Sage Monarch

Lion Hightower had perished, and Yang Qi’s total points skyrocketed.

Within moments, virtually all of the top experts from the Hanging Mountain were talking about it. It was more than obvious now that Yang Qi had killed Lion Hightower. The rules of the training competitions had always stated that if one competitor killed another, they would acquire their points.

There was no other way for points to be transferred.

Without killing someone with his own hands, there was no way Yang Qi could have acquired that many points in a single instant.

“The son of the Holy Mother just killed Lion Hightower! When he entered the Hell of Mahānata, he was an Astral-Star Legendary, which is the same as an eighth level energy warrior. Lion Hightower was a fifth step Light King Sage. The level discrepancy is too incredible to even calculate. So how did Yang Qi kill him?”

“Vicious. He’s completely and utterly vicious.”

“Even if a whole team of Demonfolk Legendaries teamed up to attack a fifth step Great Sage, they would have a very tough time. Look at Chief Lion, he seems like he's about to cry.”

“Well, this is no surprise if you think about it. Yang Qi has the legacy of King Immortal-Slayer. And you know what, I bet he doesn’t just have one fragment of the medallion, I bet he has a few.”

“Yeah. That’s the only way he could be so strong. He has the power to slay immortals, much less Great Sages.”

Whispered conversations such as this were taking place everywhere.

As for Chief Lion, his face was as pale as death, and he could still hardly believe what was happening. 

“My god!” he said. “How could my son have died at the hands of that bastard! I refuse to accept this! I refuse!” Trembling, he let loose a howl of grief.

“Refuse all you want,” said Leviathan Truesoaring. “You can’t change it. Like I told you, you cursed the Holy Mother’s son, and you would suffer because of it. All of you. Horsefolk, Leopardfolk, Sharkfolk, Apefolk, Rhinofolk…. Your genius descendants are going to die one after another in this competition. Anyone who disrespected my young master, even Mammothfolk, will die.”

“What did you just say, Leviathan Truesoaring?” Chief Lion growled. “Fine, from now on, we Lionfolk and you Leviathanfolk are mortal enemies. For generations to come, the only thing that will exist between us is seas of blood.”

“It’s the same with us Apefolk,” Ape Heavenhelve spat. “If your young master can kill Lion Hightower to get his points and rise in the ranks, so can our Apefolk disciples. They’ll kill him, take King Immortal-Slayer’s medallion, and get all his points. Don’t forget, everyone, the Apefolk's top geniuses are in the competition. Ape Purgemalice is one of them. He’s currently a sixth step Heavenly Workings Sage, but it will be in this very Hell of Mahānata that he breaks through to the seventh step. Chief Lion, my son will definitely be the one to get vengeance for you.”

“Whatever happens, Yang Qi has to die,” Chief Lion said through gritted teeth.

Meanwhile, a group of ultimate experts sat on a cloud of black energy some distance away from Mount Sumeru. One of them was clad in pitch black clothing that covered everything except for his eyes. It was the perfect clothing for hunting targets in the night.

He was none other than the Quake-Dawn Cathedral’s Ninja God.

Sitting opposite him was a giant who pulsed with the ancient power of the Yore-Wilds. He was another important person from the Quake-Dawn Continent, the Wilds God, leader of the Grand-Wilds Mansion and ninth step Epic Saga Sage. He had brought the top disciples from the Grand-Wilds Mansion to participate in the training competition, in the hopes of acquiring treasures from the Hell of Mahānata, and also making cultivation advancement.

“Ninja God, the Grand-Wilds Mansion and the Quake-Dawn Cathedral have been at war for a long time. I've looked into the matter of Wilds Everlasting’s death, and I know that your people weren’t behind it. It was Yang Qi.”

He glared at Yan Wubing and Leviathan Truesoaring, his hatred bubbling deep in his bones. “I want revenge, or perhaps to invade the Rich-Lush Continent, but unfortunately, Yang Qi is the son of the Holy Mother, making it impossible. If we offend the Holy Mother, the Quake-Dawn Continent could end up being destroyed.”

The Ninja God nodded. “You’re right. We can’t touch the Rich-Lush Continent, and we can’t directly kill Yang Qi. However, many of the Demonfolk of the Hanging Mountain support August Patriarch Mammoth Heaven. Perhaps offending the Holy Mother won’t really matter that much if we have him as an ally. Although, I doubt he’ll publicly support an effort to kill Yang Qi. In any case, the best time to kill Yang Qi is right now, in the training competition. Deaths are allowed by the rules, after all.”

“My most talented son, Wilds Primeking, is in the competition already. He's a sixth step Heavenly Workings Sage, and I personally forged a Grand-Wilds Godsaber for him. He’ll definitely slaughter Yang Qi.”

“The Hall of Ninjas also sent our top disciple into the competition. Ninja Unity is definitely on the same level as your son. Why don’t we make a little bet about who will be the one to kill Yang Qi?”

