Sage Monarch

"Grand Prince, that Vile Dragon model you just purchased was one of the most powerful battleships we have in stock and was actually constructed from the corpse of a vile dragon. Of course, we augmented the corpse with various other building materials, using the special engineering methods of the ancient mechanical civilization. For instance, the techniques of spatial compression, time compaction, particle separation, and so on were all very useful.

"It takes a crew of several hundred thousand to operate, but it can house over one billion personnel if necessary. It can easily cruise through the spatial tempests outside of the immortal worlds, although it requires massive power reserves to do so. At the very least, it would need power from a fifteenth-ranked immortal world. That said, Grand Prince, considering you have power stones from the thirty-third ranked Tusita Heaven, you shouldn't have any problems."

The top Mechfolk experts from the Lost Civilization Consortium continued jabbering, describing their machines using a host of terms Yang Qi didn't understand. They were using terminology that came, not from an immortal dao civilization, but instead from some other culture.

Although Yang Qi didn't understand what all of the words meant, he got the general picture: the battleship he had purchased was very powerful. Furthermore, it had size-altering properties. At its largest, it could cover an entire continent. But when shrunk down, it could fit in his pocket. It was a space-folding function that rivalled the techniques one could attain with the magical laws of the dao of immortals.

The downside was that it required tremendous power.

The Titan Emperor Heaven was a first-ranked immortal world, thus it couldn't ever hope to power a battleship that needed the power of a fifteenth-ranked immortal world. Places like that were vastly superior to the Titan Emperor Heaven. In fact, not even ten thousand Titan Emperor Heavens put together could match up to a location like that. Not even the emperor of the Titan Emperor Heaven was strong enough to go to such locations.

Yang Qi had just concluded a major business transaction with the Mechfolk, using heaps of power stones to purchase mechas and battleships. Both sides had benefited greatly. After all, the Mechfolk lacked power stones from high-level planes in the universe, and Yang Qi's forces in the lower world were now far better equipped to conquer the other holy lands of true cultivation. He needed the faith from those lands to start building the reserves of power he would require for further breakthroughs.

That said, the faith he did have access to caused his blood to sizzle and the Blood of the One God in his forehead to grow stronger.

Even as Yang Qi concluded his business with the Mechfolk, a meeting was taking place in an enormous mansion somewhere else in the imperial city.

Proud Warpatience was in attendance, yet he wasn't presiding over the meeting. The person in charge wore the robes of the imperial house. His face was blank of any expression, and he didn't even emanate a scrap of an aura. He was none other than the crown prince, the same man who had been such a shock to Yang Qi by remaining completely out of sight.

No matter where this crown prince stood, no one would ever notice him. That just went to show how powerful he was. It was also why no one ever dared to look down on him; his divine abilities defied description.

"Crown Prince," Proud Warpatience said, "Your Majesty, I have to say that it seems Princess Jadefall is really turning into a threat to you." From the way he spoke, it was obvious that he feared the crown prince. He kept his voice down and was very respectful as he offered his musings and advice. "Your main goal is to become a boundless Godmyth and ascend to a higher immortal world. Later, you will return and take over rulership of our Titan Emperor Heaven. Unfortunately, Princess Jadefall was appointed as the eminent princess. Now she has enough clout to clash with you openly! In the mortal world, only the crown prince would have the right to succeed the emperor, but we do things differently in the immortal world. Succession is based on cultivation level and Princess Jadefall has a special physique, with immense power coursing in her blood. As time progresses, she's only going to get stronger. That's especially true considering that her right-hand man is Titan Dragonguard. With him, she's like a tiger that has grown wings! Crown Prince, you really need to handle this situation with finesse."

"I honestly don't care much about the issue of succession," the crown prince said in a cool, calm voice. "The core teachings and doctrines of the Titan Emperor Heaven aren't even important. That said, Princess Jadefall is going to be a tough opponent. As for her special physique, it makes her what the ancient mythological texts refer to as a Reincarnated One. Although she technically does have Titan blood in her, the truth is that her blood surpasses the god Titan's. You see, right before Princess Jadefall was born, her mother dreamed of six earthquakes and was infused with a blast of quintessence energy. Princess Jadefall thinks the matter is a big secret, but I knew about it long ago. The more time that passes, the bigger threat she will be."

'So she's a Reincarnated One!' Proud Warpatience thought. At long last he had proof of his earlier suspicions, thanks to the crown prince. 'My Master Proud Heaven actually made a mistake in his calculations. As it turns out, the low-level Titan Emperor Heaven does have a Reincarnated One. Luckily, Princess Jadefall doesn't have full control of her powers yet, and won't until she reaches the Godmyth level. If she does unlock the full powers of her reincarnation, she'll be impossible to beat. I definitely need to notify Master Proud Heaven and tell him to get back here as quickly as possible.'

