Sage Monarch

The wave of the Crown Prince's hand caused space to rip like the paper in a paper window. It provided virtually no resistance.

Everyone watching could see that, within the depths of space, there were thousands of streams of power rushing forth.

It included starlight, as silver as mercury, incomparably heavy, enough to tear the lands apart. There was a river of fire, of water, of blades, of lightning… all sorts of destructive elements descended onto Sage Monarch City and Yanhaven.

It was a chilling sight.

Who could possibly stand up to something like that? Not even ordinary Great Sages could do so. It seemed like something absolutely impossible to fight. That was how the domineering Crown Prince worked; he would unleash a mighty attack to destroy anything and everything that stood in his path.

"If I faced that attack, I couldn't possibly survive!"

"It's definitely strong. Even a hundred Half Sages working together would be sliced to bits by it."

"Half Sages? Come on, even Great Sages would be powerless against it!"

Chancellor True Dragon, Chancellor Sea God and the Great Sages from the Western Continent were feeling even more nervous than ever as they realized that not even they could defend themselves against the Crown Prince.

'Is he even human?' Even the nine Great Sages from the Quake-Dawn Continent knew that they couldn't defend against something like this.

Everyone looked on wide-eyed as the events played out. It was almost like they were watching an enormous steel hammer descending from high above, heading directly toward an egg. Obviously, there was no question about what would happen to the egg.

"Crown Prince, it seems that killing Yang Qi is actually going to be a bit too easy," Yun Hailan said, looking a bit let down.

"Wrong. I'm not killing him. This attack is intended to destroy the spell formation and kill the chancellor of the Sun Moon Institute. I'm not even going to give him a chance to beg for his life. This attack will kill a Great Sage!" He sighed, increasing the power in the attack. "Killing a Great Sage like this will ensure that everyone knows how strong I am!"

It all suddenly made sense.

The Crown Prince's goal was to single out Chancellor Sun Moon within Sage Monarch City, and kill him as an example. That would definitely impress upon everyone present how strong he was.

WHIZZZ!

Thousands of deadly rivers descended on Sage Monarch City and the area around it.

However, even as the massively destructive force descended, everyone suddenly felt as though the vital energy of heaven and earth in the area were trembling violently. It almost seemed like some primeval beast were awakening, some enormous god from ancient times.

Crack!

A hand big enough to blot out heaven suddenly rose up from Sage Monarch City, rising skyward in deadly fashion. It spread out like a canopy, meeting the thousands of destructive rivers, and completely blocking their power.

"I can't believe that someone blocked the Crown Prince's attack? Who was it?"

Sage Monarch City was most definitely not crushed like an egg, much to the shock of everyone present.

"Who did it? Was it Chancellor Sun Moon?"

"It didn't look like it. Besides, the Crown Prince's attack actually called power from other higher planes in the universe. There's no way that Chancellor Sun Moon could deal with that."

"Look, it's Yang Qi!" one of the Great Sages shouted.

Beneath the enormous hand, Yang Qi slowly rose to his feet.

He wore the pure God Legion Battle Robe, which slowly fluttered in the breeze. He was mighty and powerful, but not overbearing. And yet, there was something about him that seemed capable of bearing the weight of all living beings under heaven.

He was awe-inspiring, but not ruthless. He was tolerant, not hurtful. He was a sage, a monarch, a person who could enlighten all living beings. He was a forerunner of good news and tidings, a representative of the legion of gods, an emissary to the mortal world. He was surrounded by a pure paradise, a holy land established by the legion of gods for living beings, the halls of heaven among men.

In the past, he had radiated a feeling of slaughter, decisiveness, peril, and threat. He had been like a sharp, unsheathed sword, just on the verge of killing someone. But now, the feeling of peril was not visible. Instead, he seemed dignified, moral, merciful, grandiose, responsible, and tolerant.

It made sense, considering that tolerance typified the principles of the legion of gods.

In that moment, everyone who had come to watch the fight suddenly felt a sensation of shame in their hearts. In the face of the representative of the legion of gods, what else could they feel other than humility and puniness? It was an instinctual sense of devotion that existed in humans, devils, demons, immortals, and all other living entities within the universe.

Hidden within the depths of the plane was Ghost Emperor Yama, who was watching closely as everything played out. And what was occurring left him completely shocked. 'Not bad, brat. Not even I realized you had reached this level of cultivation.'

"Be broken!" Yang Qi said coolly. Exhaling softly, he caused the enormous hand of true energy to split apart, and belch out a mass of primal-chaos vital energy, which wrapped around the rivers of the Crown Prince's attack, and caused them to fade away.

Just like that, he negated the Crown Prince's entire assault.

'Incredible!' Chancellor Sun Moon thought, his jaw dropping. From what he could tell, the Crown Prince had not held anything back in his attack just now, and in fact, the chancellor had not expected Yang Qi to intervene. Even more shocking, he negated the attack as easily as blowing some dust off his shoulder.

