Sage Monarch

This young man was the son of August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven.

Yang Qi’s heart began to beat a bit faster as he looked at him. Already, he could sense a scrap of the aura of a megamammoth. His blood was pure, that was for sure, and it contained the surging power that had been present at the very earliest times in the universe.

It was high-level power, and considering that, this Mammoth Force was actually far superior to Emissary Red Lotus or Di Shidao.

Yan Wubing took a step forward, and stretched an emaciated arm out protectively in front of Yang Qi. “Are you here to stir up trouble, Mammoth Force? Could it be that, as the son of August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven, you feel you have the right to act like a fiendish brute, and openly provoke the Holy Mother?”

“I'm glad you stepped forward to talk, Yan Wubing,” Mammoth Force said. Taking a step forward, he clasped his hands behind his back and continued, “I have a question that needs answering. Di Shidao’s animadestiny origin lamp exploded moments ago, indicating that he perished. His father is furious, and lodged a complaint with the August Patriarch, who sent me to investigate. Did you kill him?”

“It doesn’t matter if you deny it, Yan Wubing,” said one of the experts flanking Mammoth Force, his eyes flickering with sinister light. “The August Patriarch already divined the truth, and knows that you’re responsible. What incredible gall you have! Don’t you know how important and high-ranking Di Shidao was? You think you can just go around killing people like that whenever you feel like? Aren’t you worried about the August Patriarch punishing you?”

“I'm old and sick,” Yan Wubing replied. “Little more than a husk, nowadays, so if I die, it won’t really matter. However, when the Holy Mother gives me a task, I complete it. She was the one who saved me from that deadly situation years ago, and because of her kindness, I swore to protect everyone she cares about. Di Shidao and Emissary Red Lotus colluded to harm the Young Master of my house, so of course I killed them. If Di Shidao’s father is angry about it, then just have him come to me to seek his revenge. I'd be happy to meet him in Dueling Kings Gorge to fight it out.”

Although Yan Wubing remained as stooped and withered as ever, his words were spoken with the force of a sharp sword stabbing into heaven, making him seem quite intimidating.

“Those are brash words, Yan Wubing,” Mammoth Force said. “Don’t forget that you're no Demi-Immortal! You're still a Great Sage, making you a saint at best. You might be better than a mere energy warrior, but you're not an immortal. Considering that you just admitted to having killed Di Shidao, prepare to be taken to the Hanging Mountain for punishment!”

“I can accept punishment. But only if the Holy Mother agrees. And if anyone tries to punish me without her consent, I’ll cut them down instantly. Why are you really here, Mammoth Force? Unless it’s something important, then the young master and I will be leaving.”

“Hold on!” Mammoth Force said, looking over at Yang Qi. As he did, immense, godly power erupted out of him, the kind that could pierce the heavens and form seas. Looking like the picture of condescension, he said, “So, you’re the Holy Mother’s son. From what I can tell, you’re nothing but trash. How could the Holy Mother have given birth to a son like you? Not even a Great Sage yet? I could kill you with a single hair off of my head. You listen to me: we here on the Hanging Mountain train via battle. Compared to us, you’re nothing more than a spineless coward. Why don’t you stop hiding behind Yan Wubing and face me.”

“Don’t listen to him, Young Master,” Yan Wubing said. “He’s just trying to rile you up. With me here, nobody will be able to hurt you.”

Waving his hand dismissively, Yang Qi stepped around Yan Wubing. “What are you planning to do, Mammoth Force?”

“Simple. You’re the Holy Mother’s son. I'm the August Patriarch’s son. We basically have equal standing. We're both warriors who should rise to the top through fire and blood. Look, I'm not going to bully you. All you have to do is stand up to the single flick of my finger. If you do, then I’ll let Yan Wubing off the hook for killing Di Shidao. What do you say? The alternative is for Yan Wubing to face a whole heap of trouble. Not even the Holy Mother will be able to protect him.”

Mammoth Force did nothing to conceal the vicious gleam in his eyes.

“Ignore him, Young Master,” Yan Wubing said. “I'm actually curious to see what sort of trouble he thinks he’ll heap on me.”

“The single flick of a finger?” Yang Qi took a step forward, his battle robe suddenly rippling in the wind as massive energy rose up from him, seemingly transforming him into a different person in the blink of an eye.

KABAAAMMM!

The space around him shattered, and the sky turned pitch black. Countless stars and constellations appeared above, and the power of the stars descended in heaven-shaking, earth-toppling fashion.

“You think you’re going to kill me with the flick of a finger? How about instead, I kill you!”

RUMBLE!

The Infernal Deity Spear appeared in his hand, and the God Legion Paradise began to spread out, glowing with sagelight, filled with holy hymns of both rejoicing and lamentation. At the same time, it was as if one hell after another were appearing in the mortal world.

