Sage Monarch

Ten years had passed.

For those who cultivated the dao, it was like the snap of a finger.

But for the Sage Monarch planetary system, it was a period of profound advancement. During those ten years, Eldest Brother, Elder Second Brother, and Elder Third Sister and all the other members of the Invincible Society became heaven-immortals. Even Sword Seventeen reached the boundless Demolishing level.

As their cultivation advanced, they made their genes more and more perfect. And with Yang Qi's help, they used the magical laws of the Tusita Heaven to form their immortal bodies and advance their cultivation bases.

Yang Qi's twenty angels became stronger and mightier during the decade. They naturally had perfect genes, as they were true sons of the god legion.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi had long since reached enlightenment of the boundless dao of Demolishing.

As for his immortal clone, he passed his Demolishing tribulation and used the magical laws of the Tusita Heaven to form his immortal body. Considering he had five incredible energy arts to work with, he could combine them in accordance to the five phases, causing a void halo to spring up around him. Furthermore, the clone could also benefit from faith power.

During the ten years that passed, the clone's genes reached the level of being a hundred million times stronger than normal and were even advancing toward two hundred million times stronger than normal.

Together, the clone and the angels could form a spell formation that would defeat even the most powerful old-timers in the mortal world.

With immortal bodies, Yang Qi's seventeen Elder Brother and Sisters had a fighting prowess so domineering that they could only be surpassed by Yang Qi's true self.

Yang Qi didn't provoke the Demolishing tribulation yet. After all, he knew that his Demolishing tribulation would be particularly severe, and would likely cover the entire planetary system with tribulation clouds. In fact, it could even reduce the Megaplexus and Coiling Arc planetary systems to dust.

It was a situation not to be taken lightly, a tribulation in which extremely dangerous things would be sent to try to destroy him.

Another factor was that, since he had ensconced his nascent divinity in the Hell of Mahānata, Hell of Gloom and Darkness, and Tusita Heaven; once he stepped into Demolishing, dangerously powerful streams of energy from those high-level planes would flow toward him.

During the decade that passed, Yang Qi performed plenty of calculations and divinations to try to pin down the precise moment when he should strive toward immortal ascension. Calculations made with his Wheel of Fate told him that now was not the time for a breakthrough. The process of the breakthrough alone would attract other powerful experts, who would likely try to take advantage of him in the moment. After all, unlike previous tribulations it was something which provoked a complete and utter change to one's life and life force.

To cultivators, becoming an immortal was like gaining a new life, like being completely born anew. The days spent before becoming an immortal were like time spent as a fetus or toddler. Eventually, matters of the mortal world would be deemed completely inconsequential.

After becoming an immortal, one could truly begin cultivating the dao.

In the end, it was clear that Yang Qi's immortal ascension would surpass anything ordinary. It would be a domineering act that would cow the sun and moon, cause planets to fall, terrify immortals, fill heaven and earth with blood, and cause ghosts and gods to weep.

Therefore, he didn't want to casually provoke that tribulation in the mortal world. Instead, he chose to remain as a half-demolisher for some time, building up reserves of power and energy.

That said, he was already strong enough to make the effort if he wished. After all, he was now so powerful that no one could possibly stand up to him. He was a half-Demolisher who was enlightened regarding the dao of Demolishing. The only thing he lacked was the baptism of tribulation.

He was prepared in all ways, to the point where he had an enormous śarīra hovering in his sea of energy. It was a crystalline expression of the power of faith, as large as a planet hanging in the starry sky and filled with the power of the Tusita Heaven. It was a level of power that came close to that of the kingdom of the gods, filled with godliness.

The śarīra had also been packed with quintessence energy from thousands of planets, the sagelight of the halls of heaven, the quintessence-blood of innumerable god-devils, and essence power from the Hell of Mahānata, Hell of Gloom and Darkness, and Tusita Heaven. The truth was that not even Yang Qi was sure how much power that śarīra contained.

It would be his biggest asset when stepping into the Demolishing level, and would ensure that he could make the attempt anywhere he wanted.

"Qi'er, why haven't you stepped into Demolishing?" Yang Zhan asked one day. "Many members of the Yang Clan have pushed their cultivation to the heights of the Demi-Immortal level. Some are even Universal Demi-Immortals. The clan has dramatically advanced and the children are truly growing up."

