Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

As Yang Qi went about turning Planet Sage Monarch into the Sage Monarch planetary system, a high-level meeting was being held in the depths of the Titan Emperor Collegium.

It was being held on an ancient plane of existence formed by ancient stones of power. People with sharp eyes would be able to tell that the power which had formed this plane was the very same power that initiated the creation of the universe. This was the highest-level plane within the Titan Emperor Collegium, known as the Plane of Initiation. It was set aside for the old-timers of the collegium to use for cultivation purposes—a place to communicate with heaven and earth, and build up power.

There was only a thin barrier separating the Plane of Initiation with the immortal world above. Of course, even though the barrier was small, it didn't change the fact that the difference between the two locations was like the difference between heaven and earth.

In the middle of the Plane of Initiation were dozens of thrones, upon which sat the oldest members of the collegium, the people who had actually founded it. Technically speaking, they didn’t have any position of authority in the collegium. They were not rectors, or even vice-rectors. Collectively, they were called the Initiators. And even though they didn't hold official rank, they were the most powerful people in the collegium, and were its true leaders.

There were dozens of initiators, and yet, few people even knew of their existence. For example, not even universal royal students had heard mention of them.

Seated in a position of authority among the initiators was a man wearing a crown and a long robe, along with a mask that had no facial features whatsoever. That man was the supreme rector, and he was currently discussing recent events with the initiators.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what is your stance on this student, Yang Qi?” he asked. “He is incredibly strong, and has a lot of potential; as a mere Lesser Demi-Immortal, he was able to dominate ninth order Paragon Demi-Immortals in battle. Not even the Titan Emperor Heaven has geniuses like that.”

“He’s a miracle, that's for sure,” said one of the initiators. “He has the aura of a high-level godly-class energy art. In fact, I suspect that he might have received the personal legacy of some ancient god. Based on that song he sang, and the primeval god skills he used, I would say he has an energy art the likes of which doesn't exist even in the Titan Emperor Heaven. Godly-class energy arts are divided into lesser, common, greater, consummate, perfect, paramount, and lordly. Even in the Titan Emperor Heaven, they wouldn’t have anything higher than common godly arts. But my guess is that, at the minimum, Yang Qi has a consummate godly-class energy art. That's nothing to take lightly. Whatever force backs him, it surpasses our capacity to scheme against.”

“Exactly. We’re talking about the power of the legion of gods, which surpasses even immortals. We’d do best to not stick our noses where they don’t belong. That said, my fate does not conform to the will of heaven, nor that of the gods. Besides, there’s nothing saying we can’t get Yang Qi under control. If we could acquire the mental dharma and cultivation technique of a consummate godly-class energy art…. Well, if we were equipped in such a fashion, then by the time we ascended to the Titan Emperor Heaven, we would have positions of power just waiting for us.”

“You're right. It's because we don't have a godly-class energy art that the Invincible Dugu has always been so unstoppable. With his Prodigious Proto-Epoch, Invincible War-Steppe, he’s essentially a one man army. But if we could get a godly-class energy art, or even part of one, we would be viewed completely differently by the immortal world above.”

“There’s some truth to that. However, how could we possibly convince Yang Qi to hand over any of that energy art? The Invincible Dugu is protecting him. Besides, he's obviously a consummate fiend. You know the saying: better to be a broken piece of jade than an intact clay tile. If we don’t do something now, then by the time we're all in the immortal world, none of us would be a match for him.”

“He's a double-edged sword. Use him well and he could kill our enemies for us. But use him the wrong way and we’ll end up the victims. The Hall of Beheadings and Executions is the perfect example. Look at how much face they lost.”

“He's definitely a double-edged sword, and one that won’t be easy to wield by any stretch of the imagination. The slightest mistake and we’ll be seriously hurt. I’d say that as long as the Invincible Dugu still hasn’t ascended, there’s no way we’ll get that godly-class energy art from Yang Qi.”

At this point, the supreme rector said, “Yes, but the Invincible Dugu will be ascending soon. In fact, he might have already ascended. When he stepped in to help Yang Qi, he released the power of a Demolisher. Doesn’t that imply that he’s already in the Demolishing level? That would make him stronger than all of us put together. Logically speaking, he won't stay here for very much longer. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some ability that allowed him to escape the notice of the immortal world and stick around to groom Yang Qi. If we want Yang Qi’s godly-class energy art, we need to find out for sure where the Invincible Dugu is. If he hasn’t ascended yet, and we try to push Yang Qi, we could create a major enemy. We might even end up falling victim to other collegiums.”

