Sage Monarch

'The magnetic field of heaven and earth nearly defies comprehension. I don't even understand how to connect to it.'

As Yang Qi sank into the Sea of Illusions, and continued to absorb the essence of the Plateau of the Leviathan, he built up vital energy, and continued to probe the fluctuations of heaven and earth around him. He was pushing the Astral-Star Transformation to the limit; within the God Legion Paradise, the constellations burned with radiance and light, as if an entire host of stars were in the greyspace of the domain.

Although the Astral-Star Transformation was about gathering the power of the stars, there was actually only one primary reason to do so, and that was to gain enlightenment of the magnetic field of heaven and earth.

And now, Yang Qi had his divine will pushing into that magnetic field, and grasping at its power. Unfortunately, no amount of effort on his part led to any significant progress.

The strength of the fluctuations of his own true energy were such that it seemed impossible to combine them with heaven and earth. Every time he tried, he failed. The magnetic field's fluctuations were strong, however, Yang Qi's true energy was that of the legion of gods, and thus, was even stronger than that.

In fact, it was too strong!

The situation was like trying to use a long, thin hair to wrap up a sharp sword. No matter how carefully one worked, the sword would always end up slicing the hair apart.

Most people had problems because the fluctuations of the magnetic field were too intense, and the slightest mistake could result in one's fleshly body being ripped to shreds.

But Yang Qi was very different. The slightest mistake on his part would result in the fluctuations of heaven and earth shattering.

All he could do was work very hard to gain further enlightenment of the magnetic field and the fluctuations.

It required finesse and painstaking care. It was like reeling silk from the cocoon.

As he worked, and as his power built, Yang Qi realized that a new magnetic field seemed to be forming around him in the God Legion Paradise. The constellations in the greyspace shone with dazzling light, as if a new world were coming to be within the Sea of Illusions.

"Crap!"

Father Leviathan murmured, his expression flickering.

He could sense the city around him trembling, and the essence of the Plateau of the Leviathan vibrating, as though it were acknowledging allegiance to Yang Qi's personal domain.

"What's going on?"

"Has he failed to break into the Never-Dying Transformation?"

"No, the young master is just too strong. His true energy fluctuations surpass the natural laws of this heaven and earth. He can't align himself with the magnetic field, and thus, is having trouble stepping into the Never-Dying Transformation. His true energy is so strong that the magnetic field is actually submitting to it! He's actually taking control of heaven instead of becoming one with it."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

"What a genius! Someone like him hasn't been seen in the Hanging Mountain for countless years!"

"Unfortunately, he's too strong, and this plane is too weak. The magical laws of heaven and earth aren't enough for him, which means that he can't achieve his breakthrough!"

"You're right! That level of power can't be sustained by this plane, and thus, can't lead to a breakthrough." Father Leviathan shook his head. "Yes, but what plane could possibly work for him? We need to send him to an immortal plane, otherwise, how will he reach the Never-Dying Transformation, let alone the Great Sage level?"

"What?! He needs to go to an immortal plane?"

"But we count as the mortal world. How could we send him to an immortal plane? Are you saying the young master is literally never going to be able to achieve another breakthrough?"

"Not even Demi-Immortals can just go to an immortal plane. Only by reaching the Demolishing level and becoming an immortal can one break through the barriers and do such a thing."

"Not necessarily."

"What do you mean by that, Father Leviathan?"

"Have you forgotten about the training competition?" Father Leviathan said. "The immortal world is opening a passage to a hell plane, which is where the competitors will fight and earn points. Think about it. Hell planes are just as stable as immortal planes. They have incomparably high magical laws which would be perfectly suited for a breakthrough. Geniuses like the young master only come around once every several million years or so. If he can't achieve his breakthrough here, he'll have to do it in hell."

At first, Father Leviathan had called Yang Qi by his name, instead of calling him young master. But after he saw what was happening in the Sea of Illusions, he experienced a change of heart. Considering that even the Plateau of the Leviathan was willing to submit to Yang Qi, how could admiration not grow in the heart of Father Leviathan?

And thus, he took to calling him 'young master' instead of just 'Yang Qi'.

Although Yang Qi was not very strong compared to him now, once he reached the Great Sage level, it would be a different story.

'The young master isn't very strong right now,' Father Leviathan thought as he stared at Yang Qi working on his cultivation in the Sea of Illusions. 'But I can sense something wildly powerful in him, something that could shatter immortal worlds. Even just looking at him causes my heart and mind to tremble. Just what terrifying thing is lurking in him?'

Father Leviathan was very, very close to being a Demi-Immortal, and thus, could sense the might of the God Legion Seal inside Yang Qi. However, that was only because of the fundamental difference in their cultivation base. Once Yang Qi became a Great Sage, it would be impossible for Father Leviathan to detect such things.