"I'm glad to hear that, Father," Yang Qi replied. "For now, I'm not going to step into Demolishing. There are too many bad things that could happen to the planetary system as a result. After I leave, Eldest Brother will take care of everything here. He has the bloodline of the ancient Magefolk, and has already mastered the five godly-class energy arts I gave him and completed his immortal body. He can also control the god formation to draw magical laws from the Tusita Heaven."

"Wait, Qi'er, do you mean you're leaving? Where are you going to go?"

"To find mother, of course." Eyes burning with animosity, he continued, "Proud Heaven kidnapped her, therefore, I wouldn't deserve to be her son if I didn't get her back, and kill him in the process. Based on my reckonings, the Titan Emperor Heaven will undergo a major tribulation soon, something that could end with its ultimate destruction. I need to go investigate, and try to figure out where Proud Heaven is. Supposedly, he's the sworn brother of the lord of the Titan Emperor Heaven, so there is no better location for me to get the information I need."

"I see," Yang Zhan said. Frowning worriedly, he continued, "But it's already been ten years since Greensura went missing."

"Don't worry. He kidnapped mother to lure me out. But I'm going to beat him at his own game, no matter what he's capable of or where he's from. He's on my kill list, and people like that are doomed to suffer a dismal fate. It was like that with the Crown Prince, and it's the same with Proud Heaven."

"In that case, Qi'er, when are you planning to leave? You slaughtered a whole host of heavenly soldiers and commanders, so many that some of the corpses are still lying around waiting to be refined. If you go up there and get captured, then what?" Yang Zhan simply couldn't keep his concern hidden.

"Don't worry about that, I'll be going in undercover. Besides, Titan Duelbringer is familiar with the place, and he'll be a lot of help. In fact, I hope to immediately infiltrate the higher levels of leadership there. No fooling around at the bottom rungs."

In the years that had passed, Yang Qi had helped Titan Duelbringer form a new immortal body using the magical laws of the Tusita Heaven. As such, he was far stronger than before. And considering how much he knew about the Titan Emperor Heaven, it would be a simple thing to sneak back up into the heaven above.

Normally speaking, people needed to be Demolishers before they could attempt to rise to the immortal world above. But as a Fateless One, Yang Qi was different.

After all, he could even pierce through the greyspace of the Hell of Mahānata, much less the weaker greyspace of the Titan Emperor Heaven.

"The Sage Monarch planetary system is stronger and more prosperous than ever," Yang Zhan said, "and we have an endless supply of fiend-devils. Your kingdom in hell is a bastion of safety, and the seventeen other experts of the Invincible Society are famous throughout the universe. In fact, it was only three years ago that your Eldest Brother Mage Cloudwalker went to the Misty Kingdom and challenged all eight of their imperial princes to duels. Defeating them caused the Misty Kingdom to lose a lot of face, and forced them to admit how superior we are. With your Eldest Brother in charge, I think we'll be fine."

"Incredible!" Yang Qi said. "Other than me, Eldest Brother must be the most domineering figure around. He'll definitely continue advancing by leaps and bounds, and also help my immortal clone to grow stronger."

The time had come. Yang Qi summoned all of the core figures of the Sage Monarch planetary system, including Eldest Brother, Elder Second Brother, and the rest of the Invincible Society, and his blood brothers Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong, who were both powerful eighth order Demi-Immortals. Thanks to the corpses of the heavenly soldiers, they would continue to advance their cultivation and soon reach the Demolishing level.

Looking around at the crowd, Yang Qi said, "After building up reserves for the past decade, I'm stronger than ever. Unfortunately, I have a lot of enemies. Once I leave, all of you need to be very careful. Of course, I can always return here to help deal with any enemies that show up."

"Don't worry, Junior Brother," Eldest Brother said coolly. "My investigations over the years have identified the organizations which secretly oppose us, and I'll get rid of them soon enough."

"I trust you to handle it, Eldest Brother. Unfortunately, my true enemies are from the immortal worlds. Incidentally, watch out for that kid in yellow. He's another of the biggest threats, and has likely reached the level of being able to achieve breakthroughs in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart."