Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

King Immortal-Slayer’s words instantly illuminated Yang Qi’s heart and mind.

The dao of monarchs was one of morality.

And it was true that his version of the dao involved waging war, killing, and waving the banners of conquest. Where his flag was unfurled, heads rolled and blood fell like rain. Where was the morality in that?

The dao of monarchs used morality, while the dao of tyranny used killing. Apparently he had confused the difference between a monarch and a tyrant, and King Immortal-Slayer, being as formidable as he was, had instantly identified that weakness.

That said, Yang Qi still burst out laughing. “The high and mighty King Immortal-Slayer is talking to me about morality? You’re a monarch too, the fabled Immortal-Slayer, filled with killing intent. Where’s the morality in that? You spilled so much blood in the god world that no one can even quantify it. Just how many ancient gods fell to you? Was that an expression of morality? You’re more like the origin of chaos! The root of all evil!”

“How could you possibly understand the suffering I endured?” King Immortal-Slayer said coldly. “Besides, how much do you know of the chaos I wrought on the god world? Brahma, you know a bit of it. Would you care to explain?”

Brahma nodded. “Exalted King Immortal-Slayer, I still admire you for what you did back then. The boundless Sovereign Lord sought to wreak tribulation on the gods, with the goal of wiping them out. He wanted heaven and earth to be free of us gods. There was only one among us who dared to stand up to him, and in fact, the only reason that the gods are free and independent now... is because of you. Yang Qi, the truth is that the Sovereign Lord wanted to kill all the gods. That was his plan, and that was why he brought tribulation to the god world. It was called Operation Godless. Truth be told, it would probably take a thousand years to explain all of the complicated aspects of the situation.”

‘So that’s what happened,’ Yang Qi thought. That said, in the end, it didn’t really matter what happened in ancient times. The main thing he was concerned with was the cultivation of his Sage Monarch Grand Magic.

Thanks to King Immortal-Slayer, he now understood the difference between the dao of monarchs and the dao of tyranny. All of a sudden, his Banner of Monarchs transformed, filling up with benevolence and righteousness, and the concept of uniting everything under heaven.

The dao of tyranny vanished from the banner and was replaced by a faint sensation of morality. Although it reduced its attack power, it now seemed like a gentle spring rain shower, soft and unbreakable, a dao of monarchs based on morality, that was invincible wherever it went.

Of course, it would take time to grow that morality, and it wasn’t currently enough to push the Sage Monarch Grand Magic to greater heights.

“See?” said King Immortal-Slayer. “My advice about the dao of monarchs helped you. So perhaps we can talk about a deal of some sort. If you're interested, your immortal-slaying clone can lead you to me. Unfortunately, I have a matter to attend to right now, I can’t—”

King Immortal-Slayer’s voice vanished, as though he had suddenly come under attack.

The clone opened his eyes. “I didn’t realize King Immortal-Slayer left something behind in my sea of consciousness. And I can’t get rid of it. That means he could theoretically take control of me at some point. This is a problem. What are we going to do about it?”

“It should be fine,” Yang Qi said. “It seems he needs our help to get out of his current predicament. I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to deal with the situation.”

Meanwhile, everyone else was slowly absorbing the power of the blood infant and using it to vastly improve their godpower.

“Cruiser of Civilization. Engine of the One God!”

Yang Qi’s fragments of the Cruiser of Civilization flew out from the clone. Right now, he had most of the cruiser, and was only missing the godhood manufacturing systems. When he got that piece, the ship would finally be able to show its truly amazing capabilities.

“Let’s assess our power indexes,” Yang Qi said.

[Beep-beep-beep...] the photonic computers said. [In the god world, the assessment criteria is different. Assessing anyone who is not a god is pointless....]

“Well that’s disappointing,” Yang Qi said, shaking his head. “The Cruiser of Civilization’s power assessment systems don’t work here.” With that, he sent the cruiser back to the clone and decided to just stick to using the God Legion Seal.

The seal had essentially the same functions as the cruiser, but was more powerful.

“We're many times stronger than before,” Doom said. “Even if a god came, we’d be unstoppable. It's too bad King Immortal-Slayer didn’t explain how to make godhood. We’re going to have to figure that out on our own.”

“It’ll be fine,” Yang Qi said. “And we’ll still have more chances to talk to King Immortal-Slayer. Besides, gaining enlightenment of your own dao is a much better option.”

Everyone rose to their feet amidst creaking and cracking sounds. Their godpower reserves were immense, and their virtual godhood was already starting to crystallize.

The weakest of the group was currently Patriarch Annalist, yet he and everyone else could easily kill dozens, or even a hundred Proud Radiances put together.

