Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“King Grace-Glider’s arts are nothing,” Emperor Heart-Celestial replied, as composed as ever as he floated atop the fist wind torrent. “One day when we have the chance, Shi Yuan, you and I can have a proper fight, and I’ll show you some really impressive techniques. But right now, the time is approaching for the assembly of sects. Everyone in the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect is working hard to further the interests of the sect. We need to make sure that our interests are upheld in the big meeting to come, and that we earn as much glory as possible. Now is not the time for infighting. I sincerely hope that you follow the junior sectlord’s orders, remain united, and stand up to outside forces.”

“Are you kidding me?” Shi Yuan said. “There’s no way we're going to acknowledge allegiance to a junior sectlord with such a mysterious background. Why did you accept him so easily, Emperor Heart-Celestial? Is he really that strong?”

“You’ll know exactly how strong he is when you meet him, Shi Yuan. It's all thanks to him that I'm in the Terrifying level. Were you under the mistaken assumption that I used the psychic scaling systems? Wrong. Henceforth, all of my cultivation advancement will be made with my own power! Look, there’s no need to waste so many words.”

At this point, Emperor Heart-Celestial’s eyes glittered as he suddenly dropped down and shattered the fist wind. Unexpectedly, he was using another consummate art, something that Yang Qi had created using both the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and the True-Devil Unspoiled-by-Myriad-Kalpas-and-Tribulations Body. It was called the Eternity-Suppressing Heaven-World.

Lip curling into a sneer, Shi Yuan snorted coldly and said, “I'm not impressed by these moves of yours, Emperor Heart-Celestial. If you want to be a lackey, fine. I couldn't care less. I'm not in the mood to put you in your place, so let’s go see this junior sectlord of yours. It’s a good thing your Master is Peaklord Celestial, otherwise you’d have already paid a heavy price for being the brownnoser you are. After I kill the junior sectlord and take his position, you’ll either work for me or be purged. And I’ll definitely make sure you’re punished for the impertinence you’ve shown today!”

Anger flickered briefly in Emperor Heart-Celestial’s eyes, but he quickly calmed himself. In the past, Shi Yuan had been an inconsequential figure, only to suddenly become an Inheritor and fall into the typical cliché of the small man intoxicated by success.

However, Emperor Heart-Celestial wasn't going to do anything about it here and now. He was the kind of person who preferred to take the big picture into consideration, and knew that if a disciple died this day, it would lead to big problems. “If that’s your decision, then I’ll go in advance and report the matter to the junior sectlord.”

“There’s no need for you to go in advance,” Shi Yuan said. “We’ll all go back together. I can go anywhere I please in the Great Necropolis, and there’s no way you could possibly keep up with me. I’ll bring you back with me.”

He waved his hand, and boundless stone-colored power swept around them. In the blink of an eye, an enormous stone palace appeared around them, which smashed its way past the surrounding immortal worlds and headed back toward the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect. There, it passed through the sect’s warding magics without provoking even a single fluctuation, then landed on the main square in the sect.

In Junior Sectlord Hall, Yang Qi opened his eyes and looked down to see the Great Necropolis godpower fading away, revealing a host of disciples with the three Inheritors at their head. The leader, who was pulsing with Terrifying power, strode decisively into Yang Qi’s hall.

The events had already drawn the attention of chief elders in the depths of the sect, who now sent their divine will out to observe. Considering this was a matter pertaining to the junior generation, it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to interfere.

Furthermore, it would serve as something of a test for Yang Qi. One could only imagine how many similar situations the sectlord himself had gone through before he had put the sect into a semblance of order.

Flanked by Zi Qiong and Xi Hua, Shi Yuan strode forward and said, “You’re Yang Qi? The so-called junior sectlord?”

All three of them were staring at Yang Qi with cold smiles.

Nodding, Yang Qi said, “The three of you are disciples of the Will Manifestation Heaven Sect? Unfortunately, two of you, despite being Inheritors of the Great Necropolis, haven’t reached the Terrifying level yet. I'm afraid things won’t be easy for you going forward, so you should really be on guard. The fighting between Inheritors is vicious, to say the least, as each one killed by another provides an additional godpower seed. Furthermore, I can tell that you’re on edge, fearful that you’ll even be attacked by your fellow disciples. Of course, considering we're in the sect, I can guarantee your safety. Anyone who violates the rules by causing internal strife will be severely punished.”

In response to his words, Shi Yuan’s expression flickered. Yang Qi had just casually mentioned the topic of killing fellow disciples, which was ironic considering that Shi Yuan would have loved nothing more than to be able to kill Zi Qiong and Xi Hua. It was hard for him to suppress the madness he felt in his heart. He was like a person in the mortal world who was standing in front of a pile of gold and jewels, but unable to reach out and grab it. It was a madness that would continue building up, slowly but surely, until it was impossible to suppress.

