Sage Monarch

“Damnation! That Young Master Shroud-Heaven is truly a vile creature.” Hua Tianxiong was thunderstruck by the implications of what he was seeing.

He had personally inspected the five phases treasures, and hadn’t noticed anything amiss. And yet Yang Qi, after several days and nights of refinement work, actually identified the nefarious truth. There was actually a heaven-demon seed hidden in the treasures! How could Hua Tianxiong not be incensed?

Back on the mountain peak, Yang Qi was looking at the faint green glow inside of the melted five phases treasures. ‘Young Master Shroud-Heaven really is up to no good.’

Clearly, it was some sort of seed, and it seemed to fairly radiate a sensation of extreme age. It was actually covered with countless tiny spikes, all of which radiated intense demon energy. This thing had a will of its own, and could easily take over a person’s thoughts and even their soul.

It would then transform them into something different, something demonic. It was nothing to take lightly. Clearly, this was a trump card belonging to Young Master Shroud-Heaven. No wonder he had so casually handed over so much wealth to Yang Qi. He had hoped that once Yang Qi refined the five phases treasures for his own use, he would get it all back, and the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to boot.

‘Demonfolk really can't be trusted. What a complete scoundrel.’ Yang Qi examined the heaven-demon seed for a long moment. Then, instead of destroying it, he waved his hand, causing a sealing mark to settle onto it, before sucking it into his forehead.

Suddenly, two blurs could be seen as Hua Tianxiong and Yan Chenxing appeared in front of him. 

“Yang Qi!” Hua Tianxiong said anxiously. “That’s a heaven-demon seed! Be very careful! Not even I noticed it before, which means it’s highly likely Great Sage Shroud-Heaven himself put it there. That seed can turn even the most consummate human geniuses into Demonfolk. There are explanations about these things in the ancient records of the Sun Moon Institute. Why did you absorb it? Hurry up and expel it! I can help you destroy it.”

“I’ll be fine,” Yang Qi said with a smile. “The immense power of the heaven-demon seed will actually be very helpful. It's connected to Young Master Shroud-Heaven's soul, so if I destroyed it, he would know, and that could have a negative effect on our plans. Let’s wait until he tries to make a move, and then he’ll reap what he’s sown. Besides, the seed will help me to keep track of Young Master Shroud-Heaven’s movements. And who knows, once the fighting breaks out, it might even provide some helpful information about the Crown Prince.”

“You’re really sure you can control it?” Hua Tianxiong asked doubtfully.

“Absolutely,” Yang Qi replied with a confident nod. “I cultivate an ancient energy art specifically designed to control demon-devils and the like, a secret technique passed down through the ages. It makes it virtually impossible for demon-devils to harm me.”

“So, that’s how it is.” Hua Tianxiong was feeling more and more pleased with Yang Qi. As far as he was concerned, Yang Qi was the type of prodigy who came along only once every ten thousand years. And as long as he had enough time to prepare, he seemed like the perfect candidate to stand up to the Crown Prince.

Yang Qi put away the five phases treasures, and then took the time to formally offer greetings. “Greetings, Uncle, exalted Aunt.” [1]

“There’s no need for such formality,” Yan Chenxing said, in just the way a mother-in-law would talk to a son-in-law. Inside, she thought, ‘This young man is no simple individual. He has the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, and he also has acute senses that surpass those of ordinary people. He’s cautious, loyal, and righteous. He really would be the perfect husband for Fengfeng.’ 

All of a sudden, Yang Qi seemed to realize what was going on. “Uncle, you’ll be trying to break into the Great Sage level soon. From what I've heard, it's a very dangerous undertaking, with an eighty to ninety percent chance of mortal failure. When the time comes, I’ll lend you my Grand Emperor's Pagoda to help you with your breakthrough. Hua Fengfeng is my sworn sister, after all. I have some urgent matters to attend to at the Demi-Immortal Institute, so I’ll need to say farewell for now.”

Not waiting for a response, he rose to his feet and vanished.

“The little punk,” Yan Chenxing said, shaking her head. She looked over at Hua Tianxiong. “He’s very perceptive. That said, if he's not interested, we shouldn’t be pushy.”

Hua Fengfeng was quite bright, and had already picked up on what was happening. Face turning red from both anger and embarrassment, she said, “Father, Mother. What are you talking about?”

Hua Tianxiong smiled. “Fengfeng, this Yang Qi is clearly a natural-born genius. He’s cool-headed, meticulous, and takes time to plan things out. He's definitely going to accomplish great things. Think about it. You’re a proud girl, and you don't like any of the geniuses here in the Sun Moon Institute, so don’t let him get away.”

“Hpmh!” Feeling more angry and embarrassed by the second, Hua Fengfeng snorted coldly and looked away. Hua Tianxiong and Yan Chenxing exchanged a slight smile, then vanished without a trace.

