Sage Monarch

Patriarch Frost-Drake knew that things had long since reached the point where resisting Yang Qi was pointless. He was simply too weak for that.

He had lost the sword energy of the Ravaging Dual Sword Sect that he had spent decades upon decades cultivating, and was now stuck at Nonary Lifeseizing, with no hope of becoming a Legendary. Back when Yang Qi had been weaker, he had nursed thoughts of revenge. But now, with Yang Qi a Legendary, and in possession of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, any such thoughts were long gone.

He now thoroughly acknowledged allegiance to Yang Qi, and had no thoughts of crossing him.

In fact, he actually hoped that after Yang Qi grew more powerful, he would offer cultivation help.

Clasping hands respectfully, he said, "Milord, may I ask why you called upon me today? Your humble servant will go through hell and high water to carry out any task you assign me."

"I actually do have an important assignment for you. Who's in charge of your Shroud-Heaven Alliance at the moment? Is Young Master Shroud-Heaven himself around?"

"What? You want to talk to the person in charge of the alliance?" Patriarch Frost-Drake was visibly taken aback. "Young Master Shroud-Heaven already headed back to the Hanging Mountain. He appointed Old Man Superdestruction to run the alliance in his absence, who started out as a deep-sea leviathan, and is strong enough to smash holes into the seafloor. He's already in the fifth Legendary transformation, making him a Yin-Yang Legendary. In fact, he's just on the verge of reaching the sixth transformation. Don't tell me you want to arrange a meeting with him?"

"Yes, I do," Yang Qi replied, nodding. "I have some business to discuss with him."

"What sort of business? Milord, working with a person like Old Man Superdestruction would be very dangerous. He'll kill you without blinking an eye. Young Master Shroud-Heaven gave him an imperial-class energy art, the Superdestruction Heart Sutra. The wretch energy that surrounds him is intense to say the least."

"I want to make a deal with him that will benefit both of us," Yang Qi continued, seemingly unfazed by what Patriarch Frost-Drake had just said. "If he's only in the fifth transformation, then he's no threat to me. Just go tell this Old Man Superdestruction that I know where the Crown Prince is hiding. If your Young Master Shroud-Heaven wants to kill him, they need his location, right? Assuming your alliance is interested in information like that, they can come find me at the Sun Moon Institute."

"What?" Patriarch Frost-Drake blurted in shock. "Milord, you know the secret hiding place of the Crown Prince? All of the demon-devils in the Shroud-Heaven Alliance are searching for that very location. In fact, Young Master Shroud-Heaven announced that whoever finds his hiding place will be given a hundred imperial-grade spirit stones and three sovereign-grade spirit stones!"

'Imperial-grade spirit stones?' Yang Qi thought. 'Sovereign-grade spirit stones?' The best spirit stones he had seen up to this point in his life were royal-grade. And he had used all of them when breaking into the Legendary level.

Imperial-grade spirit stones were a hundred times as effective as the royal-grade. They contained shocking levels of spirit energy, and could help just about anyone break into the Legendary level.

With spirit stones like that, it was no wonder Demonfolk like Young Master Shroud-Heaven could progress so quickly in their cultivation.

"Head back and pass the information along. If Young Master Shroud-Heaven is interested in making a deal, then I'll reward you. Remember, I'll be at the Sun Moon Institute."

With that, he vanished into thin air.

His next destination was in the south: the Sun Moon Institute.

This possible deal with the Shroud-Heaven Alliance was of utmost importance, but it was definitely like asking a tiger for its skin. Even if they really wanted the information, they might not necessarily pay the price Yang Qi wanted. And thus, he needed to have someone to back him up.

The best protectors he had right now were his sworn brothers and sisters. Right now, Yang Qi was thinking of Hua Fengfeng's father, who was a grand elder in the Sun Moon Institute, Hua Tianxiong. According to the rumors, he was in the ninth Legendary transformation, making him a Never-Dying Legendary.

Upon sending a message to Hua Fengfeng, she immediately replied and said that he should come to the Sun Moon Institute.

He was now capable of incredible speed, such that it hardly took any time at all to reach a sprawling plane in the south, which was almost entirely filled by a bustling city. In addition to numerous energy arts cultivators, there were also plenty of common people in the area.

High in the sky in the middle of the plane was a burning sun and a shining moon. And directly beneath them were a vast array of temples and institutes of learning. The burning sun and the bright moon were not real, but rather the products of an enormous spell formation.

This was the Sun Moon Institute.

"Welcome, Little Bro Qi!" Hua Fengfeng said. Of all of his sworn brothers and sisters, only Flame Clearspring was stronger than Hua Fengfeng.

