Sage Monarch

Dugu Ruxia, a confucian expert, master of the ruling of nations, blessed with immense destiny, had been dragged into the Myriad Dragons Lair by Yang Qi.

As soon as he was out in the open, a tremor passed through him, and the golden light that had been binding him shattered. Unexpectedly, the God Legion Seal wasn't able to subjugate him. Yang Qi couldn't help but admire the man's noble and righteous soul.

His soul was so strong that it seemed impermeable, and held strong even against several of Yang Qi's attempted incursions.

Yang Qi could kill him, but subjugating him was going to be much more difficult.

"This is the Myriad Dragons Lair?" Dugu Ruxia murmured, looking around. He didn't seem fazed by the attack, and instead just smoothed out his clothing, then looked at Yang Qi and nodded as if in greeting.

"You've got some icy nerves there," Yang Qi said. "Don't you know that once you get pulled into the Myriad Dragons Lair, you can never escape?"

"Perhaps I'm going to die, but I won't make it easy," Dugu Ruxia replied. "I almost can't believe you exist. You command the God Legion Seal, and you're already unleashing a reign of carnage. I guess another arrogant and conceited Sovereign Lord is on the rise."

"Strong words. Don't you see what I've already accomplished? Look, I'm not going to force you into anything. I know that you confucians don't fear death. However, when it comes to the ruling of nations, can you really top me? You've seen how well I run my Dragonfolk kingdom, right? And you know what I accomplished with the Spritefolk. So what do you say?"

Yang Qi had shifted to more psychological tactics.

He knew that he could subjugate Dugu Ruxia if he wanted to, but it would take a very long time, probably months or years. And he didn't have that kind of time.

Waving his hand, he summoned an image of the extremely orderly affairs of the Dragonfolk and Spritefolk.

When an empire grew big enough, it would eventually stop providing destiny, and would instead absorb it from below. The result was that the empire would eventually crumble. However, that wouldn't happen with the Spritefolk or Dragonfolk.

Seeing it, Dugu Ruxia's expression flickered. "That's an unprecedented achievement in the ruling of nations. Incredible. Where did you get those thralls? Why are they so good at governing? They're far better than ordinary government officials, and they don't require any destiny."

"They're my sage monarch magistrates. Not only do they constantly replicate themselves, but they also have immense fighting prowess. And yes, they're incredible at governing nations. I infused them with the success and failures of countless civilizations throughout history. They're even superior to the ancient angels, although they don't match up in number. But they'll continue growing. Look, see how I've turned the dragons into actual people? Not even you confucians can do anything like that. Before long, all of the devils in the god world will exist in a state of order. Can you imagine that?"

Dugu Ruxia's eyes widened with shock. The power of the Myriad Dragons Lair was enough to shake the House of the Invincible, much less when it was combined with that of the Spritefolk. And the force was increasing on a daily basis.

The House of the Invincible would have to pay a heavy price to win a victory in open conflict. And it was entirely likely that they would suffer so much damage they would slip to the level of a second-tier sect, then be overtaken by the House of the Chiliocosm or the Central Dynasty.

"What do you think? I already have agents in the House of the Chiliocosm and the Central Dynasty, all of them ready to take action whenever I say. And I've already established a fourth major dynasty. Your Invincible Dynasty has a lot of resources, but you don't use them effectively. Why not let me run things? It won't be long before you completely surpass the other two dynasties."

"I have to admit you're right," Dugu Ruxia replied. "Your way of ruling leads to a huge influx in destiny, and your sage monarch magistrate are simply terrifying. They're almost like machines. Unfortunately, the Invincible Dynasty is an independent entity, and you're an outsider. I know that you're telling me all of this to shake my confidence. Unfortunately, it won't work. I'm not shaken at all. You can kill me, but you'll never subjugate me. We have an orthodoxy that outsiders can't interfere with, and we confucians are tasked with maintaining its honor and dignity."

