Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The Lord of the True Void was unprecedentedly happy.

He had found an incredible, consummate genius that he could take as an apprentice and groom into being a top expert. In fact, if this apprentice became a Paramount God, he would definitely be able to help the Lord of the True Void accomplish many things.

Of course, the Lord of the True Void wouldn’t take just any genius he came across as an apprentice. After all, there were plenty of people in the world who would return evil for good. He needed to assess the temperament of whoever he was considering accepting. The two hour period that had passed obviously involved him communicating with Yang Immortal-Slayer and learning about him. Upon confirming that he wasn’t the duplicitous, back-stabbing type, he agreed to take him as an apprentice.

“Many thanks, Master!” Yang Immortal-Slayer said, dropping down to kowtow.

He was the subject of quite a bit of envy, even from the children of primeval chaos. Everyone yearned to be under the tutelage of a Paramount God, especially one like the Lord of the True Void. It was something that could be encountered by chance but never searched for and found.

“Arhat Thousand-Hands, come here,” the Lord of the True Void said.

Arhat Thousand-Hands was Yang Immortal-Slayer’s previous Master, and was a Greater God. As soon as he was called out, he hurried over to the God-Ordaining Dais.

“You are Yang Immortal-Slayer’s previous Master, and he said many good things about you. He also said he would need your approval for this change. I’m very pleased that he shows such respect. And given that I’m stealing such a talented apprentice from you, it goes without saying that I’ll offer compensation. In fact, I’ll use my True-Void Invincibility Art to refine your godhood and make you a Consummate God!”

RUMBLE!

A stream of energy flowed out and wrapped up Arhat Thousand-Hands.

His godhood emitted creaking sounds as impurities were extruded from within, purifying him and cleansing his psyche.

Soon, he began to emit the aura of a Consummate God!

Paramount Gods couldn’t provide such blessings, but the Lord of the True Void had mid Unbounded will convergence, so he could. It was possible to receive blessings as a reward from the sect, but it required a massive amount of merit points. Furthermore, it wasn’t possible for Greater Gods to become Consummate Gods in that way, as there were no Paramount Gods in the sect, only Perfect Gods.

“I’ve benefited a lot from this visit,” said the Lord of the True Void. Waving his hand, he opened a rift leading to another destination.

“Master,” Yang Immortal-Slayer said, “might I say farewell to my brethren?”

“Yes, go ahead. However, after you make enough progress, you can return here. You’re my apprentice, but I won’t be placing any heavy restrictions on you. Every three years, you can come here to visit your friends. Furthermore, why don’t you take these magical treasures and medicinal pills as a gift from me? You can give them to your brethren if you’d like.”

Yang Immortal-Slayer flew over to Yang Qi, Jadefall, and the others. “I succeeded,” he said. “We’ll meet again in three years. After I return, we can rebuke heaven and earth and take control of the entire god world!”

With that, he handed a magical treasure bag to Yang Qi, which contained the gifts he had just received from the Lord of the True Void.

“Understood,” Yang Qi said, nodding. “We have powerful enemies. Remember what King Immortal-Slayer said.” Then he watched as Yang Immortal-Slayer left.

Yang Immortal-Slayer didn’t have the God Legion Seal, and completing monarch godhood was a very difficult thing. But with a Paramount God to help him, he would have a big advantage. It was how King Immortal-Slayer had intended for things to go.

Yang Immortal-Slayer was now the subject of widespread envy. Furthermore, it gave added weight to Jadefall and the Sage Monarch Society, as everyone knew they were connected. Now, the Sage Monarch Society had an additional supporter in the Lord of the True Void. Because of that, it was a given that no one in the House of God Ordainment would cause problems for them.

Soon enough, Yang Immortal-Slayer would become an invincible entity. Plus, they had the purrling. One of the questions it raised was whether or not the junior houselord would actually succeed his father and be the new houselord next time the voting took place.

From the flickering expression on the junior houselord’s face, it was obvious he was thinking about this. But he didn't say anything.

Meanwhile, odd expressions could be seen on the faces of many of the chief elders as they looked at Jadefall. She had further stabilized her position, and now some of the chief elders were wondering if they should get on better terms with her.

With that, the event concluded and everyone dispersed.

In the following months, more people joined the Sage Monarch Society. Furthermore, some of the Consummate God chief elders came to visit Jadefall, offering medicinal pills, magical treasures, and crafting ingredients as gifts. Slowly but surely, the Sage Monarch Society’s treasure storehouse was filling up.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi and his brethren took every opportunity to strengthen the power and influence of the society.

Furthermore, there were other parts of the sect that wanted to get on good terms with the Sage Monarch Society, such as the Thrall Camp, Treasure House, and Pill Repository. They also came bearing gifts.