"Did my message just now make sense?" Yang Qi asked.

"Yes. It's a big matter. Who could have ever guessed that you would figure out where the Crown Prince was hiding? My father is in seclusion, but I sent him a message, and he wants to see you immediately." All of a sudden, Hua Fengfeng's phoenix-like eyes flickered with surprise. "Little Bro Qi, your aura! Did you reach the Legendary level?"

"I did," Yang Qi replied with a nod. "I'm in the Blood-Form Transformation now. However, it won't be long before I advance to the Spirit-Soul Transformation. My control over the Grand Emperor's Pagoda has reached the point of perfection. Not even someone in the fifth Legendary transformation could possibly kill me."

If he could form his own personal domain, then even without the additional power of the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, he wouldn't need to worry about experts in the fifth transformation.

"You're already a Legendary. Amazing. Before, Father thought that you couldn't possibly stand up to the Crown Prince. But now, I can only imagine how shocked he'll be to see you." All of a sudden Hua Fengfeng seemed to be in very high spirits. It was almost as if she were filled with pride because of being able to take her man to meet her father.

Yang Qi didn't notice the change in her. He simply nodded as she led the way into the Sun Moon Institute.

The Sun Moon Institute was a very impressive place. The opposing and complementary powers of the sun and the moon created the perfect taiji energy flow whose mere presence could relax the spirit and improve longevity.

In Yang Qi's opinion, the Demi-Immortal Institute felt ancient and old, whereas the Sun Moon Institute felt new and energetic.

'I wonder what the True Dragon Institute is like?' he thought.

Eventually, they were in the depths of the Sun Moon Institute, where an enormous gate rose up from within the endless mountains. In this regard, it was very similar to the layout of the Demi-Immortal Institute.

Thanks to the six months of cultivation in the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, Hua Fengfeng was now a Nonary Lifeseizer, and was close to becoming a Legendary. As such, she was more important than ever in the Sun Moon Institute, so much so that no one even stopped to ask her why she was bringing an outsider here.

"Little Bro Qi, this is one of the most important and mysterious locations in the Sun Moon Institute. It's called the Minorbrilliance World, and is very similar to your Minorcosm World. Since you're not a student of the Sun Moon Institute, you aren't permitted to enter, so father will see you on a mountain outside of it."

Although Yang Qi couldn't enter the Minorbrilliance World, it was still telling that he was being allowed to come to the mountains where the conclave students resided.

Soon, they arrived at one particular mountain that resembled a scarlet phoenix flying toward the sun, or a vermillion bird nodding its head. This mountain could gather the spirit energy of heaven and earth, and the quintessence of the sun and moon. It was truly a perfect location in terms of feng shui.

This was obviously where Hua Fengfeng practiced her cultivation. However, there was currently a man standing on the peak of the mountain, clad in a radiant garment, his hands clasped behind his back. At first, he looked like a statue, but when he noticed Yang Qi and Hua Fengfeng approaching, he beckoned at them, which caused Yang Qi to feel as though the entire world was spinning.

A moment later, he landed on the mountain in front of the man.

"Little Bro Qi, this is my father," Hua Fengfeng said.

"Greetings, Uncle," Yang Qi said respectfully, offering a formal salute.

"Yang Qi?" The man's radiant robe made him seem like a god from heaven. And yet, it was impossible for him to prevent the surprise from showing in his tone of voice. "You're Yang Qi? And you're already in the Legendary level?"

"I just got lucky," Yang Qi replied, marveling at how this man seemed to glow like both the sun and the moon together. His aura didn't seem any weaker than the Crown Prince's, to the point where he seemed like someone who could never die.

This, of course, was Hua Fengfeng's father, Hua Tianxiong.

At the moment, Hua Tianxiong was profoundly shocked. He knew that his daughter had taken on a sworn brother who had a beef with the Crown Prince, and he had initially disapproved of it, but after hearing that Yang Qi had acquired the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, he began to change his mind. And now, having met Yang Qi in person, and finding out that he was a Legendary, he realized that everything was different from what he had assumed.

Legendaries were people with unlimited potential.

In the institutes, they were holy neophytes, and were the ones who the chancellors would groom to be their successors. It was only natural that Yang Qi becoming a Legendary meant that people would view him differently.

Hua Tianxiong himself was in the ninth Legendary transformation, far more powerful than Yang Qi. However, to him, anyone that was a Legendary was worth talking to with respect.

1. As I mentioned quite a few chapters ago, the word I'm translating as leviathan literally means "gigantic whale".

2. Quick reminder that the last two characters in Hua Fengfeng's name mean "phoenix".

3. Yang Qi uses the same version of "uncle" that he used when addressing Flame Clearspring's father.