The power he sensed actually caused him to feel a bit envious.

At the same time, it was unfathomable and impossible to comprehend. For some reason, Father Leviathan was sure that if the power erupted out of Yang Qi, nobody in the Hanging Mountain could match up to it. Not even the August Patriarch and the Holy Mother combined could do so.

Deep in the Sea of Illusions, Yang Qi slowly exhaled.

'This isn't going to work,' he thought. 'Not a single megamammoth particle has awoken. My breakthroughs are getting harder and harder, it seems. The magnetic field of heaven and earth here is just too weak. It seems I'll need to go to hell to make the next attempt.'

By this point, it was obvious to Yang Qi what was going on.

It wasn't that he was too strong, it was that this heaven and earth was too weak, and couldn't conform to him. It was really a strange situation.

"Come up, Young Master," Father Leviathan said. "It's to my shame that I must admit you won't achieve any cultivation progress here. You'll have to wait until the training competition."

Sighing, Father Leviathan pulled Yang Qi up out of the water.

"There's nothing that can be done about it." Yang Qi said. "I had no idea it would be this difficult."

"We truly look forward to seeing how strong you'll be as a Great Sage." Father Leviathan and the other Demon Sages were all sighing. "The competition is only half a month away."

"Don't worry, I'll put on a good show," Yang Qi said. "I'm the son of the Hanging Mountain's Holy Mother, and there's no way I'll lose face for her." Yang Qi was now fully convinced that the Demi-Immortal leader of the Hanging Mountain truly was his mother. If she wasn't, why would this group of Great Sages be acting so respectfully toward him?

Now more than ever, he wanted to meet his mother face to face.

**

RUMBLE!

In a castle which hung in outer space, Mammoth Force slashed his huge axe through the air, opening up a huge rift. Instantly, lightning shot out of the rift, and the vital energy of heaven and earth transformed into primal-chaos. Again, Mammoth Force chopped down with his axe, and the primal-chaos vital energy took the shape of mountains, rivers, lakes, and hills.

"Congratulations, Young Master Force," one of the Demon Sages said fawningly. "You've mastered an even higher level of axe technique.

"You'll achieve another cultivation breakthrough any time."

"Is there any news from the spies about Yang Qi? Has he provoked any tribulation within the Plateau of the Leviathan? When people like him achieve breakthroughs, it always causes a big scene. There's no way he succeeded without anyone noticing."

With that, Mammoth Force flung his axe over his shoulders.

Flinching in response, the Demon Sage quickly replied, "Young Master Force, we have people in the Plateau of the Leviathan keeping an eye on him. Not even a fly would go unnoticed by them, but they haven't reported any vital energy fluctuations. It seems no tribulation has descended whatsoever."

"Oh? So you're saying that punk hasn't achieved a breakthrough? He failed, and yet still plans to join the training competition? Seems to me he doesn't qualify. The minimum requirement is to be in the Great Sage level. A Legendary who joined would definitely end up getting killed." Mammoth Force suddenly burst out laughing. "Although, if he doesn't join the competition, I'm not going to be able to kill him. So I hope he does. No one will be the wiser, either. I'll take the legacy of King Immortal-Slayer from him, that way, when my father becomes a Demolisher and ascends to the immortal plane, I'll be the next August Patriarch. When I am, I'll definitely put the Holy Mother to death! With her gone, I can unite the entire Hanging Mountain! It's been a long time since the Hanging Mountain had only one ruler."

"Congratulations, Young Master Force. May your rule last for ten thousand years! Not only will you unite the Yore-Wilds planetary system, you'll soon go on to the Brute-Wilds, Waste-Wilds, and Proto-Wilds…. You'll become the only leader of the entire star system, until the immortal worlds fawn over you!"

The Demon Sages all offered such brown-nosing compliments.

Mammoth Force simply laughed contentedly.

Half a month blurred by. Yang Qi remained in the Plateau of the Leviathan, and although he gained much enlightenment, he didn't achieve any breakthrough. Thankfully, he now understood much more about his personal domain, the vital energy of heaven and earth, the world, space, and even a bit about time.

Father Leviathan and the other Demon Sages gave him tips and advice, holding absolutely nothing back.

Of course, thanks to the God Legion Seal, Yang Qi instinctively knew much about hell, and even had access to scattered memories of primeval infernal deities.

In fact, his discussions with the Demon Sages often left them shocked at his knowledge. Father Leviathan had previously assumed that since Yang Qi came from a low-level plane like the Rich-Lush Continent, he would be lacking in wisdom and understanding. However, Yang Qi had access to enlightenment from infernal deities, and was very familiar with all sorts of hell-born fiend-devils. To them, it seemed like he was an actual devil-god from hell.