Sage Monarch

“Our leader is dead?”

“His energy arts were at the peak of the eighth phase! How could he be dead? Only a Master of Energy could possibly kill him!”

“Don’t tell me that punk is a Master of Energy? How is that even possible? He’s only eighteen. It's so rare for people to reach the Master of Energy level by eighteen that they’re only seen once every thousand years.”

“Go! Get out of here! We have to report this matter to the elders. With a body as powerful as his, they’ll definitely send some experts to kill him and turn him into a blightpuppet.”

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh!

The House of Shadowblight experts began to flee, using their energy arts to fly into the air at top speed.

All of them knew that they were no match for this eighteen-year-old.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Yang Qi said, his voice echoing with thunderous fury. All of the enemy soldiers within three hundred paces of him were struck by the sound of his voice, and collapsed into unconsciousness.

As for their weapons, which had been summoned with energy arts, they were grabbed by Yang Qi and sent streaking high into the air. At a certain point, they turned and shot downward, stabbing directly into the backs of the fleeing experts from the House of Shadowblight.

Aaaiiiieee! Aaaiiiieee! Aaaiiiieee! Aaaiiiieee!

Screams ripped through the air as the House of Shadowblight people were shoved down out of the air. Not only were they killed, they were also pinned to the ground by the various weapons, and their dying howls were enough to chill one down to the bones.

At that point, Yang Qi pulled his foot out of the remains of their leader. Sending out a pulse of true energy, he removed the blood from his foot, as well as his clothing, leaving him free of any evidence of the killing he had just done.

Turning, he looked at the experts from the Chen Clan, a slight smile on his face. “Chen Dalei. Chen Dalong. Did you really think you could team up with the House of Shadowblight and wipe out the Yang Clan? What a joke! How about this: beg for your lives, acknowledge allegiance to the Yang Clan, and become our slaves. Do that, and the Chen Clan might not get exterminated today. Otherwise, we’ll wipe you out of existence, down to your chickens and dogs.”

Chen Dalong spat onto the ground in contempt. “Don’t you see how many people we have? You think we’re afraid of you? Listen, kid, the Chen Clan has deep roots in this city, and today, your clan is going to be exterminated.”

Although his words came out sounding fairly impressive, his heart was pounding in anxiety. Yang Qi had just killed all the experts from the House of Shadowblight, and was obviously impervious to all sorts of weapons. And it still wasn't clear whether the Chen Clan could even hurt him.

In fact, all of the experts from the Chen Clan were on the verge of going crazy, and felt like screaming hysterically. The level of Yang Qi’s energy arts completely surpassed anything they could have anticipated. It was akin to encountering a beggar in the street only to find that he was an emperor in disguise.

Who could have guessed that an eighteen-year-old would kill all of the experts who had been dispatched by the House of Shadowblight, and single-handedly hold off an army of a thousand? If word got out, it wouldn’t just be a shock to Yanhaven, it would cause a windstorm of astonishment in the Rich-Lush Continent as a whole.

Yang Qi was definitely the kind of spectacular genius that only came along once every thousand years.

“Don’t be so cocky, you little brat,” Chen Dalei said sharply. Then he continued in a tone that seemed to resonate with reason and insight. “Let me ask you a question. How much true energy did you waste just now? I bet you look impressive on the outside, but are all dried up on the inside. There’s no way you have any true energy left.”

Other Chen Clan experts chimed in.

“Yeah, that’s right. He must be completely drained of true energy! Let’s attack him before he fills back up. We can definitely kill him!”

“Considering how many people he killed from the House of Shadowblight, they’ll definitely view the Yang Clan as a mortal enemy from now on. Even if he survives today, they’ll definitely track him down and kill him eventually.”

“Kill him! He's definitely empty. We have to get him before he recharges!”

One particular expert in the Chen Clan, Chen Dazhen, simply couldn’t hold back any longer. Hefting his spear, he sprang into motion, flying forward a hundred paces in a single move, aiming his spear directly at Yang Qi’s chest. [1]

“Hundred Flowers Bloom!”

True energy erupted from the tip of the spear, taking the form of what appeared to be a hundred flowers, all in the process of blooming. This was a move from the Chen Clan’s Hundred Flowers Spear Art, each move of which was like the dawn of spring, and was so miraculous it was hard to put into words.

“You morons think my true energy has run out?” Yang Qi said. “And you come at me with trash moves like that? I could kill scum like you a hundred times over without even starting to run low on true energy. I was honestly giving you a chance to get out of this with your lives. But since you seem set on dying, I’ll accommodate you!”

RUMMMBLE!

Another massive blast of energy erupted out of him as he simply reached out and grabbed the spearhead, instantly dispelling all of the projections that had existed around it moments ago.

“How could this be happening?” Chen Dazhen blurted as he fell out of the sky, trying in vain to wrench his spear out of Yang Qi’s hand.

In response, Yang Qi twisted his wrist, shattering the spear into countless fragments. As the splinters shot out, tearing into Chen Dazhen, he attempted to fall back, but before he could, a blur of motion rushed in his direction.

It almost looked like a megamammoth stomping down onto the ground, and instantly filled Chen Dazhen with a mass of intense vibrations. The blur passed through his body, through his bones, flesh, blood, and meridians, causing ripping sounds to fill his mind until his consciousness went black, and he toppled over, dead.