All of a sudden, Yang Qi realized that his lightning amulet was vibrating. It was Lightning Dragonriser, trying to send him a message.

“Brother Yang Qi, are you around here? Where are you?”

Yang Qi could tell that Lightning Dragonriser was trying to pinpoint his location by using the amulet. But could such a tiny amulet really compare to Yang Qi’s Life-Death Void-Destruction Lightning?

Obviously not.

“We’re in the forest off the beach,” Yang Qi said, “just finishing a session of cultivation. Hurry over.”

“Forest off the beach?” Lightning Dragonriser said. “There’s a banquet being thrown in the city right now to celebrate the destruction of the altar. You played the biggest role in that, so you've got to attend! The gods of Lightningbolt City drove away the wretch-god, which means that this was a major victory. Furthermore, the gods of the city have summoned you and your people.”

“They’ve summoned us?” Yang Qi said. He chuckled coldly. “Nah, we’re not interested. We were in this for ourselves anyway. Lightning Dragonriser, why don’t you just meet up with us and then head to the House of God Ordainment?”

“What? The gods are summoning you and you’re refusing? That’s going to put me in a bad position. Look, I’ll come over there to talk this out in person.”

A moment later, Lightning Dragonriser appeared, flying through the air with his windsail. When he saw how much stronger Yang Qi and his people were, he shivered. “The patriarch gods have summoned you. You should really go see them.”

“Forget it.” Yang Qi replied in a cold voice. “There’s no way being summoned by patriarch gods is going to turn out well. I’ll pass. Do they really think they can just kill us now that we aren’t of use, or possibly steal our spoils of war? If so, they’re crazy. I could destroy gods like them if I had to.”

A rather forced expression overtook Lightning Dragonriser’s face. “Er... well, if that’s how you feel, Brother Yang Qi, then I won’t force you. I can handle any fallout from the gods regarding your refusal.”

“You don’t need to handle anything,” Yang Qi said. “Look, I want you to take us to the House of God Ordainment. After the Bloodgore Trials, when we all become official disciples, all of this will be worth it. And then I’ll truly trust you. What do you think?”

“You want to go now?” Lightning Dragonriser said.

“Now,” Yang Qi said coolly. “Of course, if you don’t want to, we can just part ways, and I’ll figure out another way to get into the House of God Ordainment.”

“Of course I want to! Why wouldn’t I? I’d be a first-class fool to refuse someone like you. Truth be told, I've already moved on from Lightningbolt City. It’s far, far too small. How could anyone make a name around a bunch of frogs in a well like those bickering Lesser Gods?”

“Then let’s go!” Yang Qi said. By now it was obvious who was calling the shots, and Lightning Dragonriser realized that. Little did the man know that Yang Qi could kill him with a thought if he wanted to.

“Take flight!” Everyone flew up with their windsails and had soon disappeared over the ocean.

As they flew along, Lightning Dragonriser explained, “We’re going to have to cross the Blackmare Ocean, our destination being another continent. The truth is that although the Lightningbolt Continent is called a continent, it’s really nothing more than an island. The real continents are far larger. The place we’re headed to is called the Primal-Chaos Continent. It's a true hodgepodge of good and bad people, and is thousands of times more dangerous than the Lightningbolt Continent. You can find murderous bandits, wretch-god believers, and even powerful devil-gods. Of course, there’s also the royal court.”

“How long will it take?” Jadefall asked.

“A year at the least. If we were gods, perhaps it would only take three days. But considering how slow we fly, a year.”

“That’s so long,” the Shepherd said. “Are we going to miss the Bloodgore Trials?” The mere thought of those trials filled the Shepherd with excitement, as he knew it would be an opportunity to kill people right out in the open.

“We won’t. But even if we did, the Bloodgore Trials are held every few years, so it’s not a huge deal. This is going to be a dangerous journey. The demonlings in the ocean won’t be easy to deal with.”

“Will we have opportunities to rest?” Yang Qi asked. Even top experts would need to stop to eat and drink in the god world. Although he could make do with the God Legion Seal, his people couldn’t.

In fact, if he were alone, he was confident he could make the trip in a month, not a year.

“Of course,” Lightning Dragonriser said. “There will be plenty of islands to stop on along the way. Someone who doesn’t know the way might get lost and end up dead. After all, running into a lair of demonlings or godlings can turn tragic very quickly. But you have me to lead you, so things are different.”

Below them, there was nothing but endless blue water, with occasional waves reflecting the sunlight back up to them.

After flying for a day, and just before darkness fell, they spotted an uninhabited island where they could land to rest.

According to Lightning Dragonriser, it wasn't safe to fly over the deep ocean without light, lest they get lost and fall prey to demonlings.