Sage Monarch

The Crown Prince didn't care about the hundred-day time limit the chancellor had set.

The first thing he wanted to do now that he was back was kill Yang Qi.

He was the type of person who would defy all laws and principles, break any and all rules. He wouldn't allow anyone to tell him what to do. If he wanted to thrash someone, he would thrash them. If he wanted to kill them, he would kill them. Anyone who he didn't like would end up dead. He was aggressive and domineering no matter what he did.

He was the Crown Prince, and at his very core, he was wildly arrogant, and incredibly powerful. He was a leader who intended to conquer the world.

More than two months had already passed, which meant that there were well over twenty days until the deadline. But that didn't matter.

Raising her voice, Yun Hailan said, "Yang Qi never qualified to make a move against the great Crown Prince. And yet, he has been bedeviled by Ghost Emperor Yama. Furthermore, he has apparently begun to cultivate devil arts, corrupting the sage spirits of the Planar Pearl, and giving the false impression that he saved the entire plane. The Crown Prince's duty is to rid the world of devils and demons, and thus he will execute Yang Qi for the radical crimes he has committed. It has nothing to do with any supposed duel proclaimed by Chancellor Demi-Immortal.

"Duel? Does that weakling Yang Qi really qualify to duel with the Crown Prince? That's a joke if I've ever heard one. He's a mere Legendary, and the Crown Prince is a Great Sage. From ancient times until now, has there ever been a Legendary who could fight a Great Sage?"

"That's correct," the Crown Prince said. "I have a duty to rid the world of devils and demons. And to talk of a duel is really ridiculous." The Crown Prince clearly approved of Yun Hailan's assessment. There was no way he would agree to a duel; duels implied a certain equality of position and strength. But the Crown Prince felt himself far above Yang Qi, and in fact, looked down on him in every sense of the word. His plan was simply to crush him like the ant he was.

And the way to do that was with an army.

"Let's go, Crown Prince, Yanhaven awaits." Yun Hailan simply couldn't wait to see the look of terror on Yang Qi's face before he died. "Oh, do you know about Sage Monarch City, in the Blackcorpse Mountains? After stealing Silvermoon from the Western Continent, he refined it, and then renamed it Sage Monarch City, implying that he is a Sage Monarch. Crown Prince, you really need to end him quickly."

"Sage Monarch?" The Crown Prince chuckled coldly. "Yes, I heard of the supposed Sage Monarch Society that he founded, and that he started recruiting henchmen. Well, it's an evil and heretical sect, and it's a good thing he never built it up very large."

"Crown Prince, it's good that you're going to kill Yang Qi in such impressive fashion," said one of the Great Sages from the Quake-Dawn Cathedral. "Great Sage Quake-Cloud was killed by Ghost Emperor Yama, and Chancellor Demi-Immortal did nothing to stop it. He's clearly prejudiced! Before long, the Quake-Dawn Cathedral is going to call him to account for his crimes. And although Ghost Emperor Yama was previously imprisoned and not killed, this time, he'll have a hard time escaping what's coming to him."

"Let's go," the Crown Prince said. "You people from the Quake-Dawn Cathedral can deal with Ghost Emperor Yama if necessary. It's unforgivable that he killed Great Sage Quake-Cloud. However, I would suggest that you refrain from provoking him at first. Let me talk to him, and see if I can work out an arrangement. For the time being, he could be very helpful to my plans."

"We'll follow your every command, Crown Prince," the nine Great Sages echoed. Obviously, none of them dared to say anything that might cause friction. Although the Crown Prince was only a first step Great Sage, he was obviously far stronger than that level. And he had a sealing mark from an immortal plane, which was an enigmatic and impossibly powerful object.

"Let's go!" The Crown Prince swished his sleeve, and a massive wind kicked up. Space parted, and a passageway opened up to the Blackcorpse Mountains.

RUUUUMBLE!

**

Yang Qi was currently in Sage Monarch City, working on his cultivation. Off to the side was Ghost Emperor Yama, who was watching him closely.

All of a sudden, a beam of light descended into the spot between Sage Monarch City and Yanhaven, like the sun and the moon combined.

Ghost Emperor Yama quickly stepped forward to block the path of the light if it turned out to be an attack.

However, it was none other than Chancellor Sun Moon, and he had the Minorbrilliance World with him. Visible within it were numerous towering structures with individuals sitting on them, catalyzing the power of the dimension.

Chancellor Sun Moon was bringing literally everything with him.

"Hey there, little Sun Moon," Ghost Emperor Yama said. "So, you're bringing your whole institute here with you? The call to retreat was issued, but like they say, the monk can't flee the monastery. When the monastery itself flees, though…" He clicked his tongue. "I guess that means something big is happening, right? What could it be?"

Looking flustered, Chancellor Sun Moon said, "Senior Ghost Emperor, something really bad has happened. The Crown Prince is back, and he's gathered a host of heroes to his side. He wants to destroy the Sun Moon Institute, and then kill Yang Qi. I had no choice but to flee here. There's no way I can fight the Crown Prince. Senior, we're all relying on you now."

"What? The Crown Prince is back already?" Ghost Emperor Yama's eyes pierced through the air of the Rich-Lush Continent, after which he rose to his feet. Looking toward Yang Qi, he said, "The Crown Prince is coming, Yang Qi. He wants to have the duel early, and you're no match for him. You're going to die. Give me the cultivation technique for the Infernal Deity Spear, and I'll deal with him for you! If you don't, then this place is going to be your grave!"