Floating up from the city, Yang Qi looked at the host of experts atop the sea of clouds nearby, and said, "So, you're finally here, Crown Prince."

From the look of it, just about every important person possible was present. The experts from all the top clans, the famous people from the Sea God and True Dragon Institutes, everyone was there behind the Crown Prince. It was almost as if Yang Qi were facing off against all of them.

Surprisingly, he didn't seem scared at all. The wind caressed him gently, and spatial energy flows swirled around him with the utmost ease, as if he were part of nature.

The Crown Prince looked just as arrogant as ever as he hovered much further above, looking down at Yang Qi. "So, you've finally stopped acting like a scared turtle. Who would have thought that a bug like you would be strong enough to resist me a bit? I should have killed you a long time ago. Well, last time I gave you a chance to survive, but this time, that won't be happening."

"You've never been in the position to kill me," Yang Qi said. "Back in the martial arts competition, Young Master Shroud-Heaven was always there lurking in the background, ready to attack you. Later, you fought him, but ended up seriously injured. And now, after two years of rest and recovery in the Superheaven Badlands, you're finally back in action. Well, does it make you happy to know that I'm the reason for all of it? Back in the Heavendawn Quarry, I was the one who took the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. I'm sure you remember the moment quite clearly. When it comes to our struggles, Crown Prince, you haven't come out on top a single time, you pitiful creature!"

"Yang Qi," Yun Hailan said, "you're not going to escape this day. The Crown Prince has come for you, and he's going to rip you to pieces and crush your bones into powder. What are your last words? Say whatever you need to make yourself feel better…."

When Yang Qi replied, his voice was completely devoid of emotion. "You're going to die today, do you know that, Yun Hailan?"

"What incredible gall!" Chancellor Sea God shouted, stepping forward to hover in front of Yun Hailan.

He was joined by Chancellor True Dragon, who said, "You've already stepped into the dao of devils, Yang Qi. You're in league with Ghost Emperor Yama to destroy the peace and tranquility that exists in the Rich-Lush Continent. How dare you speak of killing Great Sages! Did you know that Yun Hailan has the sealing mark of the Sea King Plane and the Dragon World Plane!? For you to oppose her is to oppose the combined might of the Sea God Institute and the True Dragon Institute."

"Two old fools who don't know the difference between life and death," Yang Qi said with the utmost discourtesy.

"Listen up, brat," said one of the Great Sages from the Quake-Dawn Cathedral. "Hand over the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment immediately!"

"We know it was you who stole it from us," another of them said. "Wrecking our plans is a capital offense! You've fallen into the dao of devils, and the only way to escape is to give us that Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment, then publicly confess your sins and commit ritual suicide. If you do that, we might allow your Yang Clan to survive. If not, then we'll exterminate your clan, your family, your friends, and everyone else connected to you, down to the tenth degree!"

"Don't waste your words on him," said yet another of the nine Great Sages. "Crown Prince, we'll take action now. After slaughtering him, we'll hand over his head to you personally!"

This was no duel. This was strong-arming. The Crown Prince had brought nine Great Sages from the Quake-Dawn Cathedral to crush Yang Qi. He wasn't even giving Yang Qi a fair chance to fight him.

"Considering that everyone wants this monster dead, we'll join you," Chancellor Sea God said.

"That's right," added Chancellor True Dragon. "He's clearly in the dao of devils now, and has threatened all of us in deranged fashion. Let's cut him down together."

Of course, the two of them were inwardly drooling over the possibility of getting their hands on the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment, or at least the Grand Emperor's Pagoda.

RUUUUMBLE!

Even before they took action, their auras began to weigh down on the area like mountains. Even a Great Sage of the same level as this group would be crushed by their combined power.

However, Yang Qi's true energy erupted in full force, and something like a sun emerged from the top of his head, to cast light that originated in the most ancient of times. It was both glorious and strange, like the swirling of infinite flower petals, a cool, holy brilliance that was simultaneously strong to the ultimate degree. It was sagelight, and as it climbed into the sky, it seemed to connect Yang Qi to the mysterious halls of heaven.

"I guess I'll bury you all here together!" he said. "I've been preparing for today for a long time."

All of a sudden, the God Legion Paradise appeared, making Yang Qi seem awe-inspiring and righteous, completely inviolable.

He stamped his foot down, and the ground for dozens of kilometers in all directions sank down, making everyone in the area feel weightless.

Right in-between Yanhaven and Sage Monarch City, a gaping hole appeared in the ground.

Throwing his head back, Yang Qi shouted, "Primal-chaos paleo-energy; primeval immortal formations. Slaughter Immortals, Execute Devils; Bury Heavens in Death!"

In the shortest of moments, a massive column of primal-chaos paleo-energy rose up from the gaping hole, spreading out to surround everyone.

"Primal-chaos paleo-energy!? It is! It's primal-chaos paleo-energy! There's a mysterious energy flow that exists beneath the Rich-Lush Continent, and it contains immortal formations that can kill Great Sages!"

Immediately, screams rang out from the top experts as they realized what was happening.