Sage Monarch

"Hai!" Yang Qi shouted, thrusting both fists out to meet Bright Fatality, sending him spinning backward like a top. Yang Qi had already begun assimilating the true energy that had been sent into him. After all, the Myriad Gods Holy Pilgrimage Energy Art was cultivated by absorbing the power of myriad gods. And of course, the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was the pure bane of such techniques.

Every time Bright Fatality hit him, he was able to simply assimilate the force of the blows that coursed through his meridians.

His Heaven and Earth Furnace was working overtime as it began melting the influx of true energy. As a result, his power index was climbing, and his fist strikes were already becoming more powerful than before.

'This punk seems to be getting stronger as we fight. Isn't he ever going to run out of power? Why is each fist strike more devastating than the previous?' Bright Fatality had already wasted a lot of true energy, and despite launching one attack after another, he didn't seem to be making headway. In fact, he had a feeling that if things kept going this way, he would have a hard time achieving victory.

Without hesitation, he resorted to a deadly move that caused both of his fists to be wrapped in a soft, but mighty power that was like a vortex spreading out in all directions.

They were almost like small-scale tornadoes

Thanks to the constraints of the Land of God Extermination, the tornadoes were only about the height of an average person, but were still terrifyingly strong. On the outside, even an expert with a power index of three thousand would have been ripped to shreds by them.

"That's the Nightmare Godwind Palm!" An Yiru shouted. "Don't get sucked into those tornadoes, otherwise you'll never escape."

Yang Qi snorted coldly. "Godwind? We'll see about that!"

Determined to vanquish power with greater power, he strode forward and launched a palm toward the tornadoes. During the course of the fight, Yang Qi was melding his various abilities together into a martial arts system of his own. Of course, it wasn't anything that would surpass the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, King Immortal-Slayer's techniques, or similar things, but it was perfectly suited to his own style of fighting.

It was something that most experts would do after they reached a certain point in their martial path. Although Yang Qi was making a lot of progress, this martial discipline of his wasn't yet fully developed. Even so, the move he was unleashing right now was profound and difficult to counter.

WHOOOOOSH!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the tornadoes collapsed under the might of Yang Qi's attack. Then, his palm was right in front of Bright Fatality.

Bright Fatality could never have guessed that Yang Qi's cultivation base was so strong that it could destroy his Nightmare Godwind Palm. Leaping to the side, he just barely dodged the incoming attack, landing hard on the ground with a very unsightly expression on his face.

Of course, Yang Qi wasn't going to give him any breathing room, and pressed the attack. He attacked in a blur, almost like the sun rising in the east, causing a boundless radiance full of warmth and life force to drive away all wretched evil and wicked power.

He was now building up to his strongest attack. Moments ago, when vanquishing the tornadoes of the godwind, he had absorbed the godpower and sent it into his sea of energy to bolster his virtual godhood, which was now becoming so close to corporeal that it almost looked like crystal.

It was very nearly true godhood!

At the same time, he had his will spread out over the surrounding Land of God Extermination, where he observed the battlefield and what remained of the carnage. Thanks to the scars of battle left by the gods, he was picking up all sorts of techniques, experiences, and thoughts. He was even able to gain some enlightenment from the river of blood.

His moves came naturally and with ease, which indicated that he had reached a profoundly enigmatic point on the martial path, almost as if he were a god of battle.

BOOM!

The vital energy in the area trembled as Yang Qi yet again thrust his hands out, causing an energy field to surge out that instantly knocked Bright Fatality off balance.

"Little punk! You really have a death wish!" Furious, Bright Fatality stamped both feet down, causing them to sink into the ground and giving him a very solid foundation to stand on. "I've been waiting for this moment. Watch my final, killing move. Myriad Gods Total Destruction!"

All of a sudden, the numerous tattoos on him sprang to life again and swirled around his arms, which he shoved out to meet the incoming energy field.

Grabbing the energy field, he twisted it on its side, then sent his deadly attack continuing on toward Yang Qi, the double fist strike that was Myriad Gods Total Destruction.

"Don't let it touch you!" An Yiru blurted anxiously.

Yang Qi snorted coldly. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll use it to completely destroy his confidence!"

He lunged forward in majestic fashion, unleashing an explosion of mysterious and profound techniques with two fists.

RIP!