Even someone made of iron who was attacked by the power of five ancient megamammoths would be flattened, let alone someone whose body was made of flesh and blood.

Chen Dalei had finally come to realize that Yang Qi was like some unrivaled devil from ancient times, someone they simply couldn't stand up to. Not only did he have seemingly endless reserves of true energy, every move he unleashed was as barbaric and savage as a beast's.

In fact, Chen Dalei even wondered if Yang Qi was human, or if he had been possessed by some primeval creature.

“Run!” someone shouted. “Get out of here!”

“He’s not human! He’s a demon! We have to team up with the other clans in Yanhaven to slaughter him!” Everyone in the Chen Clan realized that they needed to flee.

“Retreat!” Chen Dalei called out coldly. Immediately, the soldiers formed into ranks, and the Chen Clan experts stepped forward, pooling their power to attack Yang Qi and give their army time to retreat.

“You think you’re going to leave?” Yang Qi said, charging forward like a tiger or a dragon. One leap took him dozens of meters forward, and at the same time, his true energy spread out for hundreds of paces around him, creating a whirlwind of slaughter.

The flick of his finger sent out a spiraling bullet of energy which pierced into the armor of one of the soldiers, killing him instantly.

A palm strike from the Invincible King’s Fist destroyed the meridians and blood vessels of ten soldiers.

“Net of Heaven!”

He threw out his hand, fingers splayed, sending true energy flying out like spider webs, creating a huge net that cut off all avenues of escape for the Chen Clan.

Chen Dalei wanted to retreat, but with that net in place, was completely stuck. Waving his hand, he sent a beam of sword energy slashing into the net, hoping to cut it open. However, the sword energy was as effective on the net as a knife was to water.

“Freakish hellion!” That was what all of the Chen Clan elders were thinking.

To them, he wasn't even human, but rather, some sort of monster. At the moment, they couldn’t think of any other explanation for his current cultivation level other than that he had been possessed by a thousand-year-old demon.

It was in that moment that a burst of raucous laughter split the air, piercing so high into the sky that the clouds seemingly trembled.

Fuse one’s energy with the clouds!

It was the sign of someone becoming a Master of Energy.

In the ninth phase, one became a grandmaster of energy arts, and in the moment it happened, one would fuse one’s energy with the clouds, a sign of connecting with heaven and earth. Shockingly, someone was becoming a Master of Energy in this exact moment.

Yang Qi kept his energy flowing, powering the enormous web, keeping the experts of the Chen Clan and their army completely trapped. He was well aware that this phenomenon had appeared because his father had reached the Master of Energy level. Henceforth, it would be difficult for anyone to prevent the Yang Clan from advancing to new heights.

A rushing wind filled the air, and a voice spoke. “Qi’er, you’re truly a delight. However, don’t slaughter everyone. Keep some of them captive.”

It was none other than Yang Zhan.

Even as his voice rang out, a figure appeared high above, striding forward without any sign of energy wings behind him.

Masters of Energy could speed through the sky without using wings!

That was the strength of the ninth phase!

RUMMMBLE!

The sight of Yang Zhan struck despair into the hearts of the Chen Clan experts. If they couldn’t even deal with Yang Qi, then how could they possibly fight back against both him and Yang Zhan, who was now a Master of Energy?

“On your knees, Chen Dalei!”

Taking advantage of the lull caused by the shock of the moment, Yang Qi leapt forward and chopped his hand toward Chen Dalei.

Chen Dalei managed to defend himself, unleashing the energy arts of the Chen Clan to throw up a defensive barrier. Unfortunately for him, Yang Qi’s attack completely slashed through that wall.

“Corpse-Chomping White Tiger!”

The head of a white tiger appeared, its maw gaping as it lunged forward. Chen Dalei was completely incapable of dodging, and after the tiger latched its jaws onto him, his true energy was instantly under the control of Yang Qi.

The name of the move Corpse-Chomping White Tiger came because its ultimate function was to capture the opponent. Once the tiger chomped down onto the enemy, that person would become like a corpse, unable to move or do anything.

And that was exactly the state that Chen Dalei was in now.

He had led the clan for twenty years, but today, had been captured by someone from the younger generation of the Yang Clan. Anyone who learned of the news would be sure to sigh emotionally.

The other rich and powerful clans in Yanhaven were well aware of the conflict between the Chen and Yang Clans, and many of them had sent people to observe what happened, and hoped that both clans would come out bloodied and bruised.

Unexpectedly, the Chen Clan was completely routed, trounced by Yang Qi in a spectacular and almost unbelievable way.

In the past, people had taken Yang Qi to be a mere silkpants, someone who had brought his clan to ruin. But now, their image of him completely changed.

Now, he was simply overwhelmingly powerful.

In the shortest amounts of time, a silkpants had become an unrivaled, powerful expert. It seemed like a dream to many, and most people were unsure of what to make of it. They could only look at Yang Qi holding Chen Dalei in his grip, and wondered if they were looking at a human, or rather, at some sort of demon or devil.

Keeping Chen Dalei firmly in his grip, Yang Qi shouted in a thunderous voice, “Your clan lord is captured! Surrender immediately!”

1. Chen Dazhen: the Da means “big, great, grand” and Zhen means “shake, vibrate, jolt, quake”.