Sage Monarch

Yang Qi had assumed the guise of the Second Devil General!

In the past, the Second Devil General had rebuked heaven and earth, and deeply shaken the devil world. He was someone who had very nearly overthrown the god world. Considering that Patriarch Deva wasn't going to be an easy opponent to fight, Yang Qi was hoping to scare him. Hopefully, some psychological warfare would put him in the position to somehow handle Patriarch Deva.

"What? Second Devil General?" Patriarch Deva stared at Yang Qi in shock. Not daring to do anything rash, he scanned him with psychic power and said, "You're not the Second Devil General. If you were, you'd be unleashing immense pressure. The Second Devil General was on the same level as the Lord of Civilization or the Lord of the Sword Dao, and was no weaker than the High Priestess. How could you possibly be the Second Devil General?"

"Because I haven't recovered yet! I was slaughtered by the Sovereign Lord, and have only now begun my comeback, thanks to the Mahātmā Jade. Did you really believe that I would just give my legacy materials to someone like Patriarch Bloodcloak? He was nothing more than a pawn that I used to purchase the various materials I needed to crack open the sealing mark that imprisoned me. It was enough to send out a nascent divinity clone, which is what you're looking at right now. If you think you're going to fight me, boy, you're being a bit too impulsive."

Patriarch Deva was shaken by the words. "A clone?"

Despite being an experienced old-timer, Patriarch Deva was falling for Yang Qi's story. None of his divinations were revealing any of the 'Second Devil General's' methods, which only furthered his confusion. Of course, that was really just the result of Yang Qi being a Fateless One.

Originally, Patriarch Deva had been planning to attack immediately and crush this interloper. But now he was hesitating. If this really was a clone of the Second Devil General, and he killed it, then when the general's true self emerged, it would spell certain doom for the Deva Dynasty.

Given all he'd experienced in life, he was very familiar with the saying be careful, and you can pilot the same boat for ten thousand years.

"Well, boy, do you have any more pieces of the Mahātmā Jade? If so, hand them over. Thanks to Patriarch Bloodcloak, I know you've established some sort of impressive organization. Work with me, and I guarantee I can make you stronger. What do you think?" Yang Qi was really laying it on thick in his attempt to hoodwink Patriarch Deva.

Of course, trying to run a scam like this was dangerous to say the least.

All of a sudden, Patriarch Deva's suspicions were piqued. "Why should I believe you? The Second Devil General was a person who rebuked heaven and earth in the past. What if you release your true self and then just destroy the dynasty I've created? Furthermore, I'm still not convinced you're really the Second Devil General. I can sense that your substructure isn't very strong at all. It seems to me that you're not being truthful!"

"How dare you insult me, boy! I'm going to cut you down and wipe out your Deva Dynasty as well!"

Yang Qi attacked without warning. Winds screamed as he drew on his mid Unbounded will convergence and monarch godhood to unleash the most powerful fist strike he could manage. He knew that Patriarch Deva had intentionally baited him to see what would happen. If he simply accepted the provoking words, it would prove that he wasn't the domineering Second Devil General. There was simply no way the Second Devil General would tolerate insults from an inferior in that way.

Yang Qi knew exactly what type of thoughts were running through Patriarch Deva's mind, therefore he attacked with every scrap of understanding he had of the dao of devils. He drew on the deepest aspects of the Unspoiled Body, causing a pitch-black devil hand to appear, pulsing with the energy of hell.

"King of Hell!"

The instant the move was unleashed, Patriarch Deva's expression turned very serious. However, he could see that the power within the move was lacking, so he laughed coldly and said, "Each generation will produce talented individuals; their dissertations will be passed down for centuries. You have some amazing and unique moves, Second Devil General, but sadly, they aren't enough for you to deal with me. Watch as I vanquish your moves! Deva Eternal Isolation!"

Patriarch Deva casually swept his hand out, creating a rift that divided the world in two and separated yin and yang. The boundless hellish devil energy that had just appeared was dispelled, having had no chance to even get close to Patriarch Deva.

"Feeling suicidal, boy?! I might only be here as a clone, but I can still kill you!" All of a sudden, Yang Qi drew on one of the ten moves from the Sage Monarch Grand Magic: God Without Limit!

RUMBLE!

Rumbling devil energy transformed into the most pure and holy energy imaginable. It formed the core meaning and great dao of gods, filled with their natural and magical laws, making it inextricably linked to the god world itself.

Yang Qi had extrapolated four of the ten moves from the Sage Monarch Grand Magic, and they had been enough to completely defeat the reserve power of the House of God Ordainment. And now, he was a hundred times more powerful than he was then. You could say that his single fist strike could kill a Paramount God.

