Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Never in anyone’s wildest dreams could they have imagined that the destiny of the Sage Monarch Empire would rise so rapidly. It seemed completely unimaginable to the extreme.

After Yang Qi’s major breakthrough and subsequent gains, he immediately ensured that everything in his empire improved. He also rebuilt the Everlasting Aegis until it became a treasure that vastly surpassed the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart.

Meanwhile, the people prepared for war, their blood boiling with battle spirit. Everyone could see that the momentum of the Sage Monarch Empire couldn't be stopped. And the confucian experts could tell that it was being ruled properly, ensuring that more people would flock to join it.

Atop a high mountain, an old man sat in front of a group of young people. Obviously, he was a confucian teacher, and they were his students.

Further down the mountain, a confucian college could be seen.

The old man’s cultivation base was mysterious and impossible to read. He was definitely a God-Lord, at the very least. As for his students, some were God-Lords, while others were simply peak Paramount Gods. These people weren’t quite on the level of the Dragonfolk or the Spritefolk, but they were still powerful.

As the old man sat there, he studied the destiny quietly.

Eventually, one of his students said, “Teacher, ever since the Sovereign Lord perished, heaven and earth transformed, and the god world was split in three. The Central, Chiliocosm, and Invincible Dynasties controlled everything. That itself was in accord with the dao of heaven, as we all know the saying a nation is like a tripod standing on three legs. With three major powers in play, they can keep each other under control. It’s a very stable structure. But now that this Sage Monarch Empire has come into play as a fourth empire, what will happen? Will everything fall apart?

“Throughout all the years, there have been many occasions in which people tried to challenge the might of the three major dynasties. But all such opposition was eventually crushed. For instance, the ancient buddhist schools tried to found a buddhist empire, but they were defeated. Presumably, they found some distant corner of the god world to hide in and lick their wounds. The Demonfolk had almighty experts who tried creating a demon empire. They were also smashed by the three dynasties. It seems like a foregone conclusion that the same will happen with the Sage Monarch Empire.”

“It’s all predestined,” said the teacher. “I’ve been studying the destiny of this Sage Monarch Empire, and it's like nothing I've ever seen before. The governing method of this empire surpasses the civilization of gods. It seems to me it’s a different type of civilization, something transcendent. Whether it will truly transcend the god civilization remains to be seen. That’s something easier said than done. That said, the Sage Monarch Empire is different from any other empire. Not even the buddhists could do something like this. After all, they excel at cultivation, not governance. And the demons and devils, they’re virtually the same thing. Creatures of chaos without order. Years ago, the Demon Master reached a very high level of cultivation, but he could never found a Demonfolk empire. They simply have no concept of order in their minds. It’s impossible to change the fundamental nature of an entire race. But look. The Sage Monarch Empire has turned the Dragonfolk into true humans, which is nothing short of amazing. A single dragon will provide vastly more destiny than numerous humans. That’s why human emperors are called True Dragon Sons of Heaven. Incredible. Simply incredible. I think this Yang Qi might have a way of governing that’s superior to even we confucians.”

The students then chimed in.

“Teacher, it looks like the other three dynasties are going to work together to fight the Sage Monarch Empire. Do you think this Yang Qi fellow can handle it? Do we just sit on the mountaintop and watch the tigers fight, then reap the spoils when they tire out? Or do we interfere?”

“I don’t think it would do to interfere. We’d only be asking for trouble.”

“We’d end up getting crushed. No, we stay out of it. After all: When you’re successful, you should focus on your own cultivation. When you're unsuccessful, you should work hard to benefit all people.” [1]

“Can’t you see?” the teacher continued. “The god world is changing rapidly. If we don’t take advantage of this situation, it’s likely it will devolve into a world of terror. You have limited foresight, and can't see the bigger picture. We confucians should be the best at seeing through to the truth of matters.”

“What do we do, Teacher? Do we join the three dynasties to put down the Sage Monarch Empire?”