** 

High above the sea of clouds, Yang Qi looked down at the Sun Moon Institute, mixed emotions playing out on his face. It was hard to say exactly what he was thinking, but after a moment he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

‘Although I took the initial steps of breaking down the five phases treasures, I'm not in the position to fully absorb them. I need my fleshly body to be a lot stronger, and also need to reach the Spirit-Soul Transformation.’

After the three days and three nights of work with the five phases treasures, he was stronger than ever.

However, he still had not pushed the Blood-Form Transformation to the highest level it was capable of reaching with a godly-class energy art. He needed to push his fleshly body to greater heights before he could stimulate the psychic element.

The physical body and the mind were closely connected; even ordinary people who had very strong physical bodies would often have extremely strong minds. Conversely, weak people would often be weak mentally.

After the Blood-Form Transformation reached a peak level of power, one’s mental abilities would eventually be able to create a psychic tempest which could rip apart the void. That was the beginning of the Spirit-Soul Transformation.

Most ordinary people who had a fleshly body as strong as Yang Qi’s, or even one only a tenth as strong, would already have succeeded with their psychic tempest. However, Yang Qi was different. He needed more cultivation before he reached that point.

What he intended to do now was head back to the Demi-Immortal Institute so that he could officially become a holy neophyte. That change in status would be incredible; he would be so important that most grand elders would be helpless to do anything to him officially. In fact, holy neophytes technically outranked the elders, as they were the ones who could eventually reach the rank of chancellor.

Holy neophytes were among the most important people in the Demi-Immortal Institute, and as one, Yang Qi would finally be able to openly build the Sage Monarch Society into a force that could protect its members.

In his current state, he could travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometers in the briefest of moments, so it didn’t take him long to reach the Demi-Immortal Institute.

It was currently bustling, with people out and about everywhere. The outer and inner campus students were all going about their tasks with vigor, hoping to stand out among the crowd. Elite students were going out on missions, or returning from them, hoping to use their rewards to reach a higher level of enlightenment. The conclave students were busy at work trying to become Legendaries. After all, holy neophytes had true freedom and independence.

When Yang Qi landed, his immense aura immediately attracted attention.

“Is that Yang Qi? He was the champion of the Inter-Institutional Martial Arts Competition, but once the competition ended, he vanished without a trace. Now he's back?”

“Quick, go tell Yun Hailan and the leaders of the Crown Prince Society.”

“His aura is incredible. And look, he’s heading right for the Academy of Sage Studies. What do you think he’s doing?”

“There’s only one reason to go to the Academy of Sage Studies, and that’s to get a promotion. He’s still an elite student, right? But considering he reached Quinary Lifeseizing, I guess it means he’s going to apply to be a conclave student.”

Everyone was curious about why this person who had only recently been put in his place by the Crown Prince had unexpectedly returned to the institute.

Most people had assumed that he would leave and never come back. But now, here he was, in what seemed like an open provocation to the Crown Prince Society.

As soon as Yang Qi stepped into the Academy of Sage Studies, the elders there looked up in astonishment. War-Soldier and War-Sage both stepped forward to meet him.

Elder War-Sage, a Nonary Lifeseizer, and the leader of the Academy of Sage Studies, was actually quite afraid of Yang Qi. However, that didn't stop him from reaching out to block his path. “What are you doing here, Yang Qi? What do you want?”

“What am I doing here?” Yang Qi replied with a cool smile. Then he stamped his foot, causing an aura to envelop the hall that contained the power of magical law. Strange phenomena appeared in the sky above, and everyone felt as though heaven and earth were about to crack and shatter. It was definitely power that was different from the Lifeseizing level on a substructural level.

“He’s a Legendary….”

“That’s the power of the Legendary level. I can’t believe Yang Qi's a Legendary!” 

The elders of the Academy of Sage Studies were all taken completely aback, and didn’t know what to say. The envy and jealousy in their eyes was clear. After all, Legendaries were all important people in the Demi-Immortal Institute. They were true energy warriors, the people who, in ancient times, were said to be able to walk the path of becoming an immortal.

“I'm here to apply to be a holy neophyte. I've reached the Legendary level, so I should qualify, right? Please, Elders, I await your evaluation.”

The elders were so stunned that it took them a long moment to recover their composure. Then, Elder War-Sage said, “This is no small matter, Yang Qi. Wait here. I’ll go inform my superiors in the Minorcosm World. We need more witnesses present to raise someone to holy neophyte, including the chancellor.”

“Fine. Do what you have to do. I’ll wait here.” Yang Qi remained standing in place quietly, as immovable as a mountain.

Instantly, an uproar swept through the institute.

It was usually a big deal when someone was promoted to elite student. And there was little need to mention new conclave students. Such people were the envy of millions of students. But for a Legendary to appear, a holy neophyte, well, that was something that was a true rarity.

1. Just like with “uncle”, there are a host of forms of address for “aunt”. This one is used for women roughly the same age as one's father. Just like “uncle”, it could be used for family members and non-family members alike.