Sage Monarch

"If that's what you want, fine." Yun Hailan didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated by Young Lady Starlight. In fact, she was even willing to get in a fight with her right there in the Minorcosm World.

Instead of making a move, Young Lady Starlight stared intently at Yun Hailan and said, "What makes you think you're on the same level as me? Unless I'm mistaken, your cultivation base is only in the third Legendary transformation. You're not even as advanced as Yang Qi; he already reached the fourth transformation. In terms of strength, you're far beneath me. I could kill you with my pinky finger."

Yun Hailan's face remained expressionless. "You can say whatever you want. That doesn't make it true. If you want to know how strong I actually am, you'll have to fight me. Not even Yang Qi could do anything to me. The only thing he has going for him is his backer. Besides, he's bedeviled, so before long, he's going to start acting like the monster he is. Everyone under heaven already despises him, so when the time comes, the Crown Prince will rid the world of devils and demons by killing him. He'll also re-seal Ghost Emperor Yama, and thus, save the lives of everyone in the Rich-Lush Continent."

Young Lady Starlight snorted coldly. "Yang Qi's a villain, and the Crown Prince is worse of a villain. But you're more ambitious than either of them. First, you used Yang Qi, now you're using the Crown Prince. You know, if you keep asking tigers for their skin, the tigers will eventually eat you."

"Yang Qi's a dead tiger. I used him before, and now, I'll use his hatred against him. It actually doesn't matter whether he wins, or the Crown Prince. Either way, I'll come out on top as the fisherman usually does when the clam and the sandpiper quarrel. My position as the chancellor of the Demi-Immortal Institute is secure no matter what happens."

"Maybe the Crown Prince will become the chancellor, but it won't be as simple of a thing for you to succeed him. Mark my words, you might as well forget about it. In fact, I think I'll teach you a lesson right now that you won't soon forget!" Without any warning, Young Lady Starlight attacked, sending a streak of starlight directly toward Yun Hailan.

Of course, Young Lady Starlight was a Never-Dying Legendary, whereas Yun Hailan had only just recently reached the Legendary level. Operation Azure Heavens had enabled her to achieve several breakthroughs in a row, but she had eventually petered out at the third Legendary transformation. Although she could pierce through space, she was still vastly below Young Lady Starlight, and theoretically, should have been beaten in a single move.

However, even as Young Lady Starlight attacked, Yun Hailan simply stood there motionless, as though simply waiting to be killed.

Then, when the starlight blade was only about nine meters away from her, just when it seemed like she was about to die, a mysterious power erupted from within her.

RUUUUUMBLE!

An enormous blue dragon of true energy shot out of her, with claws like mountains, and might like that of a sage. In the blink of an eye, it formed a personal domain around Yun Hailan, like a vast blue sea that could drown the universe itself.

RIIIIP!

A dragon claw grabbed the sword of starlight, shattering it into powder. And then, the claw proceeded forward, tearing through Young Lady Starlight's special Starlight Domain.

POP!

Young Lady Starlight coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward. "That's not your power, Yun Hailan! What is it?"

"Yang Qi has external power inside him, but that's because he's been possessed and taken over by a devil. But I'm different. I have the power of dragons in me. A dragon seal. You haven't offended me, you've offended a dragon! A primeval divine dragon! Maybe I could forgive you, but the dragon won't. Get on your knees immediately."

Yun Hailan strode forward, and didn't need to do a single thing to draw on the power within her. The enormous dragon swirled about in the Minorcosm World, disturbing winds and clouds alike, almost as if it were a Great Sage.

"That's enough!" a voice called. It was the chancellor, and as soon as he appeared in the open, the primeval dragon was shoved back into Yun Hailan. "You communicated with an immortal plane, a world of dragons, didn't you? And the will of some ancient dragon picked you to be its representative. Am I right? You have the Dragon Might Seal, and anyone who attacks you, attacks it."

Yun Hailan backed up a bit, but she still looked confident. "You grace us with your presence, Chancellor. Sorry for any impropriety; your daughter and I were simply giving each other some fighting tips. Sir, why might you have interfered?"

"I didn't interfere, you won," the chancellor said. "The Dragon Might Seal is equivalent to a Great Sage. Furthermore, that dragon might has been bolstered by some other mysterious power, allowing you to create a boundless sea-based personal domain. It's the power of a dragon in the sea, isn't it? If I'm not mistaken, you also have the sealing mark of a sea king in you as well, also from an immortal plane. So, the Crown Prince wants to use your blood to carry out Operation Azure Heavens. With his help, you reached two higher planes, and acquired the approval of two ancient immortal-spirits. With their blessing in the form of the sealing marks, the two of you have become their representatives in this lower plane. You're missionaries now, aren't you? Well, that may be the ticket to a quick boost in power right now, but you'll pay the price later on. You've lost your own will, and can easily be forced into disciplehood by immortals from those higher planes."