Meanwhile, the expressions of the other two Inheritors also flickered.

However, Zi Qiong, the more audacious of the two, stepped forward and said, “Don’t try to turn us on each other. Now that we’re back, our first priority is the sect’s godhood. You control the treasure storehouse, and we know that there’s plenty of godhood inside. Bring it all out so we can reach the Terrifying level. You want to help out the sect, don’t you?”

“I’d be happy to!” Yang Qi said. “What services have you performed to deserve some godhood? That's how the rules have always worked here: perform services, get rewards. It all comes down to merit.”

“Meritorious service?” Xi Hua chuckled coldly. “You think we have to perform services to get rewards? We’re Inheritors of the Great Necropolis! There couldn’t be a greater service than that!”

“That’s right,” Zi Qiong said. “Any sect would treat us Inheritors as favored by the heavens. We don’t need to perform any supposed ‘meritorious service’ to be groomed to power. Hurry up and bring out that godhood. If you do, we might let you act as the junior sectlord for a few more days. But if you refuse, I'm afraid you’ll have trouble lasting the day. I can’t believe you would imply that Elder Brother Shi Yuan wants to kill us. How could that be possible? Elder Brother is supremely honorable and righteous. Besides, he knows full well that with all three of us as Terrifying experts, we can easily kill whatever Inheritors are out there in other sects.”

Of course, Yang Qi picked up on the veiled threat Zi Qiong was giving to Shi Yuan, and it reinforced how much of a schemer she was.

“Perhaps other sects have different rules,” Yang Qi said, “but our ways are set. Everyone here is treated equally, regardless of whether you're favored by the heavens or not. As long as you perform the services required, you can be given some godhood. But if you haven’t performed such services, save your breath. You won’t get a thing. Furthermore, are you aware of the sect rules regarding how to talk to the junior sectlord? Is anyone here from the Law-Enforcement God-Palace?”

“Here, sir!” a disciple responded, stepping forward.

“Do you happen to know the rule I’m referring to?” Yang Qi asked.

“Anyone who speaks disrespectfully to the junior sectlord will have their energy arts crippled and their true energy extracted! Then they’ll be imprisoned and prevented from being reborn.”

All of a sudden, Shi Yuan burst out laughing. “Very impressive. Very scary. And what strict rules! Unfortunately, even if you tried to cripple our energy arts, you would fail. Perhaps you’re unaware, but we're invincible to anyone other than a Terrifying Inheritor.”

“Cut the crap,” Zi Qiong said. “Elder Brother Shi Yuan, let’s just drag him over here and make him kowtow to us. Maybe bark like a dog. After publicly losing that much face, he couldn’t possibly deserve to remain the junior sectlord!”

“Great idea,” Shi Yuan said, smiling cruelly. “Get over here! How could the position of junior sectlord possibly belong to someone like you?”

He reached out, and immense power surged toward Yang Qi, wrapping around him and pulling on him with full force, causing the entire palace to tremble and the throne he sat on to creak ominously.

As for Yang Qi, his eyes flashed and he said, “I see you’re not aware of the value of life. Considering how rude you’re being, I suppose I need to teach you a lesson you won't forget for all eternity. Otherwise, how will you ever understand why I'm the junior sectlord?”

“A person who isn’t in the Terrifying level couldn’t possibly be the junior sectlord! Get on your knees immediately!” Shi Yuan then went on to pull harder, trying to drag Yang Qi toward him.

Looking completely at ease, Yang Qi reached out, causing a ripple to flow out in front of him. As soon as it touched Shi Yuan’s true energy, it exploded, completely dispelling the godpower of the Great Necropolis.

WHOOSH!

Silence reigned in the hall.

Then, Yang Qi moved so quickly it looked like a teleportation; he simply appeared right in front of Shi Yuan and struck him with a punch. After dealing with Profound Valor, Yang Qi had gained a lot of enlightenment regarding the secrets of the godpower seeds. So although Shi Yuan’s cultivation base was indeed mighty, compared to Yang Qi, with Proud Heaven’s version of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and a psychic scale of eighteen, he was like nothing.

All Shi Yuan could do was watch as the incoming fist shattered all of his defensive empyrean energy and protective energy fields, then slammed directly into his chest.

Of course, he was completely flabbergasted that the godpower of the Great Necropolis could be so easily vanquished, and before he knew what was happening, he was tumbling backward head over heels.

Wham! Bam!

Then Yang Qi launched two palms, one at Zi Qiong and one at Xi Hua, causing blood to spray out of their mouths as they were knocked off their feet and slammed to the ground next to Shi Yuan.