Sage Monarch

A great din rose up as the troops turned to leave.

Princess Jadefall had won an enormous victory. She had crushed the generalissimo of the armed forces, earning the right to lead her campaign against the Hanging Heaven. She had come out on top in every way possible, and it was all thanks to Yang Qi.

After dismissing her troops, she wanted to meet with him. She had to find out who this Titan Dragonguard was, and what kind of energy arts he practiced. After all, his defeat of Grand Duke Bloodstabber was a shocking matter in which he simply spoke and the man died.

"Come with me, Titan Dragonguard," she said. "You may step onto my chariot."

"Your humble servant wouldn't dare!" Yang Qi blurted.

"Quit exaggerating. Considering the level of your cultivation base, what are you scared of? And considering the services you've performed, you've earned rewards and glory of no small amount." Waving her hand, she sent out a spatial fluctuation that grabbed Yang Qi and pulled him up to her chariot.

Once inside, Yang Qi realized how large it was. In fact, it contained a minor world, within the depths of which was the aura of some primeval godling. Unexpectedly, this chariot was actually a god item, filled with immense deathless godliness.

"Surprised? This chariot is a powerful god item called Titan's War Chariot. You see, Titan was one of the ancient gods of the past, and is our ancestor. That's why we all bear the surname Titan. All members of the imperial house have the blood of Titan. In other words, the bloodline of a god. I already checked with the Department of Internal Affairs, and I'm aware of your background. You're the son of a commoner and a down-and-out imperial clansman. However, the Department of the Imperial Clan tested you and confirmed you have the blood of Titan, which proves you're no imposter."

As it turned out, Princess Jadefall had already looked into Yang Qi's identity.

He smiled inwardly. 'My God Legion Seal has the blood of the legion of gods, much less the blood of Titan. Seems I've truly secured my place as an imperial clansman.'

As of this point, he was convinced he could proceed with his master plan. He would now be able to show the full might of the gods instead of hiding in the shadows. Although keeping a low profile was fine, it made it impossible to rise through the ranks.

Now, Yang Qi was feeling a lot more confident in being able to capture Proud Warpatience and use him to get information about Proud Heaven.

If he could work things out with Princess Jadefall, it would mean the time had come to safely step into the Demolishing level. After that, he wouldn't fear any sort of danger. With Princess Jadefall on his side, he could definitely secure a safe location for the breakthrough.

Once he succeeded, who could possibly be a match for him? Not even the sovereign of heaven would be able to.

"As an imperial clansman, it's my duty to protect the honor of Titan," Yang Qi said. "That Proud Warpatience gets most of his clout from Proud Heaven, and he's only getting stronger and stronger. If we don't do something about him now, the consequences could be too dire to even contemplate. Princess, I've heard rumors that Proud Heaven somehow saved the Titan Emperor Heaven? Do you know the full story? I've never even seen this Proud Heaven before."

"Proud Heaven is a legend, but the details are unclear. He came to the Titan Emperor Heaven as a clone, not his true self. He has clones among other immortal worlds as well. In fact, the top society in the alliance of thirty-six thousand lesser immortal worlds, the Brahman Society, is run by one of his clones. He's virtually invincible, and his Mass Cloning ability indicates that he's most likely a Godmyth. Perhaps he's even broken through to the Deathless Throne. When the time comes, I can tell you more about him. From what I understand, he did save our immortal world; however, it wasn't out of any sort of good will. He wanted something. Unfortunately, no one here is strong enough to stand up to him, otherwise we would have long since executed Proud Warpatience."

Unfortunately, what Princess Jadefall was telling Yang Qi only made him more leery of Proud Heaven.

Soon, the chariot reached Princes Jadefall's mansion, where a teleportation portal appeared, leading to another aspect of space that seemed constructed of true gold and covered with ancient totemic designs that depicted the grandeur of the ancient god Titan. They depicted an enormous giant without facial features, wielding a massive hammer as he crushed universal planes out of existence as easily as chicken eggs.

"This is the Kingdom of Titan, a secret cultivation chamber built for the use of the imperial house. There's a godrelic here that contains copious amounts of Titan True Energy, which only we of the imperial house can use. It can lead to incredible advancements in cultivation. Only those with the bloodline of Titan can benefit from this place. Any others who try to do so will die as a result."

She reached out and a stream of ancient vital energy converged on her hand, becoming a gray streak of light that caused thunderous rumblings to ripple out.

