Sage Monarch

"Look," Jadefall said, "the hearts of the inhabitants of the Myriad Dragons Lair are changing. They used to be inherently antagonistic, but now it's different." She, Yang Immortal-Slayer, and others among Yang Qi's friends and family stood on a towering mountain peak that overlooked much of the Myriad Dragons Lair.

It was an enormous mountain, emerald green in color, jutting high into the sky, almost like a finger. It was actually made of pure jade, a type that had been produced in a big bang explosion and subsequently named heavensplendor jade. It suppressed vital energy and collected destiny, gathering the quintessence of heaven and earth into something particularly exquisite. It was something that could only come to exist because of primal-chaos big bang explosions, and was beyond the ability of any old-timer to create. In fact, it didn't exist anywhere else in the god world.

It was in the middle of the minor god world Yang Qi was creating, and from it, Yang Qi's brethren could see that the destiny of the Sage Monarch Dragon Kingdom was no longer chaotic and conflicting.

"Well, that's a given," the Shepherd said. "Not going on the warpath does have some advantages. We sit back while Yang Qi transforms the Myriad Dragons Lair into his minor god world. Within a few thousand years, everything is going to be completely united. And what are the Dragonfolk to do about it? They can't run. Surrendering is definitely the best option for them."

"Look!" Yang Doom said excitedly. "As the minor god world grows, the destiny increases, and that produces more sage monarch magistrates. Every new continent produces even more destiny! Land is the key to everything!"

"Incredible. Yang Qi is simply incredible." Buddha Lheafe and Buddha Shockheaven were astonished. As more people from the Sage Monarch Empire poured in and helped with the building projects, they cooperated fully with the Dragonfolk, all thanks to the sage monarch magistrates. There was no fighting, plotting, or scheming. Everything went in an orderly fashion. No criminals were allowed to go free, and no innocents were ever convicted of crimes.

Neither the most important leaders nor the lowliest citizens ever dared to cross the boundaries of propriety by even half a step. The empire was a well-oiled machine in which every tiny part operated properly and knew its place.

The efficiency on display was incredible. No one just sat around doing nothing, especially when it came to the expansion of the minor god world. Resources needed to be gathered, inventoried, stored, and used, ultimately turning into fighting prowess and power. It was complicated work, but the sage monarch magistrates monitored it perfectly.

If the House of the Invincible tried to found a minor god world, the selfish and corrupt government officials would immediately form conflicting interest groups, which would cause a decline in destiny. Instead of constantly producing more resources, they would do the opposite, fattening themselves to the detriment of the empire.

Although it might seem odd, sometimes an enemy invasion could serve to unite the people and cause a surge in destiny.

Ruling a nation involved understanding many of these things. The key was controlling the hearts of the countless people that made it up. That was the trick to true power.

Yang Qi understood all of that.

RUMBLE!

As the minor god world expanded, the destiny of other kingdoms flowed toward it as other leaders, interest groups, and peoples decided to join it.

Jadefall and the others were visibly delighted. As soon as a nation made its decision, the destiny would shift, even before they made a formal declaration of allegiance. Because of the natural changes that would occur to destiny because of these things, it was difficult for nations to hatch clever plots and schemes against each other.

A short time later, a host of peak Paramount Gods, all of them with cultivation levels in the billions, flew over together. "We're from the Kingdom of Roland, and we want to join the Sage Monarch Dragon Kingdom. Here's our official letter of state with all the details."

"I'll take it," Jadefall said. The letter of state flew over, and Jadefall looked it over, then shared it with the others. "Please, come into our minor god world. We're happy to discuss all of these matters in detail."

Jadefall and the others were late Paramount Gods with cultivation bases around a hundred million. Normally speaking, they couldn't have fought enemies with cultivation bases of a billion, but now their every move and action was backed by the national destiny of the Sage Monarch Dragon Kingdom. Plus, they could rely on the essence power of the Myriad Dragons Lair, which meant these experts felt shame just being in their presence.

It was similar to how, in the impure lands, an unimportant eunuch could carry an imperial edict to either appoint or execute even the most powerful generalissimo of the armed forces.

As these peak Paramount Gods entered the minor god world, they could sense the immense aura within it. And when they stepped onto the towering mountain peak, they could see all the grandeur of the Sage Monarch Dragon Kingdom, and the dense net of law created by its powerful destiny.

The Dragonfolk from the Kingdom of Roland included a generalissimo, a liberal senior minister, a conservative senior minister, a crown prince, and a royal uncle. They were the highest leaders of their land, with the exception of the king.

When they saw that the leaders of the Sage Monarch Empire were only late Paramount Gods, they weren't very impressed. But then they saw the net of law, and their hearts trembled in fear as they realized that Jadefall and the others could slaughter them in a moment.

They wouldn't even need to launch an attack. They could simply draw upon the essence of the Myriad Dragons Lair to launch internal attacks on them, or even eject them from the lair's greyspace.

In other words, they were invincible.

It was similar to how, not so long ago, Yang Qi and the Second Devil General could look into the Invincible Dynasty but not enter it. Nor could they kill even a minor official once inside.

The rumble of big bang explosions could be heard from the mountain peak as preheaven treasures came into being, and more continents rose up, which resulted in more destiny flowing forth.

The leaders from the Kingdom of Roland were shaking in their boots.

"Since you've come with your letter of state," Jadefall said, "we won't beat around the bush. Hand over your lands and people, and become citizens of the Sage Monarch Dragon Kingdom. Everyone here is equal. Sage monarch magistrates! Third Devil General!"

RUMBLE!

Everything trembled as a massive devil-dragon appeared, floating in the sky around the mountain peak. It was none other than the Third Devil General, flanked by a million sage monarch magistrates. "I'll take that letter of state. And I'll now lead my officials to take over your kingdom!"

The leaders from the Kingdom of Roland were so terrified by the Third Devil General that they couldn't resist at all.

With that, the Third Devil General led a huge army in the direction of the Kingdom of Roland. The Kingdom of Roland was roughly the same size as the Blood-Diamond Dragon Kingdom. However, with a million sage monarch magistrates, and the Third Devil General there to take charge, no one dared to act defiantly. Soon after, the destiny of the place was flowing into the net of law of the Sage Monarch Dragon Kingdom.

The leaders of the Kingdom of Roland had hoped to gain some advantages in the negotiations, and maybe even make the whole situation profitable for them. Sadly, their calculations were all pointless. They couldn't fight the Third Devil General, and in the end, they became servants.

Under the direction of the general and the magistrates, all the people of the Kingdom of Roland were escorted into the minor god world.

Yang Qi looked over at the previous location of the nation, and a huge explosion covered the land, which was then covered by a stream of primal-chaos paleo-energy. Moments later, another minor god world was born.

The people of the Kingdom of Roland felt like they had just narrowly escaped a major disaster, and were happy to be alive.

It was a psychological trick on the part of Yang Qi.

As soon as the kingdom joined him, he detonated their lands and created a minor god world, ensuring the citizens knew that they owed their life to him. And from now on, the Sage Monarch Dragon Kingdom would be their homeland.