Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

A potentially devastating storm had been averted by Yang Qi’s ruthlessness.

Even he realized that in the world he lived in, sometimes the only way to stay alive was to be merciless. If your enemies noticed that you were weak, they would immediately take advantage of that, and you would end up dead.

Just as he had discussed with Jiang Fan and the others, they would return ten days later, and spread the story that they had stumbled onto a lair of fiend-devils, which resulted in Huang Hong, Song Haishan, and Gu Fenxian all being killed.

Yang Qi was confident that they wouldn’t leave any loose ends, and wondered what unlucky group of demon-devils would end up paying the price.

At this point, it didn’t matter as far as he was concerned. Considering he would be cultivating in the institute when the event played out, the matter shouldn’t be connected to him in any way.

It was with the utmost stealth that he returned to the Demi-Immortal Institute. Back in his castle, he looked at the energy formation of the dao of monarchs and thought, ‘I wonder how Yun Hailan will react when she comes out of seclusion to find that Song Haishan is dead. She’ll probably suspect me right off the bat, the shrewd schemer. As far as she’s concerned, losing Song Haishan just means losing another tool. She won’t care. All she cares about is her own interests. She doesn't have an ounce of pity in her body.’

Yang Qi was very well aware of what type of person Yun Hailan was.

‘Yun Hailan is getting stronger by the day. Although I've likely surpassed her by now, she has the backing of the Crown Prince. In other words, if I want to kill her, I'm going to have to deal with him. And my cultivation base isn’t even close to being high enough to do that. I need to get much, much stronger. I need to seize life over and over again. I need one breakthrough after another. Only then will I be able to defeat the Crown Prince.’

Considering the dramatic events he had just participated in, it was hard to calm down at first.

But eventually, he managed to focus. ‘Father should be ready to step into the Lifeseizing level. I need to find some time to head back and help him with his cultivation. The same with eldest brother and second brother. And I also need to come up with a specific plan of how to get stronger myself. It seems to me the only option I have at the moment is to kill demonlings and consume their demon cores with the help of my Hellfire Crucible.’

Opening up his Heart of the Sea thumb-ring, he allowed the pure subterranean spirit energy to enter it, and by extension, the energy formation of the dao of monarchs that he had created.

He had already decided to take the formation back home to his clan for them to use. His main goal was to make sure his father reached the Lifeseizing level.

Furthermore, he had also decided to enter the Blackcorpse Mountains to further his cultivation.

The tombs in the depths of those mountains contained numerous thousand-year-old corpse kings, and also a passage to an alternate dimension. And there were plenty of demonlings around, thus, demon cores to consume. Besides, clearing out some of the demonlings would ensure that the rustic lifestyle of the common people of Yanhaven could remain peaceful.

Now that he thought about it, it might be worth it to take a trip to Yundale-by-the-Sea.

Yun Hailan had already threatened his clan, right? Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. It only made sense for him to threaten her clan in return.

He worked on his cultivation for three days and three nights, simultaneously using the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth to force as much subterranean vital energy into the Heart of the Sea ring as he could. He was now a Tertiary Lifeseizer, giving him much greater control of vital energy than before, to the point where he felt like he could use Mind Incarnation on the spell formation.

During his three days of meditation, his level of enlightenment of his energy arts grew more profound. He was now completely confident in being able to harness the power of Tertiary Lifeseizing.

Next step: Quaternary Lifeseizing.

Thanks to the demon core of Jiao Wufeng, his physical body was now so tough that it was almost unimaginable. Every drop of his blood was platinum in color, and the flames of his Hellfire Crucible were all magnificent sagefire.

By now, he didn’t resemble a human at all, but rather, a god.

It took no effort at all to use his five most powerful states of true energy: the Infernal Deity Spear, Infernal Deity Plate Armor, Fiend-Devil Wings, Hellfire Crucible, and Devil-God Seal. Combined with Mind Incarnation, there was nothing that could get in his way.

Thanks to his newfound strength, Yang Qi was feeling more confident than ever.

He knew that when the time came for the big martial arts competition, he would definitely be able to dominate the opposition, and be the ultimate rising star.

One night, he slipped out to meet with his four brothers. Over the past several days, they had remained safe and secure in the College of Elite Students, waiting for him to return.

When they heard that he planned to go home, they were all very happy for him. Of course, all of them were also extremely pleased with their own situations. They now had very different statuses within their sects, and in fact, all four were in the running to succeed as the next clan lord.

