Sage Monarch

As simply as that, Yang Qi doled out nine Heaven-Dragon Devil-Subduing Swords to buy his way into the Dao Defense League. And it worked. Oftentimes, greasing palms was the best way to get ahead. It was just like the ancient saying: the king of hell is easy to deal with, but minor devils are hard to handle. Usually, the 'minor devils' handled day-to-day affairs, and if you didn't take them seriously, it could lead to a disaster. But treat them well, and they would make your path smooth.

Just as he'd expected, this group offered to vouch for him and help him out. In fact, they immediately began treating him like the important offspring from an aristocratic clan that he was supposed to be. Although he'd supposedly come for training, he understood how things worked and immediately tried to make some friends. Everyone liked people such as that.

Now it was time to proceed with the next part of the act. Yang Qi unleashed some of the fundamental nature of the Eight Tribes Godfist and used it to tap the captain, who staggered backward as a result.

Immediately, the captain's previous expression of veiled contempt was replaced with one of respect and veneration. In the immortal worlds, respect was offered to the strong. Moments before, this small team of nine had assumed the Yang Qi was just a young noble from an aristocratic clan who relied on the backing of his family to get ahead in the world. They had even considered taking advantage of him in some way. But now that they realized he knew some of the ancient secrets of the powerful Dragonfolk, the Eight Tribes Godfist, they couldn't help but shiver in fear. And they didn't dare do anything to offend him.

With virtually no work at all, Yang Qi essentially became the new leader of their little group, capable of issuing any orders he wanted and having them followed without hesitation. Of course, some of the reason for that was because he had acquired the powers of a Fraudulent One and an Inspiring One. It now took little effort to convince people to acknowledge allegiance.

"Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven, we're disciples of the Nine Yangs God Sect from the twenty-sixth ranked Supreme Immortal World. It's a very prestigious sect, and we have a lot of power in the Dao Defense League. Right now, we can take you to see one of the Godmyth elders from our sect, who is directly in charge of our team."

"That's right, Young Sir Dragon," said one of the female disciples. "You'll get a lot of benefits by joining us." Obviously, she was trying hard to get on Yang Qi's good side.

"Fine," Yang Qi said, nodding. "If I can rise a bit in the ranks of my clan by means of this training, then I'll offer profound thanks to all of you." With that, they led him to a certain immortal world, and a temple whose outer courtyard was filled with a random assortment of cultivators, clearly people who had come in the hopes of joining the Nine Yangs God Sect and fighting the future warriors for the Dao Defense League. Of course, Yang Qi knew that these people would be treated as little more than cannon fodder.

"Line up, everyone, line up!" shouted one of the disciples of the Nine Yangs God Sect. "Prepare to be inspected! You need to prove to the patriarch that you're strong and useful, and that you can really fight the future warriors!"

The potential recruits didn't dare to give voice to their anger at being yelled at and berated like children; instead, they meekly stood there.

Upon seeing Yang Qi approaching, a handful of particularly vicious disciples approached and said, "What do you think you're doing? You're not allowed inside the temple! Looking to die? If you take another step we'll cut you down!"

"Aiyo!" the captain of the team shouted, rushing forward to stand between Yang Qi and his vicious fellow disciples. Smiling at the disciple who had just spoken, he said, "Calm down, Junior Brother Yang."

"Well, if it isn't Elder Brother Zhen!" the disciple replied, narrowing his eyes. "What, you're taking this guy in to personally see the patriarch?"

"That's right," the captain replied. "This is Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven. He's not an ordinary person, and the patriarch definitely needs to see him in person. You absolutely, positively must not offend him."

"Oh?" The other disciples didn't seem inclined to trust the captain. But before anything else could happen, Yang Qi produced another magical treasure forged by a Godmyth patriarch, a pearl filled with god lightning. "Friends from the Nine Yangs God Sect, please, take this introductory gift."

After conquering the thirteenth ranked Glorious Treasure Heaven, Yang Qi had acquired quite a collection of magical treasures.

Although the Nine Yangs God Sect was from a twenty-sixth ranked immortal world, that immortal world was a huge place with an immense population and a lack of resources. It was like a monastery with many monks but not much congee. It wasn't as if every disciple from there would have a chance to get an item forged by a Godmyth patriarch.

Junior Brother Yang's eyes went wide at the sight of the pearl, and he held his hand out invitingly. "Please, Young Sir. Come with me to see the patriarch."

"After you, Young Sir!"

It was with utmost courteousness that they escorted Yang Qi inside. That immediately led to a buzz of conversation among the other disciples waiting outside, which soon threatened to turn into a commotion. However, the disciples of the Nine Yangs God Sect were quick to shut them up.

"If anyone dares to make a racket you'll be kicked out!"

"Do you people want to make yourselves an enemy of the Dao Defense League?"

"Hey, you! Get over here!" They grabbed one of the particularly loud complainers, strung him up, and gave him a lashing with a whip. He screamed piteously for a long moment before passing out.

Yang Qi saw, and shook his head. That was the fate that awaited trouble makers.

In fact, if he hadn't greased palms with magical treasures, he might have similarly suffered. Thankfully, he was now on his way to see the Godmyth patriarch directly.

