Sage Monarch

There was something outspoken and forthright about the person who had just called out.

Yang Qi rose to his feet and looked in the direction of the voice to find a middle-aged man approaching. He had fair skin and wasn't very well-built, making him seem like a frail scholar. In fact, he even wore a tall .

But he strode forward confidently, in a way that made him seem to conform perfectly to the transformations and variations of space and the world, or, perhaps, vice versa. In a single breath of time, he appeared in front of Yang Qi, and from his aura it was clear that he was capable of forming a personal minor plane of existence around him.

His cultivation base was so high that Yang Qi had never met, or even heard of a person like this.

"This is Elder Second Brother, who is called Book Genius," Yan Weiyi said. "You see, he's not actually human. He started out as an ancient book and eventually cultivated a human form. He's reached the level of understanding the revolutions of the universe, meaning he's an eighth step Universal Demi-Immortal. Of the eighteen members of the Invincible Society, he's second only to Eldest Brother."

"So, Master took in another little Junior Brother," the enigmatic Book Genius said with a smile. "Hello there, Junior Eighteenth Brother Yang Qi. Not bad. Not bad at all. It seems Master truly does have sharp eyes. I was away recently with some of the other Junior Brothers in the deadly Burning Ferocity World, looking for a treasure stash left behind by an ancient immortal. Unfortunately, we came up empty handed. When I got word that little Junior Brother broke the magical laws of life and death in the entrance ceremony and killed a whole bunch of other students, I was worried people would use it as an excuse to cause problems so I hurried back."

"Ah, there was no need for you to rush, Elder Second Brother," Sword Seventeen said with a chuckle. "Remember what Eldest Brother did because of Elder Thirteenth Brother? He caused a huge scene at the Hall of Beheadings and Execution and even defeated six elder kings. The vice-rectors got involved and he ended up exchanging three moves with them, only to end in a deadlock. Ever since then, nobody has dared to threaten the Invincible Society with the so-called rules ever again."

"You shut your mouth, Sword Seventeen!" Elder Second Brother suddenly shouted. "Feeling cocky, are we? It may be impressive that you can destroy ninth step Great Sages when you're only the fifth step. But what would you do if a Demi-Immortal showed up? I'll tell you what would happen, you'd get stomped like a weed. You'd better improve your cultivation as quickly as possible, alright? How much face would it lose for the Invincible Society if you got ambushed and killed?"

"Yes, yes of course…." Sword Seventeen said, although once Elder Second Brother looked away he stuck his tongue out at him.

At this point, a new voice rang out. "You'd do well to learn from Junior Eighteenth Brother! He just joined the Invincible Society, and he's already earned us plenty of face!" Along with the voice came several top experts and it caused an immense, dazzling aura to spring into being above the Invincible Society.

There were other nearby societies who had millions upon millions of members. However, from disciples to elders, all members of such societies who looked over at the Invincible Society in this moment were ashen-faced from terror.

All sorts of talk was spreading through the Titan Emperor Collegium.

"The fiendish monsters have all returned."

"Keep your auras hidden, and don't go outside. Don't give those lunatics an excuse to cause trouble. They're usually out working on their cultivation; why did they all return all of a sudden? Did something happen?"

"It's probably because of the new eighteenth member of the Invincible Society, Yang Qi. He actually killed people in the World of Mirages, which caused a huge commotion. It's only natural that they'd want to come back and see the newest freak to join their ranks."

"They might be worried that people are plotting against Yang Qi. After all, Yang Qi's cultivation base is still really weak. All it would take to assassinate him would be to send a Demi-Immortal. It would be horrible for them to have someone with such potential killed before they could grow."

"Let's wait and see how things play out…."

Meanwhile, Yan Weiyi was introducing all of the new Elder Brothers and Sisters to Yang Qi.

"This is Elder Third Sister, who cultivates an ancient immortal skill called the Archaean Cauldron God-Channeling Energy. She's already 'become one with the cauldron' and created her Cauldron of Mountains and Rivers, allowing her to manipulate terrain with a single thought. This is Elder Fourth Brother, who is an adept with Destiny-Chasing Soul-Ending Life-Giving Energy. Whether you're talking about killing or healing, he's the best under heaven…."

After being introduced to each of his various Elder Brothers and Sisters, Yang Qi would clasp hands and bow respectfully.

He had a good memory and made sure to keep track of all of their names, their unique qualities, characteristics, the energy arts they cultivated, their overall level, and other such things.

Including him, there were seventeen people present. In other words, all of the disciples of the Invincible Society were present save for the fabled Eldest Brother.

In turn, that meant that Elder Second Brother had the highest cultivation base of anyone.

At the moment, Yang Qi was a full twelve levels apart from him. If they fought, and Yang Qi didn't get help from the God Legion Seal, he would be wiped out in the blink of an eye.

Thankfully, this was his Elder Brother, a person who would have his back no matter what.

After the introductions were made, Elder Second Brother Book Genius coolly looked around and said, "Junior Brothers and Sisters, Master is in seclusion trying to reach the dao of Demolishing. It's a heaven-defying act which will end in either complete success, or utter defeat. As for Eldest Brother, he is on a quest to kill a powerful enemy and won't be back anytime soon. Right now, I'm the highest ranking member in the Invincible Society and will be making the decisions. Does anyone have any problems with that?"

"If you have something to say, Elder Brother, just say it," one of the Junior Brothers said. "We Brothers and Sisters of the Invincible Society are devoted wholly to each other, and will always share both honor and disgrace. Even our Junior Eighteenth Brother is included in that."

