Sage Monarch

The larger a piece of driftwood was, the more the water would resist it, and the harder it would be to push it beneath the surface of the water.

The more powerful a Legendary, the more space would resist him, and the harder it would be for him to pierce through it. Space was like water, and people were like driftwood.

As for Yang Qi, he was essentially a mountain-sized piece of driftwood, whereas ordinary people were the size of a fist. One could only imagine how difficult it would be to shove a mountain-sized chunk of driftwood under the surface of the water.

And thus, Yang Qi wished to cry, but had no tears to shed.

With his current true energy, and the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, not even Never-Dying fiend-devils were worth worrying about to him. But levels were levels. And despite how strong he was, he still was worried about how to reach the third Legendary transformation.

That said, if he achieved his breakthrough, it was impossible to say how profoundly he would understand space. Not even Great Sages would be able to wrap their minds around what he could. From ancient times until modern, no one had ever reached the same level Yang Qi had in the second Legendary transformation.

The power of two hundred thousand ancient megamammoths.

Now, even the tiniest bit of his true energy could power up the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to insane levels. As of this moment, it had over a thousand glowing shields, each one powered by a different grand spell formation. Those intended for use by Great Sages were profound, each one more powerful than the last. And because of the Sovereign Lord True Energy and universal power, it even looked different. Somehow, it was more majestic and awe-inspiring, like it had been back when it was created.

‘I did it all without any help from the God Legion Seal. Not that it was an easy process….’ Although he was still a bit worked up about everything which had occurred, in the end, the benefits outweighed the detriments.

At the very least, his ultimate power levels had increased. Even being a mere Spirit-Soul Legendary, he would now be able to dominate virtually the entire Demi-Immortal Institute.

The grand elders of law enforcement, and anyone else in the sixth, seventh, or eighth transformations were as impressive to him as dog crap. With the power of only thirty thousand megamammoths, he had been able to kill a fiend-devil in the seventh transformation. Now that he had two hundred thousand, what were his limits?

There were certain constraints inherent to the levels themselves. But in terms of raw power, he was at a level that no one could look down on.

Yang Qi couldn’t have been more pleased. Not even he could have guessed that he would only need his own true energy to succeed, and wouldn't need the help of the God Legion Seal. Of course, he was well aware that it was because of his godly-class energy art, Sovereign Lord True Energy, and universal power. That was what had awoken the sage spirits. And those sages were the ones who had actually repaired the plane’s greyspace.

Essentially, Yang Qi had been the spark, and the sages had been a sea of oil. Of course, the spark was still vitally important. Without it, the sages would never have woken up.

Yang Qi looked around at the fleeing fiend-devils, and put aside any thoughts of pursuing them. He flew off into the distance, and before long, encountered the projection of the Young Lady.

“Did I accomplish the mission well enough, Young Lady?” he asked. “I'd say I actually surpassed the requirements.”

“The chancellor wants to see you.” Her projection faded away, and the power of spatial teleportation grabbed onto Yang Qi and pulled him into the presence of the chancellor and the Young Lady.

The chancellor looked at him for a long moment and then said, “You did well, Yang Qi. Very well….” 

After that, he stopped, almost as if he wasn’t sure what to say next.

“What,” Yang Qi said coolly. “Still planning to imprison me, Chancellor? I accomplished a mission no one else could accomplish, something that should outweigh killing Grand Elder Feat-Virtue a hundred times over. You know, I spent a lot of spirit stones on the mission. Any chance you could make up for some of that, Chancellor?”

The chancellor nodded. “What exactly do you want? It was a vital mission, and you’ve brought untold benefits to the Demi-Immortal Institute. From here on out, our institute will enter an era of boundless advancement. Over the next hundred years, geniuses are going to abound. Considering the services you’ve performed, I should probably give you the chancellorship of the entire institute. In fact, you would be a good leader for all four of the institutes.”

Yang Qi had saved the entire plane from a slow descent into darkness and despair.

“I need spirit stones. Lots of them. And the highest quality possible. Sovereign-grade, and at the very least, a thousand of them. Of course, sagely-grade spirit stones would do as well.” Yang Qi didn’t hesitate to say exactly what he wanted. After all, to achieve his next breakthrough, he needed a lot of high-quality spirit stones.

It was impossible to say how many years of ordinary cultivation it would take to fill in the power of a hundred thousand megamammoths. And with each day that passed, the threat of the Crown Prince emerging from seclusion became more relevant. Yang Qi needed to reach the Space-Void Transformation as quickly as possible, so that he could help Young Master Shroud-Heaven and Hua Tianxiong take out the Crown Prince.

And he absolutely could not allow the Crown Prince to become a Great Sage.