Yang Qi took a break, inhaling one of the gray streaks. Once it was inside him, his God Legion Seal sent out some power to neutralize it, then added it to his internal pellet of true energy. His action only further served to cement his identity as a member of the imperial house.

"Okay," Princess Jadefall said, finally convinced of his identity. "You performed a truly amazing service, Titan Dragonguard. What reward do you seek? I can confer you with the title of marquis right here and now! You should be able to rise to the rank of duke relatively easily. In fact, considering your blood, becoming a minor king, vice prince, or grand prince would also be possible."

"Princess, I do have a request," Yang Qi said. "I need a safe place to work on a breakthrough. In terms of a title, I'll accept whatever you give me. Titles are just titles, after all. I'm more interested in getting personally stronger and being able to restore the glory of Titan. If other immortal worlds try to bully and humiliate the Titan Emperor Heaven, I'll exterminate them! I want our immortal world to rise to much higher heights!"

"Very ambitious of you," Princess Jadefall said. "That's exactly what I wish to do as well. As you probably know, the immortal worlds are like the eternal grains of sand in the universe. There are a total of thirty-three ranks for immortal worlds, and our Titan Emperor Heaven is the lowest of those. Worse, various calamities throughout the years have damaged our essence, making it easy for other immortal worlds to pick on us. We really need to change that."

As she spoke, this famous young princess' eyes shone with inimitable battle spirit, making her seem like a valiant and formidable figure.

Yang Qi couldn't help but sigh in admiration. The truth was that he ultimately intended to devour this immortal world and use it to strengthen the Sage Monarch planetary system and his kingdom in hell. With this immortal world as a foundation, he could ensure that his friends and family all had a safe place to grow and thrive.

Sadly, that meant that Princess Jadefall was destined to be his enemy. In turn, that meant he had no choice but to be two-faced in this situation. After all, he knew that Princess Jadefall was a Reincarnated One.

"You can work on your cultivation here, Titan Dragonguard," she said. "Right now, you're a Demolisher, but are still working on your immortal body. That makes you an immortal soldier. Once you reach the second stage, Space-Demolishing, you'll become an immortal warrior." Seeing the vigilant look that had just sprung up on Yang Qi's face, she continued, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. And I won't ask any questions about your cultivation. I know that you acquired some ancient godrelic which enables you to mask your true power. Everyone has secrets—even me. But I'm convinced that you have the blood of the imperial house and are loyal to the empire. So of course I'll help you. And you did cut Proud Warpatience down a notch today."

"Many thanks, Princess!" Yang Qi said, bowing his head.

"You have no lack of power stones for use in cultivation, right? You're rich. Because of that, I won't bother offering you power. As for the Kingdom of Titan, I can't come and go freely here. I'm limited to using it a few times per year. This time, that limit is seven days, and I'm giving it all to you. Consider that your reward. Don't underestimate the Kingdom of Titan. Even the grand princes of the court are only allowed to come here occasionally for their cultivation. The aura of Titan here is very beneficial to people with blood like ours. I look forward to seeing what progress you make in seven days. By the time you're out, my request for your promotion will have been processed and you'll have your title. You'll also have your own army. When we make our move on the Hanging Heaven, I'll be relying on you and your experts to kill as many enemies as possible. After the campaign is over, we'll see about promoting you to duke, vice prince, or grand prince! With a higher title like that, you'll be an important government official who has a say in the politics of the nation. At that point, your ability to serve the imperial house will reach new heights."

If Yang Qi were an ordinary person, Princess Jadefall would never have spoken in such flowery language about him. And of course, Yang Qi couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at it all, although he didn't let that show on his face.

After offering a few more bits of advice, she departed and left Yang Qi alone in the Kingdom of Titan.

He looked around a bit, then began absorbing the aura of Titan, which was when he realized that this definitely was a godrelic. In fact, it seemed to be a place that Titan himself had used for meditation and breathing exercises in the past.

There was a faint godliness that was beneficial to Yang Qi's cultivation base and solidified his decision to further his cultivation here. Perhaps he could learn some secrets from this spatial kingdom as well.

Eventually, he found one corner of this plane of existence where a deep chasm existed, within which was a power vortex that no amount of psychic power could pierce into.

1. It is only at this point in the story that the wordplay connection to "Titan" is made. Their surname is actually only the first of the two-character transliteration of Titan into Chinese.