Inside the temple, Yang Qi caught sight of the patriarch, a first division Seer God who sat there with his eyes closed, cultivating his energy arts. At this point, Yang Qi could easily kill a hundred Seer Gods with a mere exhalation. However, he didn't want to make too much of a scene right now.

As they entered, the patriarch opened his eyes and said, "What's going on here? I told you to select the best of the best and have them gather outside. Why did you bring this fellow in here?"

Despite being a Godmyth, it was obvious that this man didn't hold a very impressive position within the Nine Yangs God Sect. In a sect from a twenty-sixth ranked immortal world, a Godmyth level would be important, but not necessarily very highly ranked.

"Patriarch," one of the disciples said, "this is Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven, who has the blood of the Dragonfolk and comes from a very important clan. He wants to join our Nine Yangs God Sect! He's very strong!"

Another of the disciples said, "Patriarch, please assess him!"

"Excellent. Blood of the Dragonfolk? That definitely makes you unique among immortals. Let's see how strong you are!" The patriarch waved his finger, sending a dazzling stream of sword energy out.

'Well,' Yang Qi thought, 'this is just what I would expect of a Godmyth from a twenty-sixth ranked immortal world. He's definitely stronger than the average Godmyth. That sword energy is dangerously sharp!'

Clenching his hand into a fist, he said, "Eight Tribes Godfist!"

A beam of bright light shot out, true energy in the shape of a dragon that caused muffled booms to ring out as it destroyed the sword energy.

"What?" the Godmyth patriarch murmured, visibly taken aback. Never could he have guessed that this new recruit would be so strong. With that, he went on to unleash a few more attacks. Yang Qi kept his true strength hidden and used only one one-hundred thousandth of what he was capable of with the Eight Tribes Godfist. Even that was more than enough to vanquish all of the sword energy.

"Excellent," the patriarch said, rising to his feet. "That was the Eight Tribes Godfist, a godly-class energy art! I almost can't believe you've cultivated four of them. And I can tell that you're actually holding back. I'd say that you're clearly capable of tangling with a first division Seer God patriarch from a twentieth ranked immortal world. And your cultivation base is only ninth stage Dao-Demolishing. You're definitely a genius, and whatever aristocratic Dragonfolk clan you come from, it's clearly beyond ordinary."

"You flatter me, Patriarch. Many thanks. Unfortunately, calamity has struck, and we all have a responsibility to fight back against the future world. They want to throw the dao of heaven and karma itself into chaos. If they succeed, we won't be able to practice cultivation, and eventually, all heaven and earth will descend into nirvanic extermination. It's a true catastrophe. As someone who cultivates the dao of immortals, I want to fight these wretch-devils, if for no other reason than to save myself and everyone else." Yang Qi's words fairly thrummed with righteousness and inspiration. "The Nine Yangs God Sect is famous everywhere, and I've always admired it. I brought a gift from my clan's patriarchs, and if you think you could make use of it, I will happily give it to you."

Even as the words left his mouth, Yang Qi produced a heaven-devil śarīra.

The patriarch was visibly stunned. "That's a heaven-devil śarīra created from the quintessence energy of a Tempered God! It has virtual godhood! In order to create something like that, you would have to kill a Tempered God heaven-devil with one clean blow, then seal it to make sure it didn't use any special divine abilities to destroy its own body. Only an Incarnated God could possibly do something like that!"

"Actually, this was made by one of the Shattered Gods from my clan," Yang Qi said in what was an obvious boast.

The Godmyth patriarch nodded his head and sized Yang Qi up again. "I accept this amazing gift of yours. It will be a lot of help in gaining enlightenment of the Tempered God level. Considering you've offered to join our Nine Yangs God Sect and help fight the future warriors, I'll make sure that you aren't disappointed in how things turn out. We're one of the most important factions in the Dao Defense League. Our leader, Sectlord Nine Yangs, is a ninth division Chaos God, just on the verge of reaching the Deathless Throne."

'A ninth division Chaos God?' Yang Qi thought, shivering. 'There's no way I can deal with someone like that right now. Just exactly how strong is he, I wonder?'

Because of how the Dao Defense League had taken the lead in fighting back against the future world, it was destined to grow much mightier, and would eventually be a major force in the millions upon millions of immortal worlds that were spread like eternal sands through the universe. Having a high status in that alliance would be very beneficial to Yang Qi. And by giving this Godmyth patriarch a heaven-devil śarīra, Yang Qi had acquired a new friend who would surely be useful in the days to come.

"Henceforth, Dragon Proudheaven, you are a member of the Dao Defense League. Here's your magical identification symbol!" A golden beam of light shot into Yang Qi's forehead, creating a symbol that read 'dao'. It had no powers of its own and was only an identification mark.

"Do you want to go right now to fight some future warriors? Or do you want to observe some of the fighting first to see what you're up against?"

"I'll wait for a bit before taking on any future warriors," Yang Qi said. "I'd like to first see exactly how strong they are, and get used to the Dao Defense League."

"Whatever you wish. Men, come. Arrange for a rite center for Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven to work on his cultivation in!"

1. The yang from the name of the Nine Yangs God Sect is the same as in yin and yang.

2. In quite the coincidence, this random disciple bears the exact same surname as Yang Qi.