Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The fight between Yang Qi and Patriarch Buddhabhadra was the kind that could destroy the heavens and crush the earth. They flitted back and forth between different universal dimensions, laying waste to the primal-chaos around them.

And the entire fight was playing out on the mirror Yang Qi had summoned.

The onlookers were stupefied. It was a high-level fight that involved the use of the soul, magical laws, and psychic powers. Even the slightest slip-up with one’s vital energy could lead to instant death.

Their attacks were such that, as they split the primal-chaos paleo-energy, they forced it into the form of entire continents which would then crash down below them.

The ability to use raw power to convert primal-chaos into planes of existence was close to the realm of god-spirits.

Suddenly, Patriarch Buddhabhadra unleashed a string of devastatingly powerful attacks.

“Heaven-Cleaving Blow!”

“Soul-Cleaving Destruction!”

“Immortal-Cleaving Decapitation!”

“God-Cleaving Dirge!”

“World-Cleaving Laceration!”

“Life-Cleaving Pummeling!”

Each of the six moves was the kind that could cleave magical laws, and when they were combined, they could devastate just about everything in existence.

To have them all unleashed in one short moment was something that almost defied imagination, and went to show how incredibly powerful Patriarch Buddhabhadra was. Obviously, he had been biding his time and hoping to unleash this attack at a perfectly inopportune moment for Yang Qi.

In response, Yang Qi smiled faintly and unleashed six fist strikes of his own, each of which contained a different fundamental basis. Trial and Indictment. Punishment and Penalty. Radiance and Light. Deathless and Undying. Profound and Mysterious. Obscure and Enigmatic. Sovereign Lord. It was a fist attack that didn’t rely on stances, but rather was the ultimate expression of his skill and ability with the fist.

The ultimate expression of the martial path!

Crack! Snap!

Yang Qi’s six fist strikes vanquished those of Patriarch Buddhabhadra, then slammed into the bear-giant, provoking anguished screams as blood sprayed everywhere and his body began collapsing.

Of course, Yang Qi didn’t hold back, but pressed the attack instead. Every move he made was lethal, as he clearly wanted to put an end to this powerful demon who originated in the Primeval Age. However, in what seemed like the final moment of his attack, demon energy surged, and demon light swept out toward Yang Qi. Another enemy was stepping in, someone on the same level as a grand emperor!

Yang Qi quickly backed up, allowing the demon light to wrap up Patriarch Buddhabhadra and whisk him to safety. The mist was filled with demonic curses and augmentations originally created by demon-gods from the Primeval Age, making it a powerful line of defense.

Yang Qi was confident that he could break them in short order. But at the same time, it was an indication that he had thoroughly defeated Patriarch Buddhabhadra. In turn, that meant he was now definitely strong enough to deal with Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven.

It was in this way that the first battle concluded. Yang Qi had destroyed dozens of demon-immortal worlds, slaughtered countless demon soldiers, and plundered numerous resources. And in the end, he even defeated Patriarch Buddhabhadra.

The Demonfolk were going into retreat, hiding in their proverbial shells, and wouldn't dare to come out any time soon.

Yang Qi knew it wasn’t realistic to expect to wipe out all the old-timers of the Demonfolk in one shot. Besides, he now had virtually all of the destiny power of the Dao Defense League at his disposal, which meant that no one there would be able to fight him. For now, he would bide his time and advance his energy arts some, then he would come back to deal with the Demonfolk and their powerful curses.

After all, he still needed to reach the Chaos God level.

After returning to the Dao Defense League, he went into seclusion and let Patriarch Annalist handle the matters at hand.

More people than ever were rushing to join the Army of Radiance and Light, even god-generals and dharmarajas. But for now, Yang Qi’s main goal was to make use of all the destiny to further his cultivation, and hopefully become a Chaos God.

The truth was that the stunning victory against the Demonfolk had actually affected the hearts and minds of many of the experts there. They had originally been bursting with morale as they envisioned defeating and destroying the Dao Defense League.

But then they were routed by the Army of Radiance and Light.

Because of that, morale dropped.

Furthermore, changes in one’s heart could affect universal fortune. Right now, the destiny of the Dao Defense League burned like a rising sun that would never weaken. At the same time, the universal fortune of the Demon League had grown weak, further strengthening Yang Qi. The destiny of the Dao Defense League was being naturally bolstered.