“Fine. Whoever kills Yang Qi will be declared the spokesman of the top organization in the Quake-Dawn Continent. Fortunes rise and fall; the Quake-Dawn Cathedral has held sway over the Quake-Dawn Continent for many years. The time has come for the Grand-Wilds Mansion to take over.”

“Wait and see. Whoever kills Yang Qi and gets King Immortal-Slayer’s medallion will naturally be the top organization. It’s a real pity that the Crown Prince, the son of our Holy Daughter, actually had the legacy, but was killed by Yang Qi.” The Ninja God sighed.

**

RUMBLE!

The Heavenly Lion God Buckler shattered, and Yang Qi reached out to grab Lion Hightower by the neck. He didn't waste time speaking. He crushed him, tossed him into the Hellfire Crucible, and immediately began to absorb his sage motes.

It was his first time killing a fifth step Great Sage, and the sage motes that flowed into his God Legion Paradise were almost like immortal motes.

However, Yang Qi wasn’t in any rush. He would continue to build up quintessence energy in his God Legion Paradise, and when the time was right, would use it to reach the Great Sage level.

Lion Hightower had extensive experience working with energy, and all of that information had been branded into his soul. Now, it was sinking into Yang Qi’s sea of consciousness.

“The young chief died!”

“The young chief perished! He was killed. Come on, let's get out of here!” Of course, if Yang Qi killing Lion Hightower caused a stir outside, there was little need to mention how terrified his followers were. Immediately, the surviving Lionfolk Great Sages scattered.

However, there was no way that Yang Qi would simply let them escape.

Smack!

A Great Sage exploded, leaving behind nothing but a wisp of smoke. Next, more wisps of smoke appeared within the darkness of the Hell of Mahānata.

Dozens of Lionfolk Great Sages perished, just like that. In the shortest of moments, all of the Lionfolk competitors were killed.

The Lionfolk had suffered a devastating blow.

Only Great Sages could participate in the training competition, meaning that they were the best of the best. And yet, Yang Qi had killed them all. Eventually, when he was a Great Sage, perhaps in the fourth or fifth step, he would be able to wipe out all of the Lionfolk, even their chief. If that happened, the planetary system would have no Lionfolk at all, and it would all be thanks to the chief calling Yang Qi a bastard.

Yang Qi touched down onto the ground again, and the final wisps of smoke vanished. The aura of the Lionfolk was now gone.

**

Outside, the experts watched as the names of all the Lionfolk disappeared from the ranking list.

“The quintessence of the Lionfolk has been wiped out!” Chief Lion looked like he had aged by thousands of years, and his golden mane no longer glowed with bright light. Instead, he pulsed with a ruthless, killing aura, and deadly hatred for Yang Qi.

**

“Young Master Force, something big just happened. All of the Lionfolk competitors were just killed, and Yang Qi’s points jumped up rapidly. He’s already in the top five. Only a moment ago he was in something like ninth or tenth place. He’s definitely the one who did it. He wiped out the Lionfolk!”

Mammoth Force was in the middle of trying to find Yang Qi, and he was surrounded by an even larger group of Demonfolk Great Sages than Lion Hightower had been.

“Yeah, I saw that,” Mammoth Force replied in a cold voice. “I underestimated this Yang Qi. Lion Hightower wasn't as strong as me, but he was still a fifth step Light King Sage. Obviously, Yang Qi achieved another breakthrough. That's the only way he could have killed him.”

“What do we do now?”

“Call the Horsefolk, Rhinofolk, Apefolk, and Sharkfolk experts. Once we’re all together, I’ll use my Myriad Mammoths Divination Skill to lock down onto Lion Hightower’s previous location. From there, we should be able to track down Yang Qi, surround him, and kill him. There’s no way he’ll escape that. A lot of people want to kill him, and I’m first on the list. And I want King Immortal-Slayer’s medallion too.”

“Yes sir!” 

Immediately, notifications were sent out into the Hell of Mahānata, and the experts began to head toward Mammoth Force.

Yang Qi was about to face unprecedented danger, but at the moment, he was gliding above a vast plain, with a black sun above that cast darkness everywhere. 

“Oh how blue the sky,” he sang, “oh how green the grass….” [1]

The plain was filled with devil grass native to the Hell of Mahānata, each blade of which was dozens of meters tall, making them almost like trees. They radiated profound devil energy, and if even one of them fell onto a planet in the outside world, that entire planet would be tainted.

There were all sorts of fiend-devil tribes lurking in the plains, but Yang Qi’s energy conformed perfectly to the Hell of Mahānata, and therefore, they didn’t notice him. As far as they were concerned, he was the same as they were.

Off in the distance, he spotted a tribe of giants.

They had pitch black, scaly skin, and had set up enormous totem poles that stretched into the sky. They were warmonger giant-devils, and Yang Qi spotted one of their number who was even stronger than a Light King Sage.

1. The lyrics he sings come from an old Chinese folk song describing the beauty of North China.