Book Genius nodded. "Junior Eighteenth Brother just joined our society, and although he's obviously an outstanding and rare talent he still has much room for growth. After all, if a Demi-Immortal attacked him he would be killed in an instant. Therefore, the top priority right now is to help him improve his cultivation base." Looking at Yang Qi, he said, "Junior Eighteenth Brother, do you have any plan about how to go about doing that?"

"I'd prefer to improve my cultivation base on my own," Yang Qi said, although he was already feeling profoundly moved. It was clear that because the Invincible Society only had a few members, they stuck together closely. In societies with many members, villains often mixed with the honest folk and there was usually plotting and infighting. But not here. "The only way for me to achieve another breakthrough is to get to the Hell of Mahānata. Elder Second Brother, you mentioned something called the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart that could theoretically open a passageway there. What exactly is this Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart?"

"Ah, the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart," Book Genius replied. "It's a fabulous precious treasure left behind by ancient immortals. It took the power of many immortals to make it, but it was eventually lost in the mortal world. Because of that, all of the powerful collegiums and organizations are looking for it. Unfortunately, its precise location is currently unknown. But if you could find it, you could use it to get to multiple planes of existence. Even with a mere mortal body, you could go to an immortal world. With the power of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart at your disposal, it would be impossible for even immortals to hurt you."

"It's that powerful?" Yang Qi said in shock.

"Yes, it is. Luckily, we've turned up a clue regarding its location. The thing is essentially an enormous treasure hoard connected to numerous planes. Among the many treasures it contains, there are even embryonic planetary cores."

"Embryonic planetary cores?" Yang Qi was shocked. 'Those things aren't easy to get. If I could get one, it would be a lot easier to convert the Sage Monarch Continent into a planet. Plus, my immortal child would advance by leaps and bounds and maybe even be able to reach the Demi-Immortal level.'

"I know what you're thinking, Junior Brother," Book Genius said. Looking a bit apologetic, he said, "You want to convert your immortal child into a Demi-Immortal, but unfortunately that's going to be very hard. The vital energy of the Rich-Lush Continent is weak; after all, it is a mere fragment of a much larger continent from ancient times. Even if you had the raw power required, it would probably take tens of thousands of years to force the place to become a planet. And even then, it might not be enough to reach the Demi-Immortal level. If you want a breakthrough sooner, rather than later, that's not the route. Maybe if you had a lot of embryonic planetary cores, you would be able to gain the momentum you needed. If you could get your continent to the size of the Quake-Dawn Continent, then your goal would be a lot more realistic."

Suddenly, a man in black clothing stepped forward and coldly said, "Let's be straight. We Brothers and Sisters should just join forces and conquer the Quake-Dawn Continent. Sacrifice that continent and fuse it with the Rich-Lush Continent. That should be enough to make it a planet, right?"

The man in black was Elder Seventh Brother, and was known as an extremely vicious character.

"Junior Seventh Brother, your devilish personality is showing again," Elder Second Brother admonished. "Although it's true that the Quake-Dawn Continent's proximity to the Rich-Lush Continent would make it the perfect target, there are billions of trillions of people who live there. Do you know how evil it would be to sacrifice them all just to make a planet?"

"Ah, what are you scared of!?" Elder Seventh Brother said. "I do what I feel like, not what heaven wants me to do. The more you want to accomplish, the more evil you have to be. That's how you get strong."

'Vicious!' Yang Qi thought. 'Completely and utterly vicious! These people….' His Elder Brothers were casually debating the thought of sacrificing an entire continent to build a planet. It was really a defiance of all laws and principles, even those of heaven.

The Quake-Dawn Continent had three thousand daoist sects and a hundred thousand smaller factions. It had as many Great Sages as drops of rain in a rainstorm, and as many Legendaries as the grains of sand in the sea. In fact, they supposedly had Demi-Immortal experts as well. How unscrupulous would a person have to be to be willing to sacrifice all of them?

Elder Seventh Brother was named Meng Shafan, and his murderous aura was simply without compare in the world.

"Very well, Junior Seventh Brother," Book Genius said. "I know that the energy art you cultivate is all about killing, but enough of that talk for now. We need a plan to get Junior Eighteenth Brother into that treasure hoard and there's no time to lose. Other groups know about the treasure, including some of our biggest enemies of the Titan Emperor Collegium. For example, there are plenty of societies in the Megaplexus Collegium who are itching to get it. If they got the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, not to mention the rest of the treasure hoard, it would be a big problem for our Invincible Society. Therefore, we need to make sure we're the ones who get it.

"Besides, the numerous planetary cores in there would be very useful to Junior Eighteenth Brother, not to mention the good training he could get from fighting the fiend-devils there."

"That's true. Time is of the essence, so let's come up with a plan to get that treasure hoard."

"Okay," Yang Qi said, nodding his head. Never could he have guessed that the first major thing which would happen after entering the Titan Emperor Collegium is that he would be made privy to an enormous secret: the details of the treasure hoard that was the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart.

He had heard the term Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart mentioned in the Hanging Mountain and knew that it was some sort of painting or chart created by ancient immortals as a way of traveling amongst various planes of existence. Eventually, it was lost in the mortal world. However, it would appear every few ten thousands years or so, and people would enter it to hunt for treasure. It was an easy way to become a very powerful individual.

Apparently, the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart was making another appearance now.

1. Meng is a surname (the same as Meng Hao). Sha means "kill, murder, attack" and Fan means "ordinary, commonplace, mundane, mortal".