Sage Monarch

After the immortal-slaying clone sat in the receiving hall for a time, a new voice echoed out from the depths of the sect.

"Winter Bladedark, send the young hero into my secluded meditation facilities. And ask Peaklord Memory to come as well."

"Yes sir!"

One of the chief elders stepped forward. Looking at the clone, he said, "Young Hero, please come with me." Yang Qi had saved the life of Winter Bladedark's apprentice, earning the chief elder's full gratitude. In fact, among all the chief elders in the sect, he was the most fervent in his support of the sect's efforts to rescue Yang Qi from the executors. Unfortunately, the executors were just too powerful. Although the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect was a superpower sect, compared to the Executors of the Ancient Road, they were pitifully weak. That much was obvious from the humiliation they had suffered at the hands of the junior superintendent.

The immortal-slaying clone nodded, rose to his feet, and followed Winter Bladedark into the sect. They passed through numerous twists and turns, and made use of one teleportation portal after another. Eventually, they were in a very mysterious location deep within the sect.

The magical laws got tougher and stronger, and although they couldn't compare to the executors' prison, they were still very difficult to traverse through. Of course, the clone wasn't worried. Putting on a show of utmost confidence, he used the Engine of the One God to proceed without any impediment. After all, the engine was an unsurpassable piece of machinery that could rival countless god items.

Although the clone could have activated the power assessment systems to absorb the energy around him, he chose not to do so. The Will Manifestation Heaven Sect didn't seem interested in harming him, and were in fact leading him to a very important location in their sect.

Eventually, they reached an enormous altar, atop which hovered a silver object that was none other than a fragment of the Cruiser of Civilization. Within the spacecraft sat the sectlord, and in front of him sat a little girl, who was Peaklord Memory. Peaklord Celestial was also present.

Inwardly, the clone breathed a sigh of relief. Both of these peaklords supported Yang Qi, and the fact that the sectlord had brought them here indicated that this meeting should end with a favorable decision.

As the clone approached, the sectlord opened his eyes. Clicking his tongue in admiration, he said, "You have quite the constitution, Young Hero, and an invincible cultivation base. You actually cultivated an immortal-slaying body, and from what I can tell, you really are the successor of King Immortal-Slayer. That said, I've heard that there are some very nasty side-effects to assimilating King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions. You should really be careful with them."

"I'm aware of the side-effects," the clone replied. "Sectlord, please allow me to use the psychic scaling systems. I must extract Yang Qi from that prison."

"If you're really Yang Qi's brother, then of course we'll put our trust in you," Peaklord Memory said. "But do you have proof that's who you really are?"

The clone smiled and waved his finger. Instantly, Yang Qi's voice filled the air. "Sectlord, I'm stuck in Heaven Penitentiary, deep in the headquarters of the Executors of the Ancient Road. Thankfully, I've made a deal with the Wretch-God Apostle to help him escape. I've cultivated the True-Devil Unspoiled-by-Myriad-Kalpas-and-Tribulations Body to the level of twenty-four tribulations, but unfortunately it's put me in something of a bottleneck. If I can use the psychic scaling systems, I should be able to get myself out of this predicament. And perhaps I'll set the Wretch-God Apostle loose in the executors' headquarters along the way. That will definitely lead to a climactic battle."

The two peaklords were visibly stunned when they heard Yang Qi's voice.

"How are you doing that?" Peaklord Memory asked. "How are you communicating with Yang Qi?"

It only took a moment for Peaklord Celestial's face to flicker with understanding. "The Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. If you're the successor of King Immortal-Slayer, then you obviously have use of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. But if that's the case, why not use the space-time transmission functions of the chart to free Yang Qi?"

"Because I can't," the clone replied. "I can transmit energy in and out of that prison, but nothing corporeal. Although the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart is powerful, my cultivation base isn't strong enough. Perhaps when I reach the Terrifying level, I'll be able to."

The sectlord nodded. "So you want to use our psychic scaling systems to reach the Terrifying level. In that case, I'd like you to be honest with me and tell me who you and Yang Qi really work for. Yang Qi performed a great service in saving our Will Manifestation Heaven Sect, so we won't let him down. In fact, I'm willing to offer him the position of junior sectlord. But if he has other motives, that might make things difficult."

"Both of us are people who have stumbled across immense good fortune," the clone replied. "And we don't work for anyone else. I'd say it's not a bad idea to make Yang Qi your junior sectlord. Your Will Manifestation Heaven Sect is large and powerful, but chaotic times are coming. With his help, it's possible that your sect could become even stronger, perhaps to the point where you needn't fear the Executors of the Ancient Road."

"You two really don't work for anyone else?" The sectlord was clearly surprised. "You're completely on your own? That's even more impressive. It seems Peaklord Memory really happened across a true treasure in Yang Qi. Unfortunately, the psychic scaling systems require a huge amount of godhood to operate. I doubt you're strong enough to actually use them. You'll need our help."