"Don't you believe in the old maxims? A just cause enjoys abundant support? The lands belong to the virtuous? Don't tell me you think my actions aren't virtuous. I'm not going around killing anyone, and I'm skilled at governing. If I controlled the Invincible Dynasty, everyone would live in peace and prosperity. Furthermore, no outside force could ever invade successfully. Doesn't that meet your standards?" Yang Qi was starting to get impatient.

"Not, it's not enough," Dugu Ruxia said. "You're not from the orthodoxy. You're an outsider."

"I'm not from the orthodoxy?" Yang Qi pursed his lips and decided to deliver a bombshell. "Let me tell you the truth. There's no one more orthodox than me in the entire House of the Invincible. My Master is the Invincible Dugu. In the impure lands, his divine will founded a group called the Invincible Society, and I was his eighteenth apprentice."

"What did you just say?" Dugu Ruxia said, visibly stunned. "That's impossible. Our patriarch fell in primeval times and left behind nothing but a corpse, which is buried in the deepest crypts of the House of the Invincible. Although we long to resurrect him, everyone knows it will never happen." All of a sudden he leveled an accusatory finger at Yang Qi. "How dare you try pulling a dirty trick like this!"

"Hmph! You think I'm trying to pull some trick?" Yang Qi quickly used his divine will to recreate an image of the Invincible Dugu from the impure lands. "Take a look for yourself."

Dugu Ruxia shivered as the memory was transferred into his mind, and he was able to see the Invincible Dugu.

"That's Patriarch Invincible! I've offered worship to his image, and it looks exactly like the face from your memories! Don't tell me Patriarch Invincible might be able to live again! But where did his divine will projection go? Why did he take you as an apprentice? And what was he doing in the impure lands?

"Hmph! What makes you think you could understand all the complicated factors that play into it? Patriarch Invincible gathered a group of apprentices in the impure lands, and once he was done with his work there, he vanished. Presumably, he's waiting for me to come rescue him. It touches on karmic relationships and the magical laws of fate. Surely you're aware of how such things work. In any case, do you really dare to defy the master plan of your own patriarch?"

"Never! I would never!" By this point, Dugu Ruxia was unable to keep his composure.

Yang Qi waved his hand, and a golden halo of light descended onto Dugu Ruxia, which entered his mind and subjugated him before he realized what was happening. He dropped to his knees.

"You... you subjugated me!" he said, his face a mask of despair.

"Yes, I did. And now you know that this is no trick. I really am the apprentice of Patriarch Invincible. He expended immense effort to send some divine will into the lower worlds to find me. And now I have to rescue him. As someone who is loyal to him, you should be doing everything possible to figure out a way to save him. And the truth is that while the House of the Invincible has incredible destiny, it's not very pure. If I command this place, and use my sage monarch magistrate to govern it, the destiny will become incredibly pure, making it ten times as strong as before. And that's how the patriarch can be resurrected. In some ways, you being subjugated by me will help you fulfill your obligations of duty."

Although Yang Qi was being glib, he was also telling the truth. In his heart, Dugu Ruxia realized that.

"Alright, let's go back. I had no idea subjugating a confucian with a psychic scale of ten billion would be so difficult. It took some work to find the weakness in your soul. It seems the techniques of righteousness that you confucians cultivate really bear more analysis."

Yang Qi opened a rift, and they stepped back into Dugu Ruxia's study in the House of the Invincible. The destiny that belonged to Dugu Ruxia split off into Yang Qi, and he could immediately tell how superior it was to that of the viceroys. It was a matter of substructure, much the same way that mud could be compared to gold. Even a huge amount of mud could never be worth the same as even a little bit of gold.

"You really are an important person in the sect, aren't you? I don't think I'll waste any more time subjugating more confucians. Who do you think I should target next?"

"The other two factions in the sect are the army and the Palace of Destiny. Of course, there's also the emperor, and the imperial clan, of whom Dugu Yunkong is a member. They get a lot of destiny. However, tangling with them would be dangerous. I suggest you start with the army."

"Good idea. I'm sure their leaders will have some good secrets to share with me. I'll start with them."