Sage Monarch

Starlight glittered around this new arrival, making it seem like he was surrounded by a river of stars.

“Mammoth Manyvoids,” Yang Qi said by way of greeting. “The strongest of his generation among the Mammothfolk. Seventh step Planet God Sage, and invincible fighter.”

Not only was Mammoth Manyvoids an elite genius of the Mammothfolk, he had previously occupied the first place slot in the ranking list. Also, he was on the verge of breaking through to the eighth step.

Every competitor was linked to the immortal ranking list, and could check it at any time. Obviously, it was common knowledge even among the competitors in the Hell of Mahānata that Ape Electrospace and Ape Purgemalice had been killed, and that it was Yang Qi who did it. His sudden increase in points made that obvious.

It seemed highly likely that, when the competition ended, Yang Qi would be proclaimed the top elite disciple in all of the Hanging Mountain. Of course, there were many people who had no desire to see that happen.

Mammoth Manyvoids was one of them; he was supposed to be the top disciple, and there was no way he would just let Yang Qi take that away from him.

“I’m a powerful expert, and so are you Brother Yang Qi. You just reached the Great Sage level, didn’t you? And your first act was to decimate the Lionfolk, Sharkfolk, and Apefolk. Presumably, you already have Ape Purgemalice’s Seven Malices Heaven-Scroll, correct?” Mammoth Manyvoids didn't seem like he was interested at all in making a move. Despite this being the first time he had ever been in Yang Qi’s presence, he was chatting as if they were old friends.

“That's right,” Yang Qi said coolly. “I got the scroll, not that I need it.”

“Of course. You have King Immortal-Slayer’s legacy. He was very nearly a god-spirit, and killed too many immortals to even count. How many of his medallions do you have?” Even as he spoke, Mammoth Manyvoids waved his hand and sent out a burst of energy, apparently in an effort to summon other powerful experts to his side.

Yang Qi let him do it. If he wanted to call more people, that was fine.

Even if he ended up surrounded by more experts than ever, he knew that this was the Hell of Mahānata, and it would only be more good training for him. In fact, maybe he could even force another breakthrough because of it.

Mammoth Manyvoids was clearly beyond the level of Ghost Emperor Yama. However, that wasn’t of any concern to Yang Qi at his current level. It was possible that an eighth step Without Limit Sage could kill him, but that would be a difficult task here in the Hell of Mahānata.

“Calling friends to gang up on me, Mammoth Manyvoids?” he said, ready to start fighting at any moment.

“That’s right, I am. You might be a mere first step Great Sage, but I can sense that it's not going to be easy to kill you. Considering who I am, it might be unfair for me to call people to team up on you. But you're strong enough that it’s necessary. Considering you’re aware of what I'm doing, why don’t you try to escape? There’s still time. You might be able to get away.”

“Leave? Why would I do that?” Yang Qi laughed. “It’s the same to me whether I fight you alone, or fight a group. Here in the Hell of Mahānata, it doesn’t matter how many people you throw at me. I’ll always win.”

It was now Mammoth Manyvoids’ turn to burst out laughing. “Well, you’re confident, I’ll give you that. People like you always plan things out, and it makes you seem like an unkillable giant. Truth be told, I admire that. It's too bad you’re the son of the Holy Mother. And it's too bad you killed Mammoth Force. Otherwise, we could have been friends.”

“Mammoth Force had a death wish. You can’t blame me for that.” Suddenly, Yang Qi began to thrum with killing intent. “And sorry, you don’t qualify to be my friend.”

“What was that?” Mammoth Manyvoids said, his eyes glittering with both shock and anger. “Yang Qi, you—”

“My friends are straightforward and upright. But you? You’re too scared to even fight me! And you’re even calling people to gang up on me. You think I want to be friends with someone as despicable and contemptible as that? No. You don’t qualify, Mammoth Manyvoids. You might be the top elite in the Hanging Mountain, but compared to me, you’re nothing but a dog.”

Yang Qi’s words were so biting that Mammoth Manyvoids’ face turned purple with rage, and he looked like he might cough up some blood.

“Die!” he shouted, and then leaped forward, thrusting his hand forward in a deadly attack that pierced through space itself. “Sun Moon Downfall!”

It was an attack powerful enough to end worlds, and it caused a network of constellations to spring up around him.

“Sorry, but this is the Hell of Mahānata. You might be in the Planet God Step, but you can’t break through the greyspace of this hell. The outside stars aren’t going to help you.” Without any further ado, Yang Qi unleashed the Fist of the Halls of Heaven.

