating Yang Qi's Sage Monarch Grand Magic, his own devil energy arts would have ensured that he was reduced to dust. They all felt like they were inside an oven.

"This is the sagelight of the halls of heaven," Yang Qi said. "Use it to temper your soul, blood, and flesh. It'll hurt, but if you can endure it, it will be worth it. I have the feeling that the Jade-Dew Heart-Tempering Pills are no joke. Hurry up and consume them!"

They all did just that, and as soon as they consumed the pills, the power flowed through them, countering the evaporating heat of the sagelight and putting them into a state of pleasant coolness.

"Head to the platform for Common Gods," the eunuch said, "and join the disciples there. Remember, don't cause any problems. And, while you're allowed to fight, killing is prohibited. Got it? You have three months." The eunuch hurried away.

Yang Qi looked around and saw that there really were a lot of experts training here. All of them were from the imperial clan; outsiders were prohibited from entering.

People were working hard on their cultivation, engaged in fierce fighting, sitting in meditation, using medicinal pills, doing breathing exercises, or engaging in other forms of training. And even the weakest Lesser Gods among them were probably ten to a hundred times stronger than any Lesser Gods from the House of God Ordainment.

In other words, the people practicing cultivation here could single-handedly defeat a hundred ordinary people in the same level as them.

The training here was difficult, and the sagelight made it like an oven. It was painful, but the benefits were immense. It didn't take long for Yang Qi and his people to get used to the situation. Then they set to work. That was especially true of Yang Qi, who began madly absorbing the bright light into his godhood.

Instantly, numerous quintessential aspects of his godhood started growing stronger.

He had never been bolstered in this way, not even by any medicinal pill he had consumed. How could medicinal pills compare to the glory of the ancient halls of heaven? Yang Qi headed to the platform for the Common Gods, where the light was even stronger than at the entrance and would pierce directly into the body.

However, he had no problem absorbing it, causing him to tremble as he sensed himself getting close to breaking out of the mid Common God level. He was already convinced that he would be able to reach the Greater God level before the three months were up.

His companions quickly started looking around for appropriate places to work on their cultivation and energy arts. However, before they could really begin working, a group of people approached, imperial clansmen who looked at them coldly. One of them, a Common God with an impressive cultivation base, said, "Who are you people? You don't have the imperial blood of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty, so what are you doing in here?"

The rest of the group were all Common Gods.

Brahma prepared to explain by saying, "We're—"

"Hey," Yang Qi interrupted. "Are you here to pick a fight or something? What business is it of yours if we've come here for some training? If you want to fight, let's get to it. There's no point wasting time on jabbering. Bring it on! Let's go, boys. I'm really curious to see what these imperial disciples are capable of."

"Alright!"

Yang Qi's people had originally hoped to smooth the situation over, but seeing his attitude, what did they have to be afraid of? Without hesitation, they attacked. The Shepherd was the fastest, and he slashed one of the imperial disciples across the chest with a devil claw.

BAM!

Even though these were imperial disciples, how could they possibly compare to the Shepherd with his immense experience? Before they even had a chance to react, they were all hit.

Proud World, Doom, Brahma, Sword Seventeen, Eldest Brother... all of them attacked like lightning from the highest heavens. In the blink of an eye, the imperial disciples were bleeding profusely and crying out piteously.

The disciple who had been in the lead, and was trying to cause problems, never even had a chance to cause problems before he was screaming in pain.

"How dare you pieces of trash try to provoke us!" Yang Qi said, shaking his head. "Screw off."

One by one, he literally kicked them away, sending them rolling off into a far corner of the platform.

"We only have three months here, and we don't want any of you scum wasting our time." Looking around at his friends, he said, "If anyone else causes problems, don't waste time with explanations. Just immediately beat the crap out of them."

"That's fine."

Two months passed. Everyone was making great progress, and Yang Qi had already broken through to the peak of the Common God level. Occasionally, imperial disciples would come looking for trouble, but without fail, Yang Qi and his people would beat them mercilessly. Eventually, no one dared to approach them.

Word had spread of how fierce they were.

Eventually, Brahma became a Greater God. Next was Proud World, then Doom, the Shepherd, Yang Zhan, Sword Seventeen, Eldest Brother, and Patriarch Annalist. One by one, they all became Greater Gods.

Only Yang Qi was lagging behind.

As he absorbed the sagelight into his monarch godhood, he was slowly getting to the point of being able to create a world, tiny as it may be. It was a god kingdom, illusory, but at least capable of holding things within it.

As Yang Qi worked hard trying to break into the Greater God level, a figure approached him. It was a eunuch, and as he moved along, the sagelight seemed to acquiesce to his mere presence. Half of him seemed associated with yang, and half with yin. As he neared, Yang Qi made a beckoning gesture.

"Grand Eunuch Nie Yinyang," he said, fully aware of who this person was.