Of course, he didn't give any clue as to his true thoughts. Eyes flickering, he said, "Crown Prince, what exactly is a Reincarnated One? I've never heard of anything like that before. Is it some kind of powerful body? I mean, there are definitely plenty of powerful body types in the immortal worlds. For instance, there's the Nine Yins True Body, the Nine Yangs Origin Spawn, the Heptametal Body, the Five Phases Spirit Body, and so on. They all lead to rapid cultivation advancement."

"Forget about that for now," the crown prince said. His face remained as expressionless as ever, yet a knowing look flickering in the depths of his eyes as he looked at Proud Warpatience. "Princess Jadefall will be difficult to deal with, but it seems to me that the bigger problem is Titan Dragonguard."

"No way," one of the grand princes said. "He's a nobody, and isn't even close to reaching a truly high level of cultivation. How could he possibly be more difficult to deal with than Princess Jadefall?"

Ignoring the grand prince, the crown prince said, "What do you think, Proud Warpatience?"

From the way he looked at him, it was almost as if he understood secrets that Proud Warpatience thought were hidden.

'Wait. Don't tell me that the crown prince knows about my fight with Titan Dragonguard back in the Hanging Heaven!' Proud Warpatience was surprised, but didn't let it show on his face. Nodding, he said, "It shouldn't be hard to dig up more information on Princess Jadefall, including the techniques she cultivates, her habits, et cetera. But Titan Dragonguard is a mystery. In less than a year, he went from being a minor figure to being a grand prince. Nobody knows what divine abilities he has, or what techniques he cultivates. We do know that he's a vicious killer that currently seems invincible. That's what makes him seem like such a terrifying force. Crown Prince, as we all know, you cultivate a consummate technique that makes you virtually omniscient, able to comprehend the most profound rotations of the universe, with eternal wisdom and knowledge. Can't you divine some information about Titan Dragonguard's background?"

"Yes, I can. Otherwise I wouldn't have called this meeting with the various grand princes, and other important officials like you, Proud Warpatience." Looking over at one of the other officials, he said, "Director, what information do you have about Titan Dragonguard?"

The Director of Internal Affairs rose to his feet respectfully and said, "Roughly a year ago, Titan Duelbringer and Titan Dragonguard paid a 'fine' to the Department of Internal Affairs in the form of power stones, to expunge their record and get new positions. At that time, Titan Dragonguard was a down-and-out descendant of someone from the imperial house who had fallen so low in society he lived among the commoners. That story is probably a cover, and he likely has another identity altogether.

"As for Titan Duelbringer, he previously worked in the Department of Internal Affairs and was sent as an emissary to the lower world to handle a minor problem. Unfortunately, he failed in his mission and was said to have been killed. Somehow, he survived and he snuck back up here, greased palms here and there in the Department of Internal Affairs, and started putting together a network of powerful allies. In fact, he's so influential now that his word sometimes outweighs my own. And since he holds positions in both the Department of Internal Affairs and the Department of the Imperial Clan, unless the Superintendent of the Imperial Clan and myself work together, he's too powerful to deal with."

"Something is off here," the crown prince said, then a slight smile appeared on his face. "Titan Dragonguard's story is definitely a sham. Perhaps that's what we can use to put some pressure on him."

"You think he's an imposter?" one of the other grand princes said. "But he definitely has the blood of Titan. We can all sense it. In fact, his blood is so strong that he seems like a clan member from generations past."

"That's what's so suspicious," the crown prince said. "His blood is so pure that it seems likely it's fake. Considering how many generations have passed, the Titan blood in the imperial house is weak. It can be strengthened with certain difficult types of cultivation, but how could he possibly have access to techniques like that? From what I can tell, this Titan Dragonguard is the biggest threat we face, and I even suspect he wants to overthrow the dynasty. Unfortunately, he's a grand prince and is allied with Eminent Princess Jadefall. Therefore, we can't make a move against him openly, and an assassination wouldn't be wise. For now, we just have to keep an eye on him and set a trap that he'll never be able to escape from."

"What exactly do you have in mind, Crown Prince?" Proud Warpatience said, well aware that the crown prince was enigmatic, impossible to predict, and far more intelligent than the grand princes in general.

"We start by interrogating Titan Duelbringer," the crown prince replied coolly. "There's definitely something fishy going on with him. Have him secretly arrested, using the failure of his mission in the lower world as the pretext. Accuse him of bribing officials as well. I refuse to believe that Titan Dragonguard will be able to come up with any reasonable justification to interfere. He was just appointed grand prince, so if he breaks any rules it will make it that much easier to make a move against him."

"Clever! Very clever!" said another of the grand princes. "We interrogate Titan Duelbringer and see how Titan Dragonguard reacts. A great plan!"

Unbeknownst to everyone present, the yellow-garbed young man with the buzz cut and Chancellor Demi-Immortal were hidden in that very same meeting hall, eavesdropping on the meeting.

"Why didn't you reveal that Titan Dragonguard is actually Yang Qi?" Chancellor Demi-Immortal asked. "If you did, he wouldn't be able to establish a foothold in the Titan Emperor Heaven."