Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Poor Winter Bloodless and Patriarch Kingheaven had envisioned Yang Qi dying in the middle of his tribulation and looting his corpse. But Yang Qi overheard their conversation and, now more than ever, he realized that he couldn’t trust these two.

They’d started out trying to use him, and ended up killing Dragon King only because they had no other choice. But the entire time, they were constantly scheming and plotting in a way that made them completely untrustworthy.

Back in the altercation in Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple, these two had supposedly spoken out for justice. But the truth was that it was all lies and misdirection; they really just wanted to make Yang Qi their puppet. Thankfully, he was wise to their plot and had manipulated them by means of their cultivation injuries.

For now, he would wait until he was a Godmyth before he decided how to handle them.

Blast after blast of godly tribulation hit him, causing him to tremble from the immense forces at play.

RUMBLE!

A massive god appeared with a golden tower in his hand, which he thrust down, causing everything around it to freeze solid.

“Run!” Patriarch Kingheaven shouted, and he and Winter Bloodless fled as quickly as they could. The heavenly tribulation was already reaching a point where it was threatening even to them.

Yang Qi met it with a fist strike. He currently shone with golden light, making him seem like the picture of an ancient god. And when the Hand of the One God hit the golden tower, the tower collapsed and Yang Qi's hand went on to meet the god.

The god exploded, causing streams of energy to rush into the Heaven and Earth Furnace.

Next, Yang Qi attacked the primal-chaos paleo-energy with even more ferocity, heading directly toward the other gods and palaces that lurked within it.

Yang Qi’s battle cry burned with fury and rage, collapsing the void around him.

Every blow he struck felled a primal-chaos elder-god or destroyed a palace, and caused his Heaven and Earth Furnace to bubble and burn.

He grew more powerful with every moment, striking shock into the hearts of the two observing patriarchs.

“So strong. Too strong! How can a person like him even exist? Are we dreaming?”

“What will he be like as a second or third division Godmyth? And what happens when he’s a Chaos God like us? How fierce will he be then?”

“He's already stronger than a Chaos God!”

“You’re right, he is. There’s no way we could be a match for him. In fact, even back before he assimilated Dragon King, he would’ve been hard for us to fight. And here in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, we would never have beaten him. Now that he's a Godmyth, he could easily wipe the floor with us even if we teamed up against him.”

“So what do we do now? Are we really out of options? Are we really going to be forced to work with him?”

“Ai! Is there anything else we can do at this point? Considering how strong he is already, there’s no question he’ll be a domineering figure in the future.”

“Maybe sticking with him won’t be as bad as we thought it might be.”

“There aren’t any other options. We might as well just wait and see what happens. In any case, we obviously can’t do anything to oppose him. That would be extremely stupid. And I'm very curious to see what happens to Sectlord Nine Yangs.”

“Oh, right. Now that Dragon Proudheaven is a Godmyth, the arrogant and conceited Sectlord Nine Yangs is most likely going to end up dead and buried. There will be a fun show once we get out of here.”

The patriarchs were now fully convinced that they couldn't do anything to Yang Qi. They tried to manipulate him before he was a Godmyth, but failed miserably. Now, they would simply follow orders.

Eventually, Yang Qi’s battle with the tribulation was nearing its end.

He’d vanquished most of the primal-chaos paleo-energy, completely crushing any of the heavenly tribulation that came his way. He himself looked like an ancient god, with the power to end the heavens and crush the earth. He didn’t fear heavenly tribulation, nor could it do a thing to hurt him. He didn’t use magical treasures to face it, just his own energy arts and cultivation base. Chaos Gods could never do anything like that. Only Demigod patriarchs might come close.

“Be devoured!”

In the end, Yang Qi became a primal-chaos elder-snake that devoured everything in his path and used it to strengthen himself.

Everything went still and calm, and it almost seemed as though nothing had occurred.

The two patriarchs remained stunned in shock, and Dragon King was nowhere to be seen.