"You're mistaken, Sectlord. As long as you give the go-ahead, I can definitely activate the psychic scaling systems. Is that fine with you?"

"They say the young are fearless, and you're a perfect example, boy," Peaklord Celestial said. "We've been working with the psychic scaling systems for years, now, and I can tell you that they're incredibly powerful. There are countless psychic spirits inside that already acknowledge the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect as their owner; there's simply no way you could directly activate them. The only way would be if you joined our sect and accepted a boundless energy art from the sectlord."

"That won't be necessary. Yang Qi can join your sect, but I have no desire to do so myself. Of course, we're related by blood, so if he becomes the junior sectlord, I'll offer him my full support. Sectlord, just give me the approval and I'll activate the systems. Agreed?"

"You've piqued my curiosity, Young Hero," the sectlord said with a faint smile. "In that case, I give you approval. Now let's see if you really can activate the psychic scaling systems."

"A word once spoken..." the clone said.

"... cannot be taken back even by a team of four horses," the sectlord finished.

"Begin!" An image sprang into being around the clone, a depiction of the imperial-heaven pre-beginning. Then, a flow of energy swept toward the psychic scaling systems, causing the fragment of the Cruiser of Civilization to visibly tremble. Then, countless photonic computers came online, causing a bright glow to fill the area.

[Beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep. Imperial-heaven pre-beginning systems! Boundlessly paramount!]

Instantly, the psychic scaling systems became a stream of bright light that moved with indescribable speed as it shot into the clone's heart.

"What's this?!" the sectlord blurted, very nearly leaping to his feet. As for the two peaklords, they were so shocked that they nearly passed out. How could a precious treasure that belonged to the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect simply turn traitor and abandon them?

A moment later, the sectlord regained his composure. "The Engine of the One God! You're using the Engine of the One God! That's the only thing that could possibly force the psychic scaling systems into submission."

The clone nodded and smiled. "You're right, I have the Engine of the One God. What do you think, sectlord? I wasn't exaggerating, was I?"

"Please return the psychic scaling systems immediately!" Peaklord Celestial said. "They're the key to our sect's success! For years now, that's the main way the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect has produced so many Terrifying experts."

"The Terrifying experts you can produce that way are very limited," the clone replied coolly. "Such people are weaker than me, and can never achieve further cultivation advancement. In other words, they have no hope of godly ascension. That said, I know that these systems are a treasure of your sect. No matter how much I want to fully assemble the Cruiser of Civilization, a gentleman shouldn't steal from his friends. After I'm finished with the task at hand, I'll return them to you. In other words, you can calm down, Peaklord Celestial."

Peaklord Celestial shook his head and seemed like he was about to say something, but in the end, he held his tongue.

"Fine, I believe you," the sectlord said. "So what do you plan to do now? Do you need our help?"

"I don't," the clone replied. "I'm now going to open an entrance to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart and head inside to activate a formation. If you're interested, you can come with me."

"No thanks," Peaklord Memory said. "People say that once you go into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, you can never come out again. I think standing guard out here would be much better."

"That's fine. After I head into the chart, the three of you can send some true energy inside to help me power the god formation. That will ensure that there are no slip-ups. Furthermore, you can help me deal with the Wretch-God Apostle. If you use your boundless secret magics to suppress him, we can turn him into a puppet. Afterward, when Yang Qi becomes your junior sectlord, you'll also have the Wretch-God Apostle working for you."

As it turned out, the immortal-slaying clone had some high ambitions. He didn't just want to free Yang Qi, but wanted to turn the Wretch-God Apostle into a puppet as well!

Of course, it was something that he and Yang Qi couldn't do on their own. In fact, they couldn't have stirred a hair on the Wretch-God Apostle's head.

But with the help of the two peaklords and the sectlord, as well as the psychic scaling systems, things were different. That was especially true considering the sectlord was roughly on the same level as the Wretch-God Apostle.

"Turn the Wretch-God Apostle into a puppet?" At first, the sectlord was stunned by the seemingly crazy suggestion. But then his eyes glittered. "That might be possible, considering you have the Engine of the One God and the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. You might actually be able to power up the psychic scaling systems to the level we would need. Years ago, the Wretch-God Apostle rocked the entire Ancient Road to the Gods. It was only when the princes of the executors worked together that they managed to subdue him. But in the end, not even they could kill him. If we could get him under our control, we would be vastly stronger as a sect. It's all going to come down to whether or not our ambush works."

1. A word once spoken cannot be taken back even by a team of four horses is an extremely common Chinese saying that basically means "a promise must be kept". It's actually one of my favorite Chinese expressions. For the clone and the sectlord to jointly say it shows that they're in agreement to follow through with the plan.