Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The war had started with a clash of destinies.

Destructive shockwaves rolled out in all directions, slamming into the Everlasting Aegis with such force that cracks started spreading out across its surface.

Such was the immense power of national destiny.

In facing the three dynasties, Yang Qi was up against a force that not even a psychic scale of three hundred billion could stand against. If he hadn’t created his Sage Monarch Empire, and grown its destiny to surpass that of the Central Dynasty, then he would never have been able to do this. He would have been crushed like a chicken or dog.

Of course, the combined destiny of the other three dynasties was more than even the Sage Monarch Empire could handle. Thankfully, every expert in the Sage Monarch Empire who was capable of fighting was ready to do battle.

The other three dynasties couldn’t bring every single member of their respective empires to battle. First of all, they needed a constant flow of resources, so they couldn’t take people away from production centers. If they did, it would lead to catastrophic disaster. Because of that, they only had about a third of their total populace in the army.

As the destinies clashed, everything trembled violently.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi was guiding some of the destiny to bolster the Everlasting Aegis.

As the battle between destinies played out, Yang Qi led his brethren, government officials, and sage monarch magistrates to form an immense spell formation behind the Everlasting Aegis.

The three opposing dynasties also had their people in formation, waiting in combat readiness. Neither side was willing to take action blithely. Without having a very well-thought-out strategy beforehand, doing so would lead to a major defeat.

“Pull back!” Proud Heaven shouted.

He could see that, because of the sage monarch magistrates and the Everlasting Aegis, the Sage Monarch Empire's destiny was flowing as strong as ever. Obviously, leading a direct charge would be suicidal. Even someone with a cultivation base ten times as strong as anyone present wouldn’t survive the raging destiny on display.

Furthermore, a dip in morale would cause the destiny to decline, then that side would be easily wiped out. And right now, the only people who seemed like they might suffer a loss in morale were the three dynasties. After all, they were only in a temporary alliance, and the hearts of their people weren’t united.

That was the first downside.

Second, they had just experienced the defection of some of their top army leaders, which had resulted in an immediate decline in destiny.

Third, they suffered from political instability. They didn’t have sage monarch magistrates to keep everything operating smoothly.

Because of all those things, their destiny was inferior to that of the Sage Monarch Empire.

Not even Proud Heaven could do anything about those three things, not even if his cultivation base had been on par with that of the Sovereign Lord. Political savvy was something that had nothing to do with cultivation. Controlling a nation, moving the hearts of the people, enticing them, stirring up their emotions, and using that all to improve destiny, was something that, if Yang Qi were considered second best, would have no one occupying the top spot.

That said, despite all their downsides, the alliance was still in the superior position. They had sheer numbers on their side.

But they still didn’t dare to try fighting their way past the Everlasting Aegis, especially not with Yang Qi waiting in formation. They had to just chip away slowly but surely.

War drums pounded, yet the two armies still hadn’t charged into battle. Yang Qi wouldn’t lead his people out of the Everlasting Aegis, and the three dynasties didn’t dare to attempt breaking inside.

It was a standoff.

The true battle was yet to begin.

If Yang Qi managed to survive, his reputation in the god world would soar.

If he couldn’t hold out, then he would die.

Raising his voice so that it echoed out across the battlefield, Yang Qi said, “I never would’ve guessed that I’d see you again under these circumstances. I'm actually thrilled! It's wonderful that you three dynasties have come to offer me your heads. Do you really think you can take down my Sage Monarch Empire?”

Proud Heaven, Yang Voidprime, and Hailan were all out there, and Yang Qi knew that he couldn’t afford to take them lightly. There was also Yang Chiliocosm and the nine Dugu patriarchs to worry about.

In the Sage Monarch Empire, only he had a psychic scale above a hundred billion, while the three dynasties had more than ten who had reached such heights. That said, Yang Qi was like one man guarding a mountain pass, preventing ten thousand men from breaking through.

He was actually a bit disappointed that they hadn’t just charged forth in a big attack. Then he could have had his sage monarch magistrates fire their Tribulation Monarch Cannons, and it would have devastated the enemy. And he could have followed up with an attack via destiny to wipe them out.