Their clans had also been bestowed rewards from the Sage Ancestor Dynasty, ensuring that they were experiencing new golden ages.

“Brother,” Li He said, “make sure you take care of matters back home, and ensure that all the matters pertaining to your clan are settled. Before long, the martial arts competition will be here, and there will be plenty of incredible rewards up for grabs. The senior members of the sect will be watching to see who rises to the top, and will likely take new apprentices. Hopefully all of us can put on a good showing. If we could gain the good graces of a Legendary, not even the Crown Prince would dare to make a move against us.”

Yang Qi nodded. “Alright, Brothers, I'm leaving. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” With the flap of his wings, he flew into the clouds and vanished into the night.

When Yang Qi made his initial journey from Yanhaven to the Demi-Immortal Institute, it took more than a month. Since then, his cultivation base had climbed so high that it was now like the sky compared to the dirt.

His Fiend-Devil Wings could now propel him a hundred times faster than before.

He was like a shooting star speeding through the sea of clouds, moving five hundred kilometers in the shortest of times. Tertiary Lifeseizers were immensely powerful individuals, and in terms of true energy, he was actually more on the level of a Septenary Lifeseizer. The speed he was capable of was truly terrifying.

In the beginning, the friction caused by his true energy against the wind caused him to be surrounded by thunderous rumblings, and even flames.

But now, he could fly completely soundlessly, little more than a black streak moving through the air. It was almost like he was traveling in an alternate dimension.

His energy was completely focused inwardly, without a scrap leaking out in waste.

Eventually, he dropped down from the sea of clouds to fly through a mountain range. However, his mere passage caused the mountains to crumble.

‘What power!’

Not even he had been aware that his Fiend-Devil Wings could do such a thing.

And yet, he was used to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth defying imagination. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like at its highest level. Of one thing he was fairly certain: once his Fiend-Devil Wings truly became Angel Wings, he would be able to pierce the void and travel among alternate dimensions.

Unfortunately, he wasn't at that level yet.

Besides, when it came to the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, there were things that surpassed the Angel Wings. He just needed to wait until he was strong enough to find out what they were.

He flew for about half the night, until the sun began to rise. Eventually, he slowed down a bit, until he saw Yanhaven up ahead.

It was a bustling place; although the sky wasn’t yet bright, the city gates were already open, with people, horses, and carts streaming in and out of them. Whether it was visiting merchants and businessmen, or the locals, people here were clearly very hardworking.

It was also possible to see that heavy construction was going on outside of the city limits. Earth was being moved, and stones carved out of quarries.

As for the heart of the city, the city magistrate’s mansion, it was alive with bright light, as though great tasks were underway. There were plenty of guards and maids, and everyone went about their work in very orderly fashion. It really did look like a small royal dynasty.

Yang Qi landed, sending out a blast of swirling wind into the main square of the city magistrate’s mansion.

Instantly, numerous guards burst into motion, nocking arrows and drawing blades, ready to start fighting at any moment.

Yang Qi actually caught sight of several familiar faces, various sons of the Yang Clan.

Looking at one of the guards racing toward him, Yang Qi said, “Yang Yong, come over here. It's me! I'm back!”

“What? Prince? It’s the prince!” Shocked, the man dropped to his knees to kowtow. “Everybody, stay your hand! The prince is back!”

Yang Yong was one of the elite young ones of the clan that he had promoted long ago. Back then, he had been a bit bitter at how things were going, but eventually had become an important person, and was actually fiercely loyal to Yang Qi.

“What? It’s Young Lord Qi?” Many of the guards were stunned. By now, Yang Qi was something of a fabled individual, almost a myth. Last summer, he turned everything upside down. He roused the Yang Clan, exterminated the Chen Clan, entered the Demi-Immortal Institute, became an elite student, rose to the Lifeseizing level, and received rewards by the dictate of an imperial edict from the Sage Ancestor Dynasty. He had even made friends with four powerful clans from Capital City, who had sent experts to help drive out the Yan Clan, and win Yanhaven for the Yang Clan.

It was all somewhat miraculous.

He was essentially the backbone of the entire clan, and also its leader in spirit.

All of the guards dropped to their knees.

At that point, a powerful whistling sound erupted from the royal palace in the heart of the mansion, as Yang Zhan flew out. Face filled with excitement, he said, “Qi’er! You're back!”

“Greetings, my dear Father!” he replied, rushing forward to meet his father.