Sage Monarch

Anyone who got in Yang Qi's way was being cut down, be they people, immortals, or buddhas.

From the very beginning, he had factored in the high likelihood that the chancellor would try to save the Crown Prince, and had even come up with a secret plan with Ghost Emperor Yama to deal with it. Ghost Emperor Yama had long since stopped viewing Yang Qi as prey, and had actually started to treat him like an equal.

Thanks to the two times he had been defeated by the God Legion Seal, and the rout of the eighteen Great Sages that had just played out, it was a foregone conclusion that Yang Qi would become a Great Sage.

There was really no question about it.

After all, he had sage motes from eighteen Great Sages, which meant that all he needed was time to refine them.

If Yang Qi was ferocious now, then who could possibly be a match for him after he became a Great Sage?

Now, it was the chancellor's turn to die!

The chancellor had protected the Crown Prince from Yang Qi over and over again. And this time was the final straw.

Yang Qi was going for broke in every sense of the word. It didn't matter if it meant the downfall of the entire continent, or even the dao of heaven, he would kill the chancellor, and also make sure that Yun Hailan and the Crown Prince met the same fate.

"Legion of gods? He acquired a special little technique and you decided that it made him a spokesperson for the legion of gods?" The chancellor laughed. "I'm taking the Crown Prince with me, and not even you can stop me, Ghost Emperor Yama. Don't even try."

"Oh really?" Ghost Emperor Yama chuckled coldly. The chancellor's words only made him want to do the exact opposite.

"This is your final chance, Yang Qi," the chancellor continued. "Turn weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk, and I'll guarantee that neither the Crown Prince nor Yun Hailan will ever cause problems again for you."

"Take the offer, Yang Qi," Young Lady Starlight said. "You know that you can trust my father's word. There's no reason to fear any reprisals from the Crown Prince."

"His word?" Yang Qi said, his voice calm, but his words biting. "How much is that worth? A few coins? You're both about to die, and you talk about trusting his word? The moment you two saved the Crown Prince, you became archenemies to me, and I won't allow you to live under the same sky as me. You're exactly the same as the Crown Prince: sentenced to death!"

Both Young Lady and Chancellor Demi-Immortal were visibly taken aback by his words.

"I never could have guessed that my Demi-Immortal Institute would produce an evil creature like you," the chancellor said. "If I had known things would turn out like this, I would never have protected you. I would have just let the Crown Prince kill you." He sighed. "You've really put the people of the Rich-Lush Continent in a terrible situation. Two chancellors are dead! In all my predictions and calculations, I never considered that something like this would happen. Perhaps it's all my fault."

"Ghost Emperor Yama, I'm going to give you half of the technique for the Infernal Deity Spear. Chancellor Demi-Immortal still thinks he's going to escape from you. Let's see how he manages that if you have a godly-class energy art!" With a thought, Yang Qi connected to Ghost Emperor Yama's mind, and sent him the information.

RUUUUMBLE!

As soon as the thought entered Ghost Emperor Yama's mind, it transformed into countless streams of true energy. In the blink of an eye, countless hells appeared behind him, and he was completely born anew. It was like he was a totally different person.

During his tens of thousands of years of imprisonment, he had constantly worked with his true energy and sought enlightenment, only to fail. However, he had built up incredibly powerful reserves during that time.

Therefore, as soon as he received the Infernal Deity Spear technique, it was like a lamp being lit in the darkness of night. Instantly, he understood things that had been confusing before, and now, the path forward was clear.

Before, it had seemed impossible for him to reach the next highest level of cultivation, but now, he had the enlightenment he needed. Yang Qi had opened the sluice gate, and the floodwaters were released.

Of course, to get the other half of the technique, Ghost Emperor Yama needed to kill the chancellor.

Raging devil energy transformed into energy of the netherworld, and as Ghost Emperor Yama changed, he stood taller. As of this moment, he didn't look like a stooped old man anymore.

His clothing looked like what an infernal king would wear in the darkness of night. He no longer looked like a simple devil, but rather, something more profound. He was tranquil, like darkness and gloom, except, his eyes glowed with terrifying brightness.

His facial features changed too; now he looked like he had when he was middle-aged.

Power flowed through him like a river, and it was clearly many times stronger than before. He was even surrounded by screaming winds and rumbling thunder.

"Today, I cast aside my devilish nature with this godly-class energy art mnemonic. What a pity it's only half complete. However, it's enough to kill the chancellor and get the other half."

The darkness that radiated off of Ghost Emperor Yama was so intense that it locked down the area, and caused the light shining off of the chancellor to shrink back. As of this moment, it was obvious that the chancellor would not be able to flee, and in fact, would be forced to fight.

The chancellor was visibly stunned; he knew exactly what it meant that someone like Ghost Emperor Yama had gained new enlightenment, and it was a terrifying thought. In his effort to kill the chancellor, Yang Qi had gone so far as to give some of the mnemonic of a godly-class energy art to him.

"You're really dealing with the devil, Yang Qi?!" he said angrily.

"The legion of gods appoint the kings of hell," Yang Qi replied. "Now, Chancellor, you will know what it feels like to be killed by a godly-class energy art. In the past, I wasn't strong enough to defy you. But now, I have Ghost Emperor Yama on my side, who can crush your personal domain, and neutralize your magical laws. I have the sage motes of eighteen Great Sages, and the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment. I'm definitely strong enough to hurt you. Today, both you and your daughter are going to die!"

