Sage Monarch

'This guy is very ambitious,' Yang Qi thought. 'He just wants to take over the House of God Ordainment, then use its destiny to help with these martial-god soldier-kings of his.'

"Oh respected Crown Prince," Yang Qi said, "I'm embarrassed to say it, but if you want me to deal with Jadefall and take control of the Sage Monarch Society, then I'll need a way to handle that purrling of hers. The Lord of the True Void once assessed it and found that it was beyond even him to deal with, so he backed down."

"What?!" the crown prince replied.

Before Yang Qi could react, he was hit with a blast of lightning, knocking him to the ground.

"I know it won't be an easy task," the crown prince continued, "but don't think you can make excuses around me. I'll personally handle the purrling. You're already a Perfect God, so just do your job, and I'll make sure you achieve your next breakthrough."

"Your humble servant will abide by your commands, Crown Prince," Yang Qi said, crawling to his feet. "You were right to punish me, and I'll definitely think of a way to handle the situation." Of course, inwardly, he was chuckling coldly.

"Very well, that's much better." the crown prince replied, apparently pleased by Yang Qi's attitude. Smiling faintly, he continued, "Just what I would expect of someone who studied the Nation-Fate Godfist. You're truly willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of the state. I have no reason to doubt your loyalty. That said, if you fail in your task, you'll be punished. But if you succeed, you'll be rewarded. So I'll make it very simple: help bring the House of God Ordainment and the Sage Monarch Society under my control. If you do, I'll make sure you reach the Unbounded level. Alright?"

"Many thanks, oh generous and magnanimous Crown Prince!" Yang Qi said, clasping hands and bowing repeatedly.

God-King Ruthless and Nie Yinyang both looked over at him enviously. However, there was nothing for them to do. Yang Qi was being rewarded for his loyalty, and was being placed as a pawn by the crown prince in the House of God Ordainment, with the purpose of ultimately swallowing it up.

"Observe. This is the previous destiny of the House of God Ordainment!"

The crown prince waved his hand.

All of a sudden, a projection of the House of God Ordainment appeared, except it was the previous version of the god kingdom. Then, something like a mist rose up from it, forming a burning flame above the projection.

It looked almost like a giant torch that would burn for all eternity. Of course, it was the flame of destiny.

"In the past, the destiny of the House of God Ordainment was like a torch. Although it was impressive, it was nothing I found impressive; thus, I wasn't inclined to take action. But now, things are different. Look!"

He waved his hand again, and the current House of God Ordainment appeared.

The god kingdom was many times larger, and the destiny above it was a sea of flames, burning like a huge sun. The mere sight was shocking to the core.

"Such incredible destiny!" Nie Yinyang exclaimed. "If it keeps growing at that rate, it will rival the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty within a few tens of thousands of years."

"That's right. This is real destiny, and it will be of immense help to the thrall troops here.

"Destiny. The fate of nations. That is what the Harvestland thrives on. In any case, there's no need to kill the chicken to get the eggs. From what I can tell, Jadefall and Mother Voidwalker are working together to siphon away the destiny of the Nacrelight Sageland. Observe!"

The image transformed, and the destiny of the Nacrelight Sageland appeared, and it was many times more impressive than that of the House of God Ordainment. If the latter was a tiny stream, the former was a mighty river.

However, the destiny of the Nacrelight Sageland was somehow flowing through a channel into the House of God Ordainment. That was thanks to the fact that Yang Qi had Mother Voidwalker under his control.

The crown prince had noticed this.

"Crown Prince," said Nie Yinyang, "it's obvious the destiny of the House of God Ordainment is growing with every moment. Taking it now wouldn't help the martial-god soldier-kings. It would make more sense to wait until it's reached a greater state of maturity, then take it. You're already using the nation-fate of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty to feed the martial-god soldier-kings. But unfortunately, you can only use about one percent of it. That's obviously not enough."

Not even the crown prince could take all of the destiny of the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. If he tried something like that, he would be found out, and ultimately executed. The destiny of the nation was simply too important, and everyone from the most minor noble all the way up to the emperor himself would condemn him for such an act.

Therefore, he simply drew on a tiny fraction, small enough that no one would notice. Unfortunately, growing his martial-god soldier-kings in that way was like tunneling through rock with dripping water. He had no idea how many tens of thousands of years it would take. But if he could get the full destiny of the House of God Ordainment, it would be much more than the one percent he could get from the Eternal-Life God-Dynasty. And there, no opponent would be able to do anything to him.

After a moment of consideration, the crown prince said, "You're right, Nie Yinyang. The destiny of the House of God Ordainment has become very impressive, but the time hasn't come to take it. In fact, I think I ought to help it grow even stronger. Yang Qi, I have several tasks for you. First, find out exactly what treasures Jadefall has stashed away in the House of God Ordainment. Second, find a way to seize power in the Sage Monarch Society. Considering that Jadefall helped you become a Perfect God so quickly, she obviously values you. Third, keep the houselord and junior houselord safe. Don't let them fall victim to Jadefall. Otherwise, the Crown Prince Society isn't going to have any good reason to interfere later. Fourth, use Jadefall to find out Mother Voidwalker's current location. Then I can figure out a way to go deal with her in person."