It was similar to how, in the mortal world, when two nations went to war, the defeat of one of the nations would be a devastating blow to its people. In contrast, the people of the victorious nation would be profoundly excited, which would lead to numerous untold benefits.

Thus, the boost in destiny, combined with the power he was drawing from the god world, pushed him through the barriers toward the next breakthrough.

He was about to enter the Chaos God level.

He had the Aeonic God Destroyer, King Heaven-Devourer’s talismans, King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions, the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, the Engine of the One God, the Cruiser of Civilization, and a host of other magical treasures. Summoning his Heaven and Earth Furnace, he began combining all of the various elements he had gathered up to now, and pooling them into unmitigated power.

The impurities that had come with his various energy arts were extruded, making his body completely anew. Every inch of flesh within him was transformed by the power of the god world and bolstered by the quintessence vitality of the seven gods he had assimilated.

Universal fortune was a kind of destiny that could melt anything in existence. Not even gods were an exception. And when it was gathered for use by one person, it would give them incredible advantages over other people. Right now, anyone who tried to get in Yang Qi’s way would be like a mantis trying to stop a war chariot.

With that power of destiny, Yang Qi could tap into the most powerful of magical treasures. He could suppress things like King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions, and derive immense benefits from the God Legion Seal.

Over the years, Yang Qi had acquired many magical treasures that had been created in ancient times by actual gods. However, he couldn’t fully assimilate them or unlock all of their secrets. But with universal fortune, he could eat through even the most profound sealing marks.

The most dramatic transformations were to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart.

Seals were broken and ancient godrelics were revealed. Yang Qi’s psychic tempest now surpassed primal-chaos itself, or the storms on the Ancient Road to the Gods. Countless godrelics within the chart were swept up and carried into the Heaven and Earth Furnace.

His immortal-slaying clone also benefited; in the blink of an eye, he reached the third minor stair, and while that didn't put him in a position to be able to defeat Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, neither would he be easily killed by him.

As the days passed, Yang Qi grew stronger and stronger. Meanwhile, on the outside, things were quiet and peaceful. The Army of Radiance and Light had gained the support of more old-timers and for some reason, the future world was relatively passive. The Demon League was like a turtle with its head pulled into its shell, and Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven was nowhere to be seen.

Of course, everyone was convinced that the grand emperor would soon emerge from primal-chaos.

And they were further convinced that he must have been out there mastering some high-level technique alongside the rest of the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court.

If the four of them succeeded, then they would return like gods from heaven descending upon the mortal world to viciously crush Yang Qi. They obviously had little choice in the matter; if they didn't crush him, they would be in deadly trouble.

Everyone anxiously awaited the coming conflict.

**

In the passageway connected to the future world, a host of battleships could be seen floating along. One of them was larger than all the others and bore the flag of the generalissimos. In the future world, the generalissimos were extremely domineering figures that were roughly equivalent to Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven.

There were over a dozen generalissimos on the flagship, and they were currently holding council.

None of them revealed their true facial features, and each of them had slightly different uniforms, which featured voluminous cloaks. Some were blue, with embroidery that resembled the sky. Some had designs reminiscent of the earth, the sea, the throngs of living humans, or the host of animals and beasts. [1]

One of the generalissimos, whose uniform was embroidered with suns, moons, and heavenly bodies, raised his voice and said, “The magisters are not present, but they’ve given us a very important task. As the highest-ranking officer present, I’ll preside in today’s meeting. We’ll soon reach the ancient immortal dao civilization, which was a turning point among all civilizations. We are traveling back in time to conquer and destroy every corner of this place, putting an end to the dao of heaven.”

1. The description of the military uniforms is very vague in Chinese, and literally says that they have military uniforms that are “wide and voluminous like robes”. I personally think that the use of the Chinese character for “like” here indicates that they are not robes. The descriptions of the people from the future have always described them as looking futuristic, or at least “modern”. My guess is that these uniforms are supposed to resemble something like this or this, perhaps with some sort of helmet/hood/mask that obscures the face. That aspect is also vague, as it literally says that they “don’t reveal their faces”, which could also mean that they disguise their face with magic.