RUUUUMBLE!

Unleashing the God Legion Paradise, he lunged forward to attack the chancellor.

As he did, a beam of bright red light shot out from the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment, a force that could hurt immortals, much less kill Great Sages.

Ghost Emperor Yama stretched both hands behind him, reaching into the images of the hells to pull out a long spear. Of course, it was none other than the Infernal Deity Spear, and a version that far surpassed that which Yang Qi used. In fact, it even thrummed with the power of time itself.

Whoosshhhh!

In the shortest of moments, the spear stabbed through the chancellor's defensive true energy and headed directly toward his throat.

In virtually the exact same moment, the chancellor shouted, "Demi-Immortal Sword!"

A pure white sword emerged from his forehead, which he grabbed and then thrust out to block the spear.

Bam!

A shockwave of true energy erupted out.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi flapped his Angel Wings to slough off the effects of the blast, then shot forward until he was right next to the chancellor. Then he used two true energy arms to attack the chancellor with the Heaven-Dominating Golden Swordbreaker and the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. As for his two physical hands, one held the Infernal Deity Spear, and the other was clenched into the Fist of the Halls of Heaven. He was truly calling forth the dignity of the legion of gods in this attack.

As for the Yore-Wilds' Heart fragment, it was still regaining power after having been drained earlier.

The chancellor was far, far above him in terms of strength and power, but with Ghost Emperor Yama keeping him in check, it was now possible for Yang Qi to make a move against him.

"Screw the hell off!" the chancellor growled. Slashing out with his sword, he destroyed the God Legion Paradise, then went on to vanquish the Heaven-Dominating Golden Swordbreaker and the Grand Emperor's Pagoda. Afterward, he destroyed Yang Qi's Infernal Deity Spear, and even devastated the sagelight of the Fist of the Halls of Heaven.

It was a simple move, but the chancellor was the type of person who could use one sword technique to destroy a myriad of laws, to decimate a myriad of energies, to execute a myriad of devils, and terrify a myriad of immortals.

Bam!

All of Yang Qi's moves had been defeated, and yet, he wasn't done fighting. Without any hesitation, he unleashed a two-handed Fist of the Halls of Heaven, and even burned sage motes to power it, which caused dazzling sagelight to spill out.

"Six Daos Downfall!"

Yet again, he unleashed six specific strikes, each one a manifestation of a different dao, which went on to slam into the sword.

"You want to die? Fine, I'll accommodate you!" The chancellor unleashed another sword move, and this one caused millions upon millions of swords to appear, which overwhelmed the projection of the halls of heaven, and defeated its sagelight.

"Time Stoppage!"

He swept his sword out again, and everything around Yang Qi went completely still. Then, the sword went on toward Yang Qi's forehead.

In the blink of an eye, deadly sword energy entered Yang Qi's body, piercing into his sea of consciousness, with the goal of putting an end to his soul. In this moment, the fury of the chancellor was such that could transform mountains and rivers into ash.

WHIZZZ!

However, when the chancellor's will entered Yang Qi's forehead, what he found was the God Legion Seal. And the golden imp seemed filled with rage that someone had attempted to use time magic against him.

Suddenly, golden light erupted from Yang Qi's forehead, along with a golden finger that tapped onto the chancellor's sword.

Bam!

Flames erupted onto the sword, sweeping down its length and then piercing into the chancellor himself. All of a sudden, he found himself engulfed in golden flame.

His personal domain, his will, his soul, and his quintessence-blood were all burning.

It was the same thing that Ghost Emperor Yama had experienced in the past.

"What's this?" the chancellor shouted angrily. "How could you have power this terrifying in you, Yang Qi? How dare you!"

Ghost Emperor Yama immediately burst out into loud laughter. "You dared to use Time Stoppage on Yang Qi? Time is the domain of the legion of gods! You just blasphemed against the gods, so don't expect the God Legion Seal to let you off the hook. That thing nearly burned me to death, much less you. Have fun experiencing the punishment of the legion of gods!"

He was currently surrounded by swirling devil-dragons, and yet, he didn't dare to get close to the golden fire.

"Soul Rebirth; Demi-Immortal Invincibility!"

The chancellor's body exploded, and he transformed into a stream of vital energy that wrapped up the Crown Prince, Young Lady Starlight, and Yun Hailan, and carried them a short distance away. It was a nirvanic rebirth of sorts, in which he sacrificed his lifespan to shed his body and escape from certain doom.

"Kill him, Ghost Emperor Yama!" Yang Qi roared.

Ghost Emperor Yama blurred into motion, reaching the chancellor before the man could react, and stabbing him in the chest.

Then, Yang Qi again released his God Legion Paradise, instantly trapping the Crown Prince, Yun Hailan, and Young Lady Starlight.

"This is outright rebellion, Yang Qi!" Young Lady Starlight shouted. "How dare you plot against my father!" Suddenly, she began to glow with the brilliance of starlight.

"Like I said, both of you are going to die today!"

Without any warning, Yang Qi smashed the Heaven-Dominating Golden Swordbreaker into her head, reducing her to a pool of gore, which was then evaporated into nothing by sagelight.

The chancellor's daughter was dead!