"Yes sir!" Yang Qi replied immediately.

"The other figures in the Sage Monarch Society that Jadefall has been helping, such as the Shepherd and Proud World... you must make sure they don't seize power before you. Get rid of them one by one. Make sure you're the only important person around. Also, keep an eye on any dealings between Jadefall and the supreme concubine. The supreme concubine is enigmatic and impossible to predict, and she's been opposing me from the very beginning. In fact, she's the one who nearly got me deposed years ago. If I hadn't reached the Unbounded level, I would've already been replaced." His expression hardened for a moment, then he chuckled. "Ah, Ling Chuang, I won't let you off the hook for that. I don't care that you're the supreme concubine. I'll make sure you beg me for mercy and suffer the most horrific humiliation. Neither of us have ever come out on top in our conflicts, and you've never ceased trying to throw me out so one of your sons can take my place. But how could I, Eternal Millennium, ever let that happen?"

It was only at this moment that Yang Qi came to find out the crown prince was named Eternal Millennium. His father, the emperor, was Eternal Nightless, and both of them were obviously ambitious and ruthless individuals. Yang Qi had also come to understand just how deeply the crown prince hated the supreme concubine.

"Whatever you want me to do, Crown Prince, I'll do! In fact, I'll head back right now and start planning things out." With that, he turned as if to leave.

"There's no hurry," Eternal Millennium said. "Considering you're here in the Harvestland, I might as well give you some help with your cultivation. Do you know why exactly I've been making these martial-god soldier-kings? And do you know the true nature of the House of God Ordainment's secret reserve power?"

Curious to see how Eternal Millennium would react, Yang Qi said, "Oh revered Crown Prince, I am aware of the secret reserve power of the House of God Ordainment. It's called the War God Commander's Tally, and it contains forty-eight thousand thrall troops that are peak Perfect Gods with half Unbounded will convergence. Together, they can devastate Paramount Gods. That's the treasure the houselord used to keep Jadefall in check. Otherwise, he would've already lost his position to her."

Eternal Millennium chuckled coldly. "You think the War God Commander's Tally is impressive? Hardly! Just wait until my martial-god soldier-kings are finished. They'll be able to crush that commander's tally with hardly any effort. The martial-god soldier-kings are more powerful than you can imagine. They'll stun any enemy into mindlessness, and their military might is so immense they can overturn the god world. With them, I'll come to control all nations that exist!"

"So invincible!" Yang Qi said obsequiously.

"The martial-god soldier-kings are vastly superior to the ancient war gods. In fact, one of the former could easily defeat a hundred of the latter. However, I need to grow them to the proper level, then assimilate them to attain a fighting prowess at the peak of the Paramount God level. At that point, I'll be similar to people like the ancient King Immortal-Slayer, Lord of Civilization, or Lord of the Sword Dao. Look at the fetuses around you. They have no godhood and no thinking ability. They're simply a manifestation of the preheaven energy of the martial path. As they grow, they'll develop godhood that thrums with unsurpassable fighting prowess!"

"Crown Prince, do you mean that you intend to fill me with some of that preheaven energy of the martial path?" Yang Qi blurted.

"Very good guess," Eternal Millennium replied. "I'm going to bless you in a way that will boost your fighting prowess by ten times over. You'll be invincible to anyone under the Unbounded level! Step forward onto the altar! With my blessing, you'll truly be heading toward a breakthrough!"

"Yes sir!" Yang Qi said. Not worried about any probing from Eternal Millennium, he stepped onto the altar and settled down cross-legged, whereupon the crown prince placed a palm on the top of his head.

Instantly, a stream of martial energy rushed into his godhood, where it attempted to seize control of him. Of course, he had been ready for that, so he simply entered the realm of Nevasaññānāsaññāyatana and left behind a body made from Life-Death Void-Destruction God-Lightning.

As a result, it didn't matter how Eternal Millennium attacked him, it wouldn't do any good.

Slowly but surely, some of the preheaven vital energy of the martial path started building up inside of him.

'He still doesn't trust me,' Yang Qi thought, 'so he's filling me with this vital energy of the martial path as a way to control me and guide my attempts to get close to Jadefall. What he's doing will make him like my shadow. This is a very vicious technique. It's none other than the brutal Shadow-Devil Heart-Devil Sauvastika-Devil Divine Ability, a consummate technique from the depths of hell....'

Yang Qi was struck with sudden inspiration.

1. From this point on, we know the name of the (lower case) crown prince. However, the author often defaults back to calling him simply "crown prince", which is sometimes very confusing considering that he uses the exact same character/name/term for the (upper case) Crown Prince. Going forward, I'm making an executive decision to use the crown prince's actual name instead of his title in many parts of the narrative. This will make things much clearer.