Four fists met each other, and Yang Qi staggered backward three paces. As for Bright Fatality, he let out an agonized shriek and flew backward, blood spurting out of numerous wounds. Shockingly, he was heading directly toward the river of blood, and had been hit so badly that it didn't seem like he would be able to stop himself from falling in.

Unexpectedly, Yang Qi had struck a blow that was about to end his opponent's life!

WHOOSH!

Sorrow Might suddenly burst into motion, becoming a streak of white that ran to the edge of the river. There, he grabbed Bright Fatality, who had so much blood splashed on him he looked like he was a statue of blood. Furthermore, his meridians were shattered and his sea of energy was in complete disarray. It looked like he might even have sustained injuries to his nascent divinity.

Sorrow Might quickly sent some true energy into him to heal him a bit. A moment later, Bright Fatality came to his senses and said, "Many thanks, Brother Sorrow Might. I won't forget how you saved me just now. This brat really is too vicious."

"Don't mention it, Brother Bright Fatality. You lost, and I saved you. From here on out, you should really follow my lead in things. It won't be long before I have Terrifying will, so if you stick with me, you won't end up in bad situations like this anymore."

"If you manage to beat him in a fight, Brother Sorrow Might, I might consider that. But if you can't, I'm afraid Memory Peak will be taking the lead from now on."

Even in their current situation, the two of them were still trying to one-up each other.

Meanwhile, laughter erupted as more powerful disciples from the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect flew over at top speed and landed on the bank of the blood river.

One of them was Xie Spiritwall, the very same one who had launched a surprise attack on Yang Qi some time earlier. In addition to him, there were several groups from other mountain peaks who were obviously being led by their chief disciples.

When they arrived, and realized that Yang Qi had defeated Bright Fatality, all of them looked surprised. That was especially true of Xie Spiritwall, whose face fell as he thought, 'When I ambushed this little punk, he used some sort of consummate technique to come out on top. And now he's joined Memory Peak? There must be more to this story than meets the eye. Where the hell did he come from?'

Meanwhile, a man strode out and said, "I have to say, I'm surprised that Memory Peak managed to recruit a top expert like this!" He pulsed with immense pressure, and from the way the disciples he had brought with him looked at him in awe, he was obviously their leader.

In fact, even Sorrow Might shivered. "Emperor Heart-Celestial? So, Celestial Peak wants to join this brouhaha?"

'People from Celestial Peak?!' Yang Qi thought. As An Yiru had explained to him, there were fifty mountain peaks that made up the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect. Celestial Peak was the strongest of them, and the peaklord from there was even stronger than the peaklord of Memory Peak. They had major influence over the council of chief elders, the most plentiful resources, and the strongest disciples. When disciples from other mountain peaks met them, they always held back from doing anything inappropriate, and did everything to avoid causing a fight, as well.

Obviously, this Emperor Heart-Celestial was the chief disciple from there, as was evidenced by his very domineering name.

Without the power assessment systems, Yang Qi couldn't be sure of the level of his cultivation base, but his guess was that it was over three thousand.

Worse, if Yang Qi could have sensed the pressure coming from him, it would have at least confirmed that his power was limited. But Yang Qi couldn't sense anything, which was even more terrifying. That meant that his power and will surpassed Yang Qi so much that he couldn't even get a sense of what it was.

"Exactly," Emperor Heart-Celestial said. "Godhood has appeared in the Land of God Extermination, and none of you can fly over this river of blood to get it. Therefore, all of the godhood is going to Celestial Peak. I'd say that's reasonable, wouldn't you? What, don't agree, Sorrow Might? Are you really going to lead your people to challenge Celestial Peak, the top force among the fifty mountain peaks?"

Sorrow Might gave a forced laugh and pushed Bright Fatality aside. "This new treasure trove is a public discovery, so if you can fly us all over, then let's just share the godhood. What do you say?"

"There's not enough godhood for all of us to share," Emperor Heart-Celestial said. "Didn't you just suggest having a competition, then giving the godhood to whichever mountain peak comes out on top? I rather like that idea."

"That? You want to participate in a competition like that?" Sorrow Might said. "Well, fine. In that case, you can be the next to challenge this kid from Memory Peak."

"That won't be necessary," Emperor Heart-Celestial said. "Normally speaking, we follow the prescribed order. Your three factions were the first to arrive here, and you haven't finished your little competition. Therefore, I won't participate. I'll just have one of my subordinates step in."

1. In this case, "Emperor" is being treated as a surname, not a title.