Yang Qi descended from above, feeling incredible. Every particle within him seemed to be filling up with boundless vital energy and power from hell. He was now so blessed by hell that as long as hells existed, so would he.

All of his energy arts had improved. The Infernal Deity Spear wriggled and twitched as it gained an exterior layer that made it look like a thing of gods.

His sage child had grown, and was now like a power double that resembled a young god, dressed in golden battle armor, and whose merest wave of the hand would send out golden might that could crush any patriarch.

Swish!

Yang Qi’s Angel Wings had transformed into the Freedom Wings. He now had true freedom and independence, a strength that belonged to the legion of gods.

When he used the Hand of the One God, holy hymns and psalms would shower down like spring rain, pushing his cultivation base power to a level hundreds of times what it normally was.

Yang Qi examined the transformations that had occurred within him and quickly realized that there were too many to take in at once. He would need time spent in contemplation before he fully understood everything that it meant to be a Godmyth.

Looking over at the two patriarchs, he smiled. “What do you think, Winter Bloodless? Patriarch Kingheaven? How are my energy arts now? Think you can fight me? If you willingly serve me, I’ll make it worth your while.”

Considering how strong he was now, he didn't feel any need to treat the two patriarchs with any pretense of courtesy.

He’d transformed in the most heaven-shaking, earth-toppling way, having finally reached a level he could only dream of before. As of now, he didn’t fear Leaf Dao-Denier, General Samman, the Tusita Heaven, or the God Dragon Tribe. He was now strong enough to deal with them, and possibly even strong enough to finally live up to his agreement with the god Brahma. He could go to the future, free Brahma’s head, and hopefully find his mother, aunt, and Master.

Winter Bloodless and Patriarch Kingheaven’s expressions turned very unsightly in response to Yang Qi’s less-than-polite tone. “You promised to treat us like equals, Dragon Proudheaven. We're patriarchs in the Dao Defense League, and we helped you assimilate Dragon King. You have to heal our hidden injuries now.”

“Are you trying to act like we’re supposed to be your slaves?” Patriarch Kingheaven said. “Work for you? There’s absolutely, positively no way that's going to happen! We’re equals!”

“Is that so? Why don’t you take a look at some of the things I can do.”

RUMBLE!

He suddenly charged at them with the force of a megamammoth bringing about the end of the world.

The two patriarchs quickly conferred with divine will, then linked their true energy and unleashed attacks of their own.

“Outworking of Countless Illusions!”

“Invincible Blood Sea!”

These were energy arts that could easily pierce a thirtieth ranked immortal world. Two Chaos God patriarchs were joining forces in attack, a level of power that no one other than a Demigod old-timer could possibly deal with.

“Immortality!” Yang Qi said, resorting to the final stance in the Hand of the One God. An image of deathlessness appeared, something that could conquer every obstacle.

Crack!

His attack met the two patriarchs’ energy arts, and it didn’t faze Yang Qi in the least bit. In contrast, the two patriarchs were slammed with a force that instantly shattered all of their defensive empyrean energy.

“Get over here,” Yang Qi said, making a clutching gesture. “Majesty Without Limit; Nine Revolutions of Mahānata!”

Millions of hells surged with power, causing Winter Bloodless and Patriarch Kingheaven to fly toward Yang Qi. As they neared, he slapped each of them across the side of their faces so hard that their souls shook and they saw stars.

“Agggghhhhh!” they screamed.

“You!” Winter Bloodless shouted. “You can’t humiliate us like this! We're majestic patriarchs! Kill us, but don’t humiliate us!”

SMACK!

The two patriarchs were slapped again and a spray of teeth appeared as they were knocked toothless.

“This is punishment for your crafty plots and machinations. And a little demonstration of how strong I am. If I wanted to, I could kill you as easily as baby chickens!”

With that, he threw them off to the side where they trembled in terror.

Then he ripped open a passageway leading out of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Stepping through the passageway, he looked over his shoulder and said, “You can leave now. Those slaps weren’t all bad—I also used them to heal your hidden injuries.”