With his mid Unbounded will, he had an even deeper ability to extrapolate moves from the Sage Monarch Grand Magic. In fact, he planned to use this very fight with Patriarch Deva to do so.

So far, he had mastered four of the moves, including Sage Monarch Grand Magic, Monarch Invincible, Hegemon Without Bounds, and God Without Limit.

As the devil energy became completely holy, his fist smashed through Patriarch Deva's move of Deva Eternal Isolation. Before Patriarch Deva could do anything, Yang Qi's fist was right in front of him.

'What move is that? It's some sort of mixture between godly and devilish?' Patriarch Deva's heart was already pounding. If Yang Qi hadn't assimilated the Mahātmā Jade, Patriarch Deva wouldn't have had anything to worry about. He could have sent him tumbling into death with a mere snap of his finger. Unfortunately, Yang Qi had assimilated the Mahātmā Jade, and was now on a totally different level than before.

"Prepare to die, boy! This is a new great dao that I gained enlightenment of during my countless years of being sealed!" Yang Qi was doing everything he could to ensure he really seemed like the Second Devil General.

"Hmph! You may have caught me by surprise, but that doesn't mean you can beat me!" Flitting straight backward, Patriarch Deva shouted, "Deva Warp; Deva God-Fist. First stance: Return to the Origin!"

He levitated straight up to dodge Yang Qi's fist, then thrust out with splayed fingers, causing a host of weapons to appear around Yang Qi.

"Sage as the Master!" Yang Qi shot after him, unleashing a deadly attack that combined devil energy and god power.

"You're really putting a lot into those moves of yours. Let's see how long you can last!" Patriarch Deva shifted tactics again as he met Yang Qi's attacks. He was only using thirty percent of his power, while the 'Second Devil General' was going all out, leading him to feel very confident.

"Second stance: Creator of the Great Heaven!"

The second move was also extraordinary. Patriarch Deva normally looked like a stooped old man, but suddenly became tall and mighty. Reaching out, he negated Yang Qi's attack, his hands dancing like the creator of all things manipulating physical reality to create humans.

"Hegemon Without Bounds!"

"Monarch Invincible!" Yang Qi unleashed two attacks in a row, like blows from axes that could sunder heaven or cleave apart primal-chaos.

The moves of his Sage Monarch Grand Magic were improving as he gained further enlightenment!

"Very skillful, Second Devil General!" Patriarch Deva said, his own godpower pulsing like a mighty ocean. "The transformations of the human way contain many types of conscious life. But now I'm going to show you what natural life is really about! Try out this next move. Long Life!"

An aura of natural life erupted out of him, transforming into something like a long river.

This was the move Long Life.

Yang Qi suddenly felt as if Patriarch Deva's life really could last so long as to be indefinite, as though his lifespan was a river whose beginning and end matched those of time itself.

"In the term natural life, the natural has to do with all types of thinking, the six senses, the seven senses, the ālāyavijñāna. All such things fall under the description of that which is natural. Life is you being sealed within the world. If you are not sealed within the world, then you have lost your life. Second Devil General, you need to realize that those who have come after you are far superior to you. Take a look at my dao!" Patriarch Deva was unleashing his consummate strength!

He thrust out his fist, and Yang Qi's Sage Monarch Grand Magic collapsed. The mighty river of Long Life shot toward him, and it seemed that he was about to die.

"Not bad at all, boy. But you can't kill my clone." Yang Qi's thinking had reached the most elevated level, allowing him to unleash a move called Sovereign Lord Without Bounds.

It was another move from the Sage Monarch Grand Magic, and it contained the full meaning of the word Lord.

The two fists met, and while Patriarch Deva wasn't hurt at all, Yang Qi's entire body exploded into vital energy that slowly dissipated.

"What do you think? Second Devil General? That body of yours was destroyed, and your clone's vital energy has been drained." Patriarch Deva burst out laughing, but a moment later, his expression turned serious as boundless godly might surged in his direction. He had no idea what it was or where it came from, but he knew that it caused him to tremble down to his heart and soul.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Qi's 'Second Devil General' form appeared again, and it was even stronger than before.

The truth was that it was the power of the God Legion Seal, but Yang Qi was certain it would be enough to terrify Patriarch Deva into believing he really was the Second Devil General.

The power in the God Legion Seal was boundless and without limit; while Patriarch Deva would always have to worry about building up lost power reserves, Yang Qi didn't. That alone would be enough to terrify most experts.

"Well done, boy. However, I can always get more power from my true self. I'm ready to fight this battle to the finish. Get ready to die!" Yang Qi seemingly prepared to start fighting again.

"Hold on!" Patriarch Deva blurted.

1. The ālāyavijñāna is also known as the "Eight Consciousnesses" so it makes a lot of sense in this context. .