The big downside was that the Sage Monarch Society didn’t have a truly powerful expert leading them. Because of that, some of the other factions didn’t hold back from secretly opposing them. Furthermore, Yang Qi had come to the realization that the Mystery Society was planning something big. After looking further into it, he found that they were trying to foment rebellion in the Sage Monarch Society, even among some of the most loyal members. Apparently, they were even planning to target some of his brethren in an attempt to flip their loyalties.

Five months passed.

Although everything seemed stable in the House of God Ordainment, the truth was that things were chaotic behind the scenes. Factions of all sorts had big plans.

On one particular day, a gathering took place in the Primeval Chaos Palace. Present in a secret chamber were the houselord, junior houselord, and a few dozen of the most loyal Perfect God chief elders.

This was the most powerful group in the sect, and represented about fifty percent of its overall forces.

Yet they were all nervous about the growth of the Sage Monarch Society.

“Son, what do you think?” asked Houselord God Ordainment. “The Sage Monarch Society really is getting a lot stronger. And I'm going to be retiring before long, whereupon there will be a vote to see which of the children of primeval chaos will become the new houselord. I have the feeling it'll be a troublesome affair. If we don’t get the Sage Monarch Society in check, it will likely come into conflict with you.”

“Although Jadefall is technically the leader of the Sage Monarch Society,” said one of the chief elders, “she’s only a Common God. She wants to become a Consummate God, but that's easier said than done; however, it is true that her cultivation speed is incredible. She’s only been in the House of God Ordainment for a few years, and has already made such incredible progress. Houselord, your term will only last for another three hundred years, and she’ll definitely be a Consummate God by then.”

“We have to be very careful,” Houselord God Ordainment said. “Furthermore, I wonder what level of cultivation Yang Immortal-Slayer will reach by that time. We really need to come up with a good plan. There are some members of the council of chief elders that have shifted loyalties to Jadefall. They’re even secretly providing her with resources. I wonder if that's going to cause problems for our group.”

There were over a hundred chief elders in the House of God Ordainment, and they were by no means united. They all had their own plans and goals, and were always jockeying for power and influence.

If they all threw their support behind whoever became the next houselord, it would obviously lead to big benefits.

Because of the complex relationship between the houselord and the chief elders, the houselord couldn’t act like a tyrant. When decisions needed to be made, he would call a meeting to discuss the matter, and would listen to the majority.

And the houselord definitely couldn’t execute people with impunity.

“It's very simple,” said the junior houselord. “In the world we live in, power reigns supreme. As long as I can reach the Unbounded level and become a Paramount God, I can definitely secure the position of houselord. They’ll have to submit to my authority, or be killed!”

“That's true, son,” said the houselord, “but are you sure you can do all of that in only three hundred years? We should at least have a backup plan. For example, what about that Mystery Society you founded? Can you get some of the Sage Monarch Society’s main supporters to rebel?”

Frowning, the junior houselord said, “The Sage Monarch Society is proving to be a hard nut to crack. Their key figures are all people who’ve only been members of the sect for four or five years. Look, I have all the information here.”

He tossed out some files with detailed information about Yang Qi, Jadefall, the Shepherd, Doom, Proud World, Yang Zhan, Sword Seventeen, Brahma, and Eldest Brother. There was even a packet about the Sage Monarch Consortium.

“Those are the key members, and all of them are hiding their true strength. They stick closely together, and thanks to the numerous missions they’ve accomplished over the past few years, they're incredibly strong. They can actually kill Consummate Gods! Each one possesses a crystal skull they can use to fight people much stronger than them. Furthermore, they’re all extremely experienced fighters. There’s no way an ordinary person in the same level would ever be able to beat them. In fact, because of that, I suspect that they’re all Ascendants.”

It was shocking how much information the junior houselord had gathered in such a short time.

“Ascendants?” said one of the chief elders. “If they’re really Ascendants, it’s going to make things even more difficult. Ascendants always become important people.”

“How could I have ever guessed that the House of God Ordainment would have Ascendants?” Houselord God Ordainment said. “In the future, we need to be more careful about what disciples we accept. They’ve done well to achieve so much without attracting attention.”

“It’s not really a big deal,” the junior houselord said. “Without Jadefall and the purrling, we could easily crush them. Even if they are Ascendants, it’s not as though they're all as strong as Consummate Gods. I could destroy them all in one move. Cripple their energy arts. It all comes down to their leader, Jadefall. If we can take care of her, the others will be easy to deal with.”

“How do you plan to do that?” asked Houselord God Ordainment.

The junior houselord smiled faintly. “Simple: win her heart! Once she’s my woman, everything will be easy to take care of.”