Sage Monarch

Yang Qi was feeling particularly pleased, more so than ever.

The first reason was because the Crown Prince was now trapped in the Nine-Heavens Ten-Earths Demon-Devil-Horde World-Ending Grand Spell Formation. The second was because he now had the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. Not even the chancellor could take that treasure away from him now. It was really a wonderful feeling.

That said, he was still riveted by the show of force the Crown Prince was putting on.

Even surrounded by hordes of demons and devils, he continued to fight on as if he didn't know the meaning of the word exhaustion. Every attack of his was strong enough to level mountains, making it obvious to Yang Qi that not even a hundred of himself combined could possibly be a match, not even if all hundred versions had a Grand Emperor's Pagoda.

After all, the pagoda was a magical treasure that required true energy to control. And right now, Yang Qi could only do so for a short moment.

He hadn't yet fully grasped the quintessence of the pagoda, and needed more time studying it to gain more enlightenment. In its depths, the quintessence-blood and vital energy of a Never-Dying asura still waited to be converted into power by the pagoda. Once that power was tapped into and released, it could sustain the cultivation of countless energy artists.

Yang Qi wasn't sure exactly how to do that yet, but it was only a matter of time before he figured it out.

For now, he could use it to pierce through the air, and harvest some of the power of the universe. In that respect, it made the Pearl of the Thousand Illusions World and the Gate of the Great Void seem like little more than toys. In antiquity, those two items had been glorious treasures among treasures. However, the versions that Yun Hailan had were so far removed from the original versions that they were virtually counterfeits, and were so weak it was pathetic.

In contrast, the Grand Emperor's Pagoda had actually been created by Grand Emperor Rich-Lush himself. Therefore, when it was used in the Rich-Lush Continent, it would provide profound benefits. In the future, Yang Qi could allow his sworn siblings and family to practice their cultivation in it, and thus absorb the spirit energy of the continent much more quickly than normal.

If the pagoda were to be placed in Yanhaven, the city would essentially become invulnerable to all attacks. Not even Legendaries would be a threat to it.

Even more important, if Yang Qi reached the Legendary level, the powers of the pagoda that he could unleash would be even more pronounced, and he could slaughter even more powerful opponents.

Now that the Crown Prince had the legacy of Grand Emperor Rich-Lush, he would be virtually invincible in the Rich-Lush Continent. However, the pagoda would definitely be an equalizer. After all, it would provide similar blessings from the essence of the continent itself.

Streams of power flowed through Yang Qi with every breath he took.

As a Nonary Lifeseizer, he could inherently absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth much more quickly to replenish his true energy. Furthermore, his godly-class energy art only continued to grow more powerful as he increased in cultivation level. In fact, if he performed breathing exercises in a given area, he could absorb so much spirit energy that it would make it impossible for any other cultivators within hundreds of kilometers of him to practice their own cultivation. Even the plants in that area would find it impossible to grow.

It didn't take long for him to restore his true energy levels to normal.

Then, he flew out of the pagoda and into the sea of clouds. As he did, the Grand Emperor's Pagoda shrank down until it was the size of a grain of rice, and then flew into his sea of energy, and the Hellfire Crucible. There, Yang Qi would be able to study it more closely and learn more of its functions.

It took a huge amount of true energy to send the pagoda flying about. Furthermore, because the magical laws of space were volatile, and the pagoda was somewhat unwieldy, there was always the risk that spatial tempests could snatch it and throw it into another aspect of space-time, never to return. If that happened, it would be a big disaster.

Thankfully, the pagoda had the miraculous ability to change sizes. It could become so miniscule it was almost impossible to see, or as large and imposing as a mountain. It was also capable of holding almost anything.

As Yang Qi hovered cross-legged in the clouds, getting familiar with the pagoda, the sounds of explosive battle could still be heard in the Heavendawn Quarry. At one point, Yang Qi sent some true energy over to observe the fighting, and saw that although the Crown Prince was still holding his own, he was slowly being pushed toward the Sura Devil-Eye.

That devil-eye was the center of the enormous Demon Sage formation, and it exerted a gravitational force that would pull nearby enemies toward it, where it would crush and melt them.

If nothing happened to stop the process, the Crown Prince would eventually be dragged into the same location the asura had been in, where he would be bound up and slowly melted, refined for Young Master Shroud-Heaven to use to break into the Great Sage level.

With each moment that ticked by, Yang Qi's mood improved; he very much wanted to see the Crown Prince dead.

Young Master Shroud-Heaven might be a demon-devil, but the Crown Prince was the epitome of arrogance and egotism. He was also completely unreasonable, and would kill anyone he wanted. In some respects, he was more of a demon-devil than actual demon-devils. Therefore, if he won this fight, it was a foregone conclusion that he would carry out a reign of terror in the Rich-Lush Continent.