"This grudge is between me and the Crown Prince," Yang Qi replied. "There's no need for you to interfere, Ghost Emperor Yama. Even if you wanted to, I wouldn't let you. Just watch and learn as I kill the Crown Prince."

"Fine, be pig-headed. The Crown Prince isn't going to be pulling any punches. And he's not going to fight fair, either. He's definitely going to have the help of those nine Great Sages who were trying to reel in the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment. If they gang up on you, there's no way you can handle them alone. Maybe you could escape, but what about everyone you're supposed to be protecting?"

"Just wait until the Crown Prince is here and the fighting starts, Ghost Emperor Yama," Yang Qi said with a decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron. "Enough with your chattering."

Ghost Emperor Yama snorted coldly, but didn't say anything else. Flying into the air, he vanished.

Chancellor Sun Moon was completely shocked. "Yang Qi, you…."

"Get into Sage Monarch City, Chancellor Sun Moon," Yang Qi said. "Stand watch there over everyone. Whoever the Crown Prince sends to fight me from his army, I'll fight them. And whoever tries to kill me won't be able to take five steps before collapsing into a pool of blood."

Waving his hand, he sent power streaming out to carry Chancellor Sun Moon and everyone else from the Minorbrilliance World into Sage Monarch City.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince was approaching with his followers.

As he did, a stream of black energy suddenly approached to block their path. A moment later it resolved into the form of Ghost Emperor Yama, who pulsed with boundless devil energy.

The Crown Prince stopped in front of him. "And so we meet again, Ghost Emperor Yama. I'm on my way to kill Yang Qi. Don't tell me you're going to block my way?"

"I'm not blocking your way; go kill Yang Qi if you want. You've reached your biggest goal so far, Crown Prince. You're a Great Sage, and thus, you qualify to talk with me like an equal. However, before you go any further, I want to discuss our deal. I don't care what happens to Yang Qi, I want that thing. And by the way, there's no way I'll continue to exist under the same sky as anyone from the Quake-Dawn Cathedral."

"Ha!" one of the nine Great Sages said. "We've been keeping an eye on you for quite a while now, Ghost Emperor Yama. If you step out of line even the least bit, then we'll kill you!"

Ghost Emperor Yama suddenly seemed to stand straighter and taller. "Is that so? Well, I'm actually very curious to see which of us will end up dead if we start fighting. Listen, Crown Prince. I'm a spectator, that's it. So don't worry. Slaughter whoever you like, I won't interfere. Oh, by the way, you nine brats. Remember how you were fishing for the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment in the primal-chaos vital energy? Someone stole the fragment, right? Well, guess what? It was Yang Qi. Yang Qi has the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment. Have fun with that!" Without another word, he turned and vanished.

"What? Yang Qi got the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment?!"

"Dammit! He was the one who foiled our plan!"

"Kill him! We have to kill him!"

"We have to take back the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment!"

"Hold on a moment, Crown Prince. Please, allow us the first chance to kill Yang Qi. We absolutely must torment him, and revel in his screams for mercy!"

"Whatever," the Crown Prince said. "Yang Qi doesn't qualify to fight with me anyway. In fact, making a move on him would be disgraceful on my part."

He frowned as he looked at the spot Ghost Emperor Yama had just occupied. It was obvious that he hadn't left, but instead, was hiding in an alternate dimension, waiting to see how the fight with Yang Qi would go.

'So, Ghost Emperor Yama, even you think that Yang Qi is capable of fighting me? Well, sorry, but he's not!'

The Crown Prince looked off toward the sprawling Blackcorpse Mountains, and could sense a holy aura rising up from them. And then there was Yanhaven, perched next to the Yan River, which seemed to serve as the perfect companion for Sage Monarch City. The mountains looked like a sleeping giant, and the river looked like the trunk of an enormous megamammoth.

Behind the Crown Prince, his various followers were discussing the developments.

"The big fight is about to start. I wonder what Yang Qi is doing right now. The Blackcorpse Mountains used to be barren and infertile, but look at them now. They're like spirit mountains, a holy land of cultivation! And look at the highway between Yanhaven and Sage Monarch City, it's filled with spatial barriers and powerful spell formations. The vital energy of heaven and earth here is linked with the stars above! Can you feel the boundless killing intent?!"

"Yeah, only a Great Sage could do something like that. I wonder if it was actually Ghost Emperor Yama."

"That's possible. But Ghost Emperor Yama just said he wasn't going to interfere. So why would the Crown Prince make a move against him? Wouldn't that be too risky? It would be better to take out those two cities first, right? Do you think he's really going to let those nine Great Sages act first?"

"We'll find out soon enough. Hey, look. You can see the light of the sun and the moon there in Sage Monarch City. That's the chancellor of the Sun Moon Institute! He must have heard that the Crown Prince wants to destroy his institute, and retreated here to be with Yang Qi."

"It's not like that will do him any good. Chancellor Sun Moon and the people from his institute are all dead. How could they possibly fight against the Crown Prince?"

Chancellor True Dragon, Emperor Sage-Ancestor, Chancellor Sea God, Yun Hailan, Master Wind Gentleman, Unparalleled Lightning, and the leaders of numerous powerful clans, were all waiting to see what would happen next.

Suddenly, the Crown Prince waved his hand.

As he did, countless streams of vital energy converged, heading toward Yanhaven and Sage Monarch City. Without even a word, he was attacking!