Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The medicinal pills known as The Lord’s Wrath had been created after the mass slaughter of confucians, using their quintessence as the main ingredient. After sampling just one of them, Yang Qi had experienced a big boost to his cultivation base.

He waved his hand, and a stream of sword energy flew out, slashing into the sealing marks protecting the various crystal boxes. Taking the medicinal pills, he sent them to his friends and family.

Unfortunately, the pills wouldn’t help his sage monarch magistrates, otherwise he would have had them achieve breakthroughs.

Their breakthroughs were dependent on his enlightenment. Without gaining new enlightenment, they couldn’t do anything, not even with medicinal pills.

It could be likened to ordinary government officials. It didn't matter how hard they worked, if they didn’t catch the attention of a superior, thus getting promotions, they might as well be considered trash. But once a superior took a liking to a lower-ranked official, that official would have a chance to gain immense power and authority.

It had basically nothing to do with hard work.

When the new pills arrived in the Everlasting Aegis, Jadefall and the others were very excited. Those who used them would achieve dramatic transformations, and the first to do that was Jadefall herself. Previously, she had been deeply connected to the purrling, and its cultivation base had a big influence on her.

Once she consumed The Lord’s Wrath, her psychic scale rose into the billions. Yet that wasn’t enough for her, so she consumed more. In fact, she took seven at once, causing thunderous rumbling to sound out as her psychic scale skyrocketed to the level of ten billion.

She had become a God-Lord, a level that most experts would dream about constantly.

Furthermore, she gained the frank and calm air of a confucian, bringing her even closer in alignment with the destiny of the empire.

Confucian ideals could greatly benefit any nation, and in fact, any top government would have to consider them. Of course, sage monarch magistrates were an exception. That said, the magistrates innately used confucian thinking in many ways.

Next came the Shepherd, Eldest Brother Mage Cloudwalker, Brahma, Yang Doom, Yang Proudworld, Yang Manifestation, Yang Memory, Yang Celestial, and all of Yang Qi’s other friends and family. Considering how superior the pills were to Invincible Gold Pills, if the other three dynasties saw what was happening in Yang Qi’s empire, they wouldn’t hesitate to launch a bloody war.

However, Yang Qi’s brethren didn’t need to treat them like incredibly precious items. After all, they had tens upon tens of thousands of them.

The confucian schools had been so incredibly powerful and influential that even the most remote corners of the impure lands had been touched by their influence. In fact, some people believed that confucian ideals were the true path that should be followed in the god world. For example, the rightful rulers in the Rich-Lush Continent had been the institutes, which were essentially confucian schools.

All it took was seven or eight of The Lord’s Wrath, and his brethren were bathed in golden light and white energy, and inundated with complex information.

RUMBLE!

Yang Doom broke through. He was a unique person, as he had once borne a third of the God Legion Seal, and had immense personal destiny. Now, his cultivation base was like that of the ancient God-Lords.

One by one, his other friends and family broke through to the level of ten billion.

When Yang Qi saw what was happening, he thought, ‘Incredible. I never would have guessed it would happen like this. I guess ascending from the impure lands and immortal worlds makes them very special indeed. I thought they would all get stuck at the level of nine billion, but instead, they’re breaking through all obstacles.”

Thus was the effectiveness of a type of medicinal pill based on the ancient confucians.

Next, Jadefall had other elites from the empire take the pills, hoping to create even more God-Lords.

Unfortunately, of the several dozen they picked, none of them could get past the level of nine billion. They weren’t Ascendants, so they couldn’t just break through.

All of a sudden, Yang Qi came to a realization. Ascendants didn't come from the god world, so they weren’t under the same pressure from the local natural laws. They had fewer obstacles, which was why they could achieve breakthroughs so easily.

All of a sudden, Yang Qi realized how valuable Ascendants were.

‘My brethren all succeeded because they’re Ascendants. Yes. I must figure out a way to get back to the impure lands and rescue all of my other friends and family members from there. They’re the greatest treasure conceivable. Without them, it won't matter if I completely clear out the Halls of Heaven. People. I need my people!”

Never before had Yang Qi been in such pressing need of top talent.

After distributing The Lord’s Wrath, Yang Qi decided to give up on searching for pills. Instead, he spent time looking for formations and magical treasures. Some, he could send to his people, while others were stashed away for later use. For instance, he found something called a Universe-Origin Many-Heavens Myriad-Manifestations Transformation-Destruction God-Sphere that seemed like it could be particularly useful in the right circumstances.

Eventually, he shifted his attention again, and began looking for the passageway to the impure lands.

He already knew that there was an entrance to the Ancient Road to the Gods somewhere around his current location. That was how the Great Necropolis had ended up in the impure lands. The Great Necropolis had been locked down by the Sovereign Lord, and had remained in the Halls of Heaven for billions of years before ultimately descending to the lower worlds.

‘That’s right. I bet if I could track down the aura of the Great Necropolis, it would lead me to the passageway. Once I find the passageway, I can figure out a way to bring all of my people up here. That's going to be the best way to strengthen my empire. People. Talented people. That’s what I need.’

As he began his search, he took on the form of the Great Necropolis, and began flying back and forth throughout the Halls of Heaven. It was similar to how he had searched for the Mahātmā Jade.

“You’re trying to find a way to the impure lands, aren't you, Yang Qi?” the Lord of the Sword Dao said. “That’s complete lunacy!”

“It's none of your concern,” Yang Qi replied coolly.

As he floated around like a specter, he happened across various magical treasures and weapons that he would take and send to his empire. Obviously, anything he found in the Halls of Heaven would be very impressive to anyone outside.

As his people improved their fighting prowess, his empire’s destiny would also improve, although in measures so small they weren’t even worthy of his notice. Eventually, when he reached the half-Annulled level, he would assimilate the halls as a whole, and add it to the Everlasting Aegis.

At a certain point, he suddenly detected a familiar aura, that of the Great Necropolis. Flying onward, he suddenly detected the sound of ocean waves.

‘An ocean?’

Up ahead, he saw an azure blue ocean, covered with waves, which were crashing against the cliffy shore. The sound, intermingled with cries like those of birds, sounded almost like prayers.

‘If this isn't an ocean, what is it?’ There actually weren’t any animals in the ocean, and the water wasn’t real water. Each drop was incomparably heavy. As it turned out, it was the faith of people!

Making a grasping gesture, he pulled a single drop of water into his hand, gazed into it, and saw countless people in the god world, including humans, demons, and even devils, all of them praying to the Sovereign Lord.

It was a water of faith.

This ocean had been formed by the faith power of countless individuals praying to the might of the Sovereign Lord.

Faith power and destiny were different. Faith power was purer and stronger, but it was tainted by the karma of the living beings that had offered it. In contrast, destiny didn’t have karma.

Destiny came from a mutual arrangement. When the ruler worked hard at his job, and the people prospered, then the destiny would grow. If the ruler was tyrannical, the people would suffer, as would the destiny.

It was a clear cycle.

But faith was different. Faith could be demanded even in concert with tyranny. It could also be forcibly taken. There was no cycle when it came to faith. The people of a country could rebel against their leader, but believers couldn't rebel against the god they put their faith in. The two were fundamentally different.