As such, Yang Qi was completely focused on the battle, and would remain so until he saw what fate the Crown Prince met.

At a certain point in the fighting, mad cackling erupted from Young Master Shroud-Heaven, and his monster subordinates all started to go crazy.

In fact, the subordinates were now openly taunting the Crown Prince.

"You'll end up buried here today, Crown Prince! This spell formation was created by a Great Sage of the Demonfolk in ancient times. The only path available to you now leads to death!"

"Hey Crown Prince, how come you're always so arrogant? Now look at you! You're like a stray dog! Why don't you just kowtow to our Young Master Shroud-Heaven? If you don't, you'll definitely die here today."

"That's right. Drop to your knees, Crown Prince. Kowtow! And you know what, you should probably change your name. Instead of Crown Prince, you should be the Clown Prince!"

"Clown Prince? No, that's too nice. How about he change his name to Crown Twit? Or Crown Bitch? Or wait, how about Crown Dipshit?"

"Just call him Clown Slave and make him grovel in front of us every day."

For a proud and arrogant person like the Crown Prince to hear such insults pushed him into nearly indescribable levels of rage.

"You hellions think you can get me to slip up by pissing me off? I think not." Suddenly, he seemed to grow completely calm as a huge domain sprang up around him, completely negating any of the attacks against him.

"Demi-Immortal Sage Magic! Saintly-class energy art! Holy Sage Domain!"

Not only did the domain protect him from attacks, it caused his power levels to rise. Blood energy surged within him, emerging from the top of his head to form a bloody mist filled with dragons, tigers, birds, and turtles.

Eyes blazing with killing intent, he looked at Young Master Shroud-Heaven and said, "You think I can't handle you? As far as I'm concerned, this little spell formation of yours is nothing more than a joke. I didn't want to resort to my domain, as my Demi-Immortal Sage Magic isn't yet complete, but since you give me no choice, I guess I'll do just that."

"Demi-Immortal Sage Magic!?" Young Master Shroud-Heaven said, shocked. "I can't believe the chancellor of your institute actually gave that energy art to you. That's the most secret technique of the chancellors, which is supposed to be available only to them! Why did he give it to you? Nine Ultimate Paragons! Demon Sage Extermination!"

Without any further hesitation, Young Master Shroud-Heaven drew on his trump card to attack the Crown Prince.

RUMBLE!

All of a sudden, immense power surged out of the Sura Devil-Eye.

Young Master Shroud-Heaven blurred into motion, taking up a position within the devil-eye itself. Even as the ground shook violently, numerous freakish monsters in the mine district began to rush toward him and gather in his vicinity.

Ten breaths of time passed, and then he shot back out of the Sura Devil-Eye.

Shockingly, he now looked completely different from before. He was taller and burlier, and shone brightly, as though his skin were now bronze. It was as if he were the most ultimate and perfect incarnation of the Demonfolk.

It was almost as if he had been possessed by some Demonfolk Great Sage from the distant past. Even his aura had transformed, and his eyes were now blank, and seemingly filled with the primal-chaos of the universe itself.

"Your Demi-Immortal Sage Magic might be powerful, Crown Prince, but you won't escape death! I've become one with this Demon Sage spell formation. With this power, I can kill gods! Prepare to die!"

He thrust out his spear, causing numerous projections to spring up around him, gigantic daemons from ancient times. It was almost as if the souls of demons were waking up, ripping apart space-time as they attacked.

It was a consummate, deadly spear move that could seemingly slay gods.

The Crown Prince simply stood there, his dual-crescent-bladed halberd trembling as he built up his power. In the last possible moment, he slashed his weapon out, leaving behind a trail of dazzling light.

The arc of his weapon seemed to conform to a great dao, like a meteor streaking through the night, causing light and warmth to spread through the universe. This was also a consummate move.

Looking at it, Yang Qi felt as though he could sense its ability to control life itself.

'Not good!' he thought, shocked at the power that the Crown Prince was capable of unleashing. However, he was a mere spectator now, and could do nothing to interfere or influence the fight.

The bright beam of light from the Crown Prince slammed into the spear, and an explosion of blinding radiance resulted. Young Master Shroud-Heaven was sliced clean in half by the halberd, and yet, his spear stabbed directly into the Crown Prince's head.

The Crown Prince's vital energy immediately began to drain out, and yet, he had created the opening he needed. Even as the light continued to spread out, he vanished without a trace.

Yang Qi gritted his teeth in frustration. 'He escaped! Injured, but alive!'

1. These insults wouldn't come across if they were translated directly. They all involve slight bits of wordplay on the term Crown Prince, all of which come across as very rude and insulting, and to some extent, vulgar. Some are funnier than others. I think my versions carry the same "feeling" as the Chinese.