A moment passed, then another of the initiators said, “I agree. This matter is too important, and we can’t exert too much pressure. If we do that, and make ourselves his enemy, we’ll end up in a position we’ll never recover from. It would be better to get on his good side. Besides, he could revitalize our entire collegium! He would even be important to the immortal world above.”

“Yes, he’s too valuable. Unfortunately, he’s going to be difficult to control. That’s his biggest downside. In fact, I’d say getting on his good side won't work. Considering how troublesome it would be to try to win him over with force, might it not be a good idea for the supreme rector to talk the matter over with the Invincible Dugu?”

“That goes without saying. Unfortunately, not even I know where he’s in seclusion, otherwise I would have already contacted him. Perhaps it would be best to reach out to the immortal world and see if he’s ascended.”

“Do we really want to report this to the heaven above? If we tell them that someone like Yang Qi has appeared in the Titan Emperor Collegium, they would definitely take action. I wouldn’t be surprised if they banished an immortal down to do something about it.”

“We can’t let that happen!”

“We definitely can't let the immortal world find out. We deserve our fair share of good fortune as well, after all.”

“Absolutely right. Unfortunately, it seems likely that people from the Hall of Beheadings and Executions will report the matter.”

“Then stop them! Who the hell do they think they are, trying to bypass us and report things to the heaven above? This matter must be kept a secret. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

“I think our decision is made. For now, don’t do anything to Yang Qi. We’ll wait to see if we can get a response from the Invincible Dugu. In the meantime, keep a close eye on him. Also, we should send someone to the Sage Monarch planetary system to talk with him. And offer some gifts to the Hanging Mountain as a show of support for his mother there. Pretty soon, Yang Qi will go to the Immortal Army Battlefield, which will be an opportunity for us to observe him closely, and also benefit from his service to the collegium.”

At this point, the supreme rector made the final decision.

“Very well. We’ll try to get on his good side at first, and will only make a move later if it becomes necessary. Until then, we’ll do our best to make sure he doesn’t achieve any cultivation base breakthroughs. If he does as the Invincible Dugu suggests, and reaches the point of being able to summon Universal Demi-Immortal fiend-devils, he’ll be impossible to keep in check. At that point, our only option would be for an immortal to descend to the mortal world to handle things.”

With that, they went on to discuss the matter further.

**

Yang Qi was still going about his work in the Sage Monarch planetary system. The lands grew larger, and more devil planets were popping into being. At this point, he had over a million satellites of various sizes, organized into a massive Undying Devil Formation.

Within the middle of the formation was a devil embryo—a growing undying devil soul. Yang Qi was using the fire of the Hellfire Crucible to slowly refine it, transforming it into an undying god soul.

Eventually, it would be so strong that not even a Paragon Demi-Immortal would be able to forcibly enter the planetary system.

Most importantly was the fact that it came with a function called Void Teleportation. If there was a major assault on the planetary system, it could be used to rapidly shrink the border regions and take the entire place into the Hell of Mahānata.

Right now, his cultivation base couldn’t sustain such a maneuver. But as he built up accumulations of power, it would eventually be possible. At the moment, it seemed likely that it would take several years of refining the undying devil soul before the teleportation became possible.

By that time, he was fairly certain that his cultivation base would be in the Greater Demi-Immortal level. Meanwhile, the mother godworm was voraciously consuming the violet energy from the Tusita Heaven, causing it to grow and, simultaneously, produce more and more Blood of the One God. Already, that godworm was at the peak of the seventh stage.

If the mother godworm succeeded in achieving a breakthrough and became a Universal Demi-Immortal, it would unlock more genetic memories. That would also help Yang Qi’s cultivation, putting the third and fourth order within the realm of possibility.

“Father. Brothers and Sisters. Come!”

RUMBLE!

Summoning his family and friends, he waved his hand and sent enormous eggs out to all of them.

They were primeval godworm eggs, items considered valuable and precious even in the immortal worlds. With those eggs, his friends and family would be able to gain command of the godly laws of space, which would push their energy arts to a much higher level.

Making his friends and family stronger was simply investing in the future.