Sage Monarch

It was just like the old saying: Strike first, achieve lethality. Strike second, meet calamity. There was no way Yang Qi would give his enemies a chance to surround him and attack him all at once. It was obvious he couldn’t resolve this enmity with the Seven Preheaven Masters. Therefore, he had to fight fire with fire.

However vicious his enemies were, he would be more vicious!

Beat the enemy down. Kill them. That was Yang Qi’s style.

He who hesitates is lost.

He used his Infernal Deity Spear to fight seven opponents at the same time, and each attack became like an enormous god of death, ready to harvest any souls it encountered. In the blink of an eye, the Nightfall Symphony swept over all of the Seven Preheaven Masters.

Before they could fully recover from the shock of the initial clash, much less set up their formation, Yang Qi attacked.

Each spear was as powerful as a mountain, attacking from numerous angles, a firestorm of destruction that was unparalleled under heaven.

Yang Qi even threw in all of the power of the ancient megamammoths that he could muster, making the attacks more deadly in nature. The Grand Emperor's Pagoda appeared again, and the power of space poured out. At the same time, a vertical eye opened up on Yang Qi’s forehead.

As it did, destructive light exploded out.

The Lord's Eye had opened!

The glory of the Lord did not tolerate blasphemers, and His light shone upon all. The Lord existed above the legion of gods, and his representative on earth was Yang Qi.

BOOM!

The weakest among the seven, Master Kilocrux, was stabbed through, provoking a bloodcurdling scream that originated in his very soul.

Pop!

His body was torn open, sending blood and internal organs flying everywhere as he slammed into the ground, where he lay gasping for breath, his true energy leaking out rapidly from his destroyed sea of energy.

Now that blood had been spilled, Yang Qi only became more vicious, like a wolf or tiger. He was like the Sovereign Lord now, like the very entity who had created everything, who was a father to all living beings, the source of all life, and at the same time, someone who could destroy anything, exact punishment to cleanse any sin. He was like the maker of the world and the creator of space-time itself.

The Infernal Deity Spear was incisive enough to harvest any life with the greatest of ease.

Crack!

Another Legendary grand elder, Master Macrocrux, was stabbed through, leaving a gaping, bloody wound in his chest.

When Master Jadecrux saw what was happening, his guts twisted inside of him. “Wretch-devil! Beast! You’ll die for this! Hurry! Hurry and kill him, everyone! Cut him down!”

However, with the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to protect him, Yang Qi couldn’t be hit. Any true energy that was used on him ended up being sucked right into the pagoda.

The only way to avoid that was to simply parry his attacks, and not fight back.

Even as the words left Master Jadecrux’s mouth, one of his compatriots, Master Goldcrux, felt his meridians shattering, and his body being devoured by monsters.

“Another one down!”

“This Yang Qi… he's crazy.”

“Is he a god or something? Not even the Seven Preheaven Masters are a match for him!”

“Come on, let's get out of here. If we stick around here who knows what horrific thing might befall us.”

“Yeah, let’s go! This place is going to collapse. That Grand Emperor's Pagoda is probably going to destroy all the buildings in the area.”

Yang Qi was dealing with the Seven Preheaven Masters with his Infernal Deity Spear and Lord's Eye, making deadly moves that made it clear who the superior party was. As the buildings in the area collapsed one by one, subterranean spirit lodes erupted, sending spirit energy high into the air. And in turn, Yang Qi used the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to create a perfect connection to heaven and earth, to power each and every one of his moves to the ultimate degree.

“Kill him! He’s become a monster!”

“Slaughter him! Everyone, hurry up and attack! Kill him!” 

Patriarchs Wind and Cloud, the Three Pure Yang Elders, and even Grand Elder Feat-Virtue simply couldn’t sit around waiting to see what happened. Casting aside any worries about the consequences, they lunged forward, joining forces to attack Yang Qi.

Yang Qi shot up into the air, shining brightly, the Grand Emperor's Pagoda rapidly increasing in size to block the attacks of all of his opponents.

“Since you’re throwing yourselves at me, I guess I’ll kill all of you! Everyone from the Crown Prince Society will die! Anyone who stands in my way will be killed!” Yang Qi’s true energy surged, almost as though primeval megamammoths had stepped out of the ancient past, causing everything to tremble violently. Something like the nefarious energy of hell filled the area, seemingly preparing to rip apart space-time and drag everyone down to the Nine Serenities underworld.

“What level of power is this?”

“What a powerful energy art. Is this Yang Qi’s true strength?”

“Who could be his equal? Quick, call the Personal-Domain Legendaries! Only someone with a domain could possibly keep him in check.”

“In the Rich-Lush Continent, the Grand Emperor's Pagoda is invincible! The only way to beat it would be to destroy the continent itself. But how did Yang Qi get the true energy needed to control it?”

Everyone was looking up into the sky at the fight taking place.