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, his nascent divinity appeared behind him, a godmammoth with hells beneath its feet and a long spear in its hand. At the same time, a tempest of devil energy swept out, filling the entire area and completely transforming all of the magical laws.

The spear shot forward, and the Sun Moon Downfall shattered.

Mammoth Manyvoids immediately began to back away in disbelief. “That’s… a godmammoth?! Only we Mammothfolk have the pure bloodline necessary to cultivate our nascent divinity into that form. Only we can unleash the blood of the godmammoths! Don’t tell me that you're actually one of us Mammothfolk? That energy… it’s so strong! Not even my father has a nascent divinity like that. Who are you?”

“Who am I? You’ll find out after you’re dead.” Yang Qi could already tell that Mammoth Manyvoids’ godmammoth blood was far more plentiful and pure than that of Mammoth Force. Mammoth Force’s godmammoth blood had been so weak it was virtually useless. But Mammoth Manyvoids’ was very different. If Yang Qi could get it, then it would be even easier to ensconce his nascent divinity in the Hell of Mahānata, and he would be virtually invincible.

Yang Qi had built up all the energy he needed. He took a step forward, and his God Legion Battle Robe began to spread out, filling the area with pure white sagelight. It was like a sea that turned the surrounding hell into a pure paradise. Immense power filled him, and at the same time, countless Great Sage fiend-devils poured out of his Hell Portal. Not pausing for a moment, he sucked them into his fist, and then punched out.

One fist strike.

One fist strike that could sever the foundations of heaven, and rule the world.

Heaven and Earth are Boundless, the Universe is Vast. The Nascent Divinity is the True Ego, and is Eternally Deathless. The Halls of Heaven are Above, Hell is Below.

Yang Qi was an expert created by the legion of gods, and when he attacked, space vibrated, and heaven and earth spun.

“You think that’s enough to beat me?” Mammoth Manyvoids said. Leaping into the air, he sent a stream of starlight to pierce through the darkness. “And you think that the Hell of Mahānata can prevent me from calling on the power of the stars? The Planet God Step is beyond your comprehension! Planet God Sages can control heavenly bodies!

“Planetary Detonation!”

Smack!

A sea of star power fell, creating countless rotating planets, surrounded by razor-sharp blade nimbuses.

However, Yang Qi simply leaped forward into that field of planets, and struck out with the Hand of the One God.

The planets began to explode, one after another, and then, Mammoth Manyvoids let out a frenzied howl. Suddenly, he began to shrink down rapidly until he vanished, having just barely escaped the Hand of the One God. The planets faded away as well, and everything went quiet.

As Yang Qi looked around with narrowed eyes, Mammoth Manyvoids suddenly popped back into being behind him, and unleashed a fist strike. 

“Destroy All Creation!”

In the universe, life could come and go at any time, which meant that everything in creation could be destroyed.

It was a deadly move, and yet, Yang Qi hardly moved in response. He simply reached out, using the Hand of the One God to isolate the weakest aspect of the move, then latched onto it and crushed it out of existence.

Crack!

The Destroy All Creation move vanished into nothing. Wherever the One God went, he could convert anything into its most fundamental and glorious nature, and force it to offer him worship.

Glory belonged to the legion of gods, and the legion of gods belonged to the Lord and One God.

The five fingers of the Hand of the One God represented the five phases, and the essence of creation. It could create minor planes without cease, and therefore, any attack that was unleashed against it would find the magical laws around it changing. When that happened, the attack would cease to exist.

Shocked, Mammoth Manyvoids went on to unleash dozens of daoist skills, but all of them were stopped by the Hand of the One God.

“Buckler of Sumeru!” He spat out a mouthful of blood which transformed into a burning shield, decorated with a mighty mountain.

Smack!

The Hand of the One God smashed into the shield like a meteor shower hitting a plane of existence. Vital energy shattered, and magical laws collapsed, sending Mammoth Manyvoids hurling backward for dozens of kilometers.

After managing to grind to a halt, he looked up at Yang Qi, hefted his shield, and said, “Nice energy art. I underestimated you. I thought I would have the upper hand, except, you’re a lot stronger than I realized. Unfortunately, that was probably your strongest move, and yet, it couldn't do anything to me. Next, it’s my turn to use a deadly attack. Watch and learn.”

His voice couldn’t have been more cruel and merciless.

RUMBLE!

Completely ignoring his words, Yang Qi blurred into motion, heading directly toward him.