“Moron!” the teacher scolded. “This is a major change for the god world. Without the Sage Monarch Empire, things would continue with a tripartite balance of power. But if the Sage Monarch Empire wins, it will control all creation. It will unite the god world in the greatest revolution to ever occur. The future is going to change! We have to take advantage of this situation and become like an official who follows someone's rise from a lower rank to that of emperor. That’s the only way to see true destiny, and transcend the bounds of civilization.”

“What? Teacher, are you saying you prefer the Sage Monarch Empire?”

“That’s right. Look at its destiny. It’s amazing. It’s definitely not something that an ordinary person could pull off. I've already made my decision. Before the war starts, we’ll take all of our disciples to join the Sage Monarch Empire. First, we want to see how they govern their empire. And second, we want to be within their destiny when they transcend.”

“But... what if the Sage Monarch Empire loses? We’ll end up damned by myriad tribulations.”

“It’s a gamble. But everything in existence is really just a game. We’re betting on who has the sharpest eyes and the best plan. Furthermore, we know what sort of morality is espoused by the Central Dynasty, and their views on governance. Besides, among all the countless civilizations that have existed, there have been many occasions in which the side with fewer numbers came out on top of a war. The decision is made. Make the preparations. We're heading to the Sage Monarch Empire.”

“Yes sir!” the students said, and they rushed down to the college to make preparations.

It was a mass migration of the entire population of the college, not just a handful of people choosing to go.

As the massive confucian college made their decision, a group of God-Lord buddhas were meeting in a buddhist kingdom in the depths of space.

One of the buddhas said, “Buddha-Lord Pārisuddhi Outstanding Vaiḍūrya Saddharma Puṇḍarīka, what do you think of this war? Is this our chance to rise to prominence?” The buddha he was speaking to was exceedingly fat, but at the same time, looked extremely dignified. He also bore the air of a leader.

He was Buddha-Lord Pārisuddhi Outstanding Vaiḍūrya Saddharma Puṇḍarīka, and he was considered the hope for the future of the buddhist schools.

His psychic scale was at the level of a hundred billion, yet he didn’t dare to establish an empire. In ancient times, there had been experts stronger than him who had tried to do so, only to end up destroyed. The descendants of those former empires had long since scuttled in the shadows of the god world, not willing to show their faces.

But now it seemed there might be an opportunity to emerge from the shadows.

“This is our chance,” Buddha-Lord Pārisuddhi Outstanding Vaiḍūrya Saddharma Puṇḍarīka said. “Once war breaks out, all four of the dynasties are going to experience a decline in destiny, and terrible situations in their borders. Now is our opportunity to spread the creed of the Pure Land. We’ll take advantage of the situation to make sure everyone knows that giving us faith is the only true path. Furthermore, I suspect that the Sage Monarch Empire is going to be crushed. So we can take advantage of that moment to take their wealth. We must take action now. Begin our campaign of preaching. Any who refuse to be purified will be slaughtered. Send them to the True Void. The buddhist schools will rise to prominence! Now is the time for fury and vengeance, not mercy. Understand? We’re going to make our comeback, and wait until the four dynasties are weak, then crush them all! It couldn’t be more perfect! All creation will belong to us. The god world will no longer be called the god world. It will be the buddha world. And we’ll finally be able to transcend everything.”

“Yes sir!” The enormous buddhist school stirred into action.

It wasn’t just the buddhist schools. There were Demonfolk, Devilfolk, wretch-gods, and experts of all sorts who took action. Some marshalled their troops, others fled into hiding. All sorts of plans were hatched.

A storm was coming, and everyone had to decide what to do.

It was going to be true war, and no one knew how it would turn out. No one could make predictions with utter certainty.

Meanwhile, in the Central God-Palace....

“We can’t wait any longer! Sign the agreement! Now's the time to act, not delay! Sign it! Tell everyone in existence that we're going to war with the Sage Monarch Empire!”

1. This is a quote from Mencius.