Without any hesitation, Yang Qi lunged at Mammoth Force, the Infernal Deity Spear bursting with crackling lightning as it pierced through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the spear was closing in on Mammoth Force’s throat.

‘What?’

Mammoth Force’s pupils constricted; never could he have guessed that Yang Qi, a puny Legendary, would attack him, a Great Sage.

“How impudent!”

He immediately waved his finger through the air, a finger that was as wide as the arm of a normal individual. It was surrounded by flickering, golden light, and caused the trumpeting of megamammoths to echo out.

“The Mighty Belong to the Legion of Gods; the Eternal is Mere Emptiness!” Yang Qi’s expression was somber as he seemed to grow larger and larger. Soon, he seemed like he could crush the nine heavens and ten earths, and in fact, he was also surrounded by the trumpeting of megamammoths, and the explosive aura of a godmammoth.

An image appeared behind him, with an elephantine head and a human body, who swept his mighty trunk through the air. The entire Plateau of the Leviathan trembled.

Suns, moons, and other heavenly bodies appeared above, and all living individuals felt their vital energy trembling, as though their souls might be ripped out of them.

POP!

Without any ceremony, the Infernal Deity Spear hit Mammoth Force’s finger, stopping it cold.

Mammoth Force prepared to go all out to unleash a counter attack, except, in that very moment, he suddenly realized that he was instinctively terrified of Yang Qi. In fact, his true energy wouldn’t even respond to his direction, and was pouring into Yang Qi and becoming part of him.

Mammoth Force’s true energy was like a child that had been lost for years, only to find his mother, and rush toward her.

In some ways, the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was actually worse of a bane to people with megamammoth blood than it was to devil-gods from hell.

“Dammit!” Mammoth Force pulled his finger back and clenched his hand into a fist.

His fist immediately began to shine with a holy nimbus, shattering the air around him, and giving him a chance to leap backward. As he did, the Great Sages behind him threw his axe up into the air for him to grab.

As soon as he laid hands on it, he slashed it out in front of him, causing the immortal will within it to connect to a certain immortal plane, and pour a sea of power into it. Instantly, several teleportation portals in the area shattered, and massive trenches were hewn out in the ground.

“The Deathless will Wither; the True will be Overturned. Only the Legion of Gods are Everlasting!” Yang Qi’s spear vibrated as he forced it to draw upon the power of the immortal motes in his God Legion Paradise. Thanks to the true energy he had just absorbed from Mammoth Force, he was now able to tap into those motes.

Spear projections emerged, as dense as a forest, which slammed into the enormous axe.

A scream erupted as one of Mammoth Force’s Great Sage attendants exploded.

Yang Qi flew through the resulting haze of blood and gore, using the same move he had used to grab Wilds Everlasting. Although he still couldn’t use the full Hand of the One God, he was able to call on some of its general meaning. Instantly, the air began to crystallize, and another Great Sage who was too slow to dodge out of the way was crushed, and then exploded.

“He killed two of them!”

“Look, another Great Sage died!”

“Is this guy human? And is he really a Legendary? He can actually stand up to Mammoth Force! And he's killing Mammoth Force’s Great Sage attendants!”

“My god! Am I dreaming?”

The host of experts who were watching the fight were visibly stunned.

“Echo Heaven, Mirror Earth!” Mammoth Force shouted in rage. Earlier, he had thought that a single flick of his finger could kill Yang Qi, only to find out that instead, Yang Qi was killing his subordinates with casual ease.

It was an utter humiliation which could completely ruin his reputation in the Hanging Mountain.

Rising up tall and straight, he locked down the air in the area, and then sent his axe flying along a profound trajectory toward Yang Qi.

“Ai!”

It was in that moment that a sigh echoed out, and a finger stopped the momentum of the axe. It was none other than Yan Wubing.

The vital energy in the area went calm, and the air turned still. White energy swirled out, quickly repairing the damage to the nearby teleportation portals.

“This is really unnecessary, Mammoth Force,” Yan Wubing said. “You and the young master have fought a few rounds already, and you obviously can’t defeat him. In fact, he’s started killing your attendants.”

“How dare you get in my way, Yan Wubing!” Mammoth Force shouted in rage as he dropped back down to the ground. Face crimson, he said, “And what's that supposed to mean, anyway? Are you trying to start a war between the Holy Mother and the August Patriarch?”

After taking a ragged breath, Yan Wubing said, “There are plenty of witnesses to what happened today. You said that if the young master could stand up to the single flick of your finger, then I wouldn't be held responsible for the death of Di Shidao. Well, you fought him for a lot more than the single flick of a finger. In fact, you even relied on a trump card technique you acquired from August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven, namely, Echo Heaven, Mirror Earth. You harmed your own lifespan to try to kill the young master, so don’t tell me you’re going to go back on your word now?”

Despite Yan Wubing's apparent weakness, no one had missed the fact that his emaciated finger had casually blocked the momentum of an immortal item.