"That's none of your concern, chancellor. The Crown Prince already knows how to overcome any downsides. He's already defied heaven by cultivating a secret magic called the Immortal-Slayer's Heart-Chant."

"What? The Immortal-Slayer's Heart-Chant?" The chancellor shivered. "That's a mysterious secret magic from the most ancient of planes. It's said to be completely heaven-defying, something the host of immortals used to fight against the legion of gods. It's self-destructive, and is designed to destroy great daos. Don't tell me that such a technique actually exists in this heaven and earth?"

"It does. Of course, I can't use it, Chancellor, so don't even ask me to show it to you. After establishing communication with two immortal planes, the Crown Prince acquired the sealing mark, and then used the chant to excise the immortal motes from the sealing marks. Now, they contain only pure power, and aren't dangerous to me at all. Of course, it's not my power, more like a special tool to use whenever I wish. I'm still working on advancing my own cultivation base."

"So you and the Crown Prince plan to take out Yang Qi together?" the chancellor asked. "You've been a follower of the Crown Prince for a while now, but to what end? Why? Now that you've returned, you must have come as a representative of him to see me, correct?"

Eyes glittering, she said, "Correct. The Crown Prince is very dissatisfied with you. You sided with Yang Qi, and in the most critical moment of battle, you gave him the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, all for the sake of maintaining 'balance' in the Rich-Lush Continent. But the Crown Prince doesn't want balance. He wants to unite the continent under his rule."

"Yang Qi did that on his own," the chancellor replied. "It had nothing to do with favoritism on my part. Furthermore, he has the backing of someone similar to the two of you, making him a representative of an immortal-spirit from a higher plane. He also saved the entire continent, of which I'm sure you're aware. The truth is that I have been chafing under his oppression. No matter how I tried to hold him back, he continued to achieve breakthrough after breakthrough. Considering all that, the Crown Prince thinks that I've acted unfairly? Well, in that case, you two can go handle him yourself. If it weren't for my promise to his mother, I wouldn't have done what I did throughout the years. After everything, he acts like he never had any parent here."

"The Crown Prince is a god from heaven descended into the mortal world," Yun Hailan said. "He's paramount, and above all. Of course he has no parents. In the end, it doesn't matter. For now, keep things going the way they are. After the Crown Prince kills Yang Qi, then you'll hold a formal ceremony announcing to all creation that you're handing over the position of chancellor to him."

"You two really think you can kill Yang Qi?" the chancellor said, his brow furrowed. "If I were you, I'd suggest to the Crown Prince to be very careful."

"He'll be fine. He's long since planned everything out. He knows that Yang Qi has backing from a higher plane. That's why he enacted Operation Azure Heavens, to deal with that very circumstance. Once the Crown Prince uses the Immortal-Slayer's Heart-Chant, he can sever Yang Qi's connection to that higher plane, at which time he will fully suffer the consequences of all his misdeeds. The Crown Prince will cut him down to size, until he's like nothing more than a helpless child. At that point, we'll see if Yang Qi qualifies to act arrogant and domineering."

Yun Hailan visibly shivered with excitement as she visualized Yang Qi as weak and helpless as an infant.

"Fine then. Go and do as you wish." The chancellor waved his sleeve, disappearing along with his daughter.

Yun Hailan smiled coldly.

**

"Father," Young Lady Starlight said, "Yun Hailan has become puffed up with pride very quickly. And she's ruthlessly ambitious. Why didn't you punish her?"

"It doesn't matter. Let the younger generation squabble and fight and scheme and plot. The Demi-Immortal Institute is going to have to go through a lot more chaos before things finally settle down." Although the chancellor's words were very telling, he actually had no idea how things were going to turn out.

**

'Well, now that I've seen Chancellor Demi-Immortal,' Yun Hailan thought, 'I guess I'll head to the Sea God Institute to see the chancellor there. That's where I started out before I was sent as a mole to this institute. Now, there's no need for all the subterfuge. If the Sea God Institute insists on being stubborn, and refuses to comply with my instructions, then when the Crown Prince returns, he'll just put them next on the list to wipe out after Yang Qi. They're not important anyway. They think the Crown Prince is an ordinary Great Sage? How could they ever have imagined how terrifying he would become? There's no way Yang Qi will escape this time.'

Not bothering to meet with the prime elders after all, Yun Hailan blurred into motion toward the Sea God Institute.

**

Far away, the Superheaven Badlands hung in the midst of the chaos of space-time, surrounded by a seemingly endless tempest of demon energy. There was demon fire, demon-dragons, demon-gods, demon-devils, and more, all battering the location, as if to reduce it to rubble.

However, in the depths of the place, an energy stirred that was like that of a god-spirit, or a greater immortal, preventing the harsh winds from entering. And in the middle of it all, was an enormous cocoon formed of true energy, inside of which was the Crown Prince. Above his head were various spatial nexuses, out of which poured the energy of immortal-spirits.

Power from high-level planes coursed into him without cease.