‘So strong. So domineering. Nothing can compare with this.’ Never could Holy Daughter Manyflowers have guessed that Yang Qi would dare to pick a fight with experts like this. Furthermore, every move he made knocked one of them out of the fight. Yang Qi was so strong that it was simply awe-inspiring.

‘Susu’s nephew is so strong! Well, in that case, I guess I should stop holding back!’  With that, Holy Daughter Manyflowers began to gather her power to unleash an attack.

However, in that moment a voice of utmost purity, grandeur, and majesty erupted out. It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere, and instantly caused the scene to go still and quiet.

“Everyone, stay your hands!”

All residual energy flows, streams of light and heat, and any other such things were locked in place. Even the Grand Emperor's Pagoda temporarily ceased functioning.

In the last moment before Yang Qi lost the ability to generate thought, the following words occured to him: ‘He’s obstructing time.’

The power to interfere with time itself was something that only Great Sages commanded. They could meditate in a cave for what seemed like seven days, but was really thousands of years. At least, that was how Great Sages had been portrayed since the distant past.

This was definitely the chancellor.

However, in the very moment that Yang Qi’s thoughts were locked down, the golden imp that was the God Legion Seal sensed what was happening, and opened its eyes. Then, the ancient God Legion Seal began to echo in Yang Qi’s mind. “Time belongs to the legion of gods. Mortals who interfere with the domain of the gods are doomed to fall into the depths of hell….”

Crick. Crack…. 

Boundless power swirled around Yang Qi, who suddenly realized that he could move again. Looking at his surroundings, he saw that everything was completely still and unmoving.

The Seven Preheaven Masters hovered motionless in the air, as did Patriarchs Wind and Cloud. Other experts in the area stood there unmoving, including Holy Daughter Manyflowers. It all looked like a lovely painting, except devoid of color.

The only person who could move was Yang Qi.

“Yang Qi.” A shining figure appeared in front of him, like a saint arrived to provide enlightenment to all creation. It was none other than the chancellor of the Demi-Immortal Institute.

Of the sea of people in the area, he was the only person who could engage Yang Qi in a chat like this.

“Chancellor!” Yang Qi said. He offered no show of courtesy or respect. He simply said, “So, you finally decided to show up. What are you going to do? You arranged for the Crown Prince to get the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, but sadly for you, I'm a lot stronger than you realized. I have it now. Are you planning to take it back? Or at least… try?”

Of course, the Grand Emperor's Pagoda was marked by the God Legion Seal, so even if the chancellor tried to take it by force, it would do him no good. He would end up being killed.

Of that, Yang Qi was certain.

“You’re right that I intended the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to go to the Crown Prince. The way things turned out was quite a surprise.” This chancellor was a shining incarnation that was obviously not his true body. “You managed to take the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, so keep it. If I tried to take it, whatever mighty entity backs you would certainly interfere. Tell me, Yang Qi, who is your backer? Considering you can free yourself from my time obstruction ability, I’d say it’s a Great Sage at the least.”

“Sorry, Chancellor,” Yang Qi replied coolly. “Not even I'm sure about the limits of his power. Furthermore, I don’t trust you any more than the Crown Prince does. How do you want to resolve today’s situation? I injured quite a few Legendary grand elders, and you know full well who was in the right and who was in the wrong. What’s your decision?”

“Bold words.” The chancellor actually didn’t seem angry. “You know, there are only two types of people who would stand up to me. A psycho. Or a genius. Of course, your confidence comes from whatever entity backs you. In that respect, you’re similar to the Crown Prince. I was the same, years ago. To qualify to be the chancellor of the Demi-Immortal Institute, you have to be willing to defy all laws and principles, even those of heaven. You have to despise all powers and all rules. Of course, the prerequisite is that you also have to be strong enough to pull it off. Truth be told, considering your actions today, the rules of the institute state that I should quell you for all time.”

“Quell me for all time?” Yang Qi said. “Fine, Chancellor. Make your move.”

“No. I'm not going to do that. You're already strong enough to disregard the rules. Or rather, it's because you have that mysterious, powerful entity protecting you. If I tried to do something to you, that entity would make a move, and I would likely end up facing a catastrophe. Besides, I would never dare to blaspheme godly might. You know, back when you removed my sealing mark from the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, I could sense that you have access to boundless power that surpasses anything in the Rich-Lush Continent.”

Yang Qi didn’t say anything in response.

“In the end, Yang Qi, you have what it takes to undermine the rules. Whether or not that power actually belongs to you doesn’t matter, as long as you can direct it. I guess you could consider that another sort of rule.” The chancellor sighed. “Is it safe to assume that your true energy arts also come from that mysterious backer of yours?”

“Yes.” Yang Qi was finally starting to calm down a bit.

“As expected. Well, that's fine.” The chancellor nodded. “If you didn't have the power to undermine the rules, then I would have no choice but to kill you today. But since you do, then I guess the Demi-Immortal Institute has another potential successor.”