“What?!” the Young Lady blurted. “A thousand sovereign-grade spirit stones? Go steal them yourself! My own cultivation requires spirit stones, and even building up a supply of royal-grade is difficult. I hardly ever get to use sovereign-grade. In the Rich-Lush Continent, sovereign-grade spirit stone are extremely uncommon. And you think you're going to get a thousand?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Yang Qi said, his voice as cool as ever. “Chancellor, are you saying that you're refusing to reward me?”

The chancellor shook his head sadly. “I really can’t give you that many spirit stones. The Demi-Immortal Institute doesn’t even have that many in stock. Spirit stones are not very common in the Rich-Lush Continent, not since the mines and quarries dried up in ancient times. However, considering how strong you are, it shouldn't be difficult for you to get some. Just go to the Western Continent. There are plenty of spirit stone mines there that are still in operation. Sometimes they even dig up immortal stones.”

“Immortal stones?”

Yang Qi knew that the highest grade of spirit stone was godly-grade, but he had never heard of any sort of immortal stone.

“Immortal stones come from high-energy ores. Considering your power levels, I would say that ordinary spirit stones probably won’t sate you. If you could get some immortal stones, you could easily achieve the breakthrough you seek. Without them, you won’t succeed, at least in any short amount of time. You're strong, but that will only make your next breakthrough even harder.”

Yang Qi nodded, his eyes glittering with intense light. “Oh? Well, in that case, I guess I’ll go check out the situation in the Western Continent.”

He had already guessed that if he asked for spirit stones from the Demi-Immortal Institute, the chancellor would say that he had none to give. Despite the amazing services he had performed, the stingy man wasn’t going to give him the slightest reward.

Most likely it had to do with the Crown Prince. After all, if Yang Qi got even stronger, he could obviously cause problems.

And intentionally or otherwise, the chancellor was always protecting the Crown Prince. Yang Qi had long since realized this, and at the moment, he chose not to point it out. There didn’t seem to be any reason to quibble about the matter now. The day would come in which Yang Qi would plainly demonstrate to the chancellor how weak the Crown Prince was, and how wrong he had been to support him.

“Very well then, Chancellor. I’ll take my leave now.” With that, he turned to leave.

“Go ahead,” the chancellor replied. Then he waved his hand, and he and the Young Lady vanished.

Yang Qi flew into the air, and soon, was high above the transforming Minorcosm World. ‘You're so worried about protecting the Crown Prince that you don’t even abide by the rules. Fine. Don’t blame me for doing what has to be done.’

With that, he also vanished.

In the depths of the Minorcosm World, the Young Lady was discussing matters with her father. “Father, why didn’t you give any reward at all to Yang Qi? He’s surely coming to resent you. What if that ends up harming the Demi-Immortal Institute? The service he just performed was incredible. Even sovereign-grade spirit stones wouldn’t have been enough of a reward. Are you worried that he might get so strong that he’ll cause problems for the Crown Prince?”

“I'm trying to find the proper balance. You can’t underestimate Yang Qi. He was just blessed by the host of saints in the Planar Pearl, and has reached a terrifying level of cultivation. If he becomes a Space-Void Legendary, with an understanding of the power of space, then he’ll be able to use the Grand Emperor's Pagoda with complete and utter ease. At the very least, he’ll be as strong as a Half Sage. In fact, he’s probably in the position to threaten the Crown Prince right now. Consider my actions a test. If Yang Qi can maintain a cool heart, free from hatred, then perhaps he's worth grooming. Sadly, it seems he’s already developing a grudge.”

“I’d develop a grudge if I were him.” The Young Lady shook her head. “It’s just not fair. If you’re this scared of him, why not take the Grand Emperor's Pagoda away?”

“I can’t. That pagoda is his now, and it has power that even I find terrifying. Besides, from what I can tell, Yang Qi’s backer is so strong that even if Grand Emperor Rich-Lush came back and tried to reclaim his pagoda, he would fail.”

The Young Lady shivered. “Are you really sure you can keep Yang Qi in line, Father?” 

“Of course. His level is too low, and he doesn’t understand anything about magical law. My only fear is that if I made a move, his backer would show up. Then I’d be in trouble. Even if I were joined by all of the chancellors, and all of the prime elders from all four institutes, we would all die. The Rich-Lush Continent itself would probably be destroyed. I'm afraid Yang Qi is far more powerful than anyone in his generation. In the end, though, I promised the Crown Prince’s mother to safeguard him. I can’t go back on my word.”

The Young Lady frowned. “Father, we never even saw that backer of his. Does he even exist? You absolutely cannot afford to be mistaken in this regard.”

“I'm not mistaken. Based on what happened in the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, I'm absolutely sure. That said, what happened with the Planar Pearl was a surprise. Yang Qi actually accomplished the mission without the help of his backer.” At this point, the chancellor’s eyes shone brightly. “Having Yang Qi off in the Western Continent looking for immortal stones will put some of the pressure off of the Crown Prince.”