However, Proud Heaven and his compatriots were capable strategists, and knew that they needed to have a solid foundation before pressing the attack.

Right now, they were too orderly. If Yang Qi unleashed a bombardment with the Tribulation Monarch Cannons, they could use their formation to easily defend themselves.

Tribulation Monarch Cannons were terrifying weapons, but were useless against national destiny guided by formation.

For now, it was a battle of attrition.

In response to Yang Qi’s provocation, Proud Heaven threw his head back and laughed. “I never could’ve guessed that a piece of trash from the impure lands would reach this point. It's definitely unexpected. That said, your honor and glory have reached their zenith, and will soon crumble. Nothing in the god world can stand up to the alliance of our three dynasties. Our armies are going to crush you and turn the people of your empire into a river of blood.”

“Yang Primal-Chaos!” the Lord of the Chiliocosm shouted. “Get the hell out here!”

Yang Primal-Chaos had a psychic scale of more than fifty billion, which was obviously a major accomplishment that could come only with significant enlightenment. And the Lord of the Chiliocosm had put a lot of effort into grooming him. The fact that he had defected to Yang Qi, and right on the eve of battle at that, had caused the Lord of the Chiliocosm to nearly cough up a mouthful of blood. And it had only been with bloody countermeasures that he stopped more of his people from fleeing because of it.

Furthermore, even if they won this war, it was still highly possible that it would end with his empire being swallowed up by the Central Dynasty.

In fact, the Lord of the Chiliocosm wasn’t really sure of what steps he should be taking now.

That was how empires were. Sometimes, once they started going down a certain path, there was no way to go back.

But the Lord of the Chiliocosm had one big asset.

The High Priestess.

Laughing heartily, Yang Primal-Chaos rose to his feet and said, “Lord of the Chiliocosm, even if I hadn’t defected, you’d still be in a bad situation. Remember, your name is Yang Chiliocosm. And the leader of the Sage Monarch Empire is named Yang Qi. He’s the true leader of the Yang Clan, and you’re technically his subordinate. You should be hurrying over here to pay your respects.”

“Yeah, that’s right, Yang Chiliocosm. His Majesty Yang Qi is the ultimate leader of the Yang Clan, so you should be on your knees in front of him!”

“This is preposterous! Yang Chiliocosm doesn’t even acknowledge his own patriarch! That’s the worst kind of treason!”

“Get on your knees, Yang Chiliocosm. His Majesty Yang Qi is your patriarch! Besides, he also has the God Legion Seal. And since you were a government official in the service of the Sovereign Lord, it’s high treason for you to refuse to respect him.”

“Bahahahaha! Yang Chiliocosm? Lord of the Chiliocosm? More like Lord of the Clowns!”

Sneering laughter rang out from the officers of the Chiliocosm Dynasty who had defected to the Sage Monarch Empire. They were all God-Lords and important people, and right now, they were mocking their former emperor without the slightest scruple.

“Looking to die?!” the Lord of the Chiliocosm shouted angrily.

Many members of the Chiliocosm Dynasty were so angry they weren’t thinking clearly, and could hardly hold back from charging forth to slaughter Yang Qi and his empire, cleansing the humiliation that was being heaped on them.

“Shut your damn trap, Yang Qi!” Yang Voidprime growled. “If our two armies really clash, a lot of people are going to die horrible deaths. We don’t want to see that, do we? How about we do things differently? Our four empires can send out champions to fight each other. We’ll have nine matches, and whoever comes out on top will be the winner of the war. How about that?”

He was clearly trying to take advantage of the Sage Monarch Empire. After all, Yang Qi was really the only person strong enough to compete in that way. In the past, the Lord of the Sword Dao might have counted, but he had been devoured.

The Second and Third Devil Generals were getting stronger, and Yang Qi had helped them with treasure from the Halls of Heaven, as well as secrets from the Mahātmā Jade. But they still hadn’t passed the level of sixty billion. That meant that they weren’t even close to being on the level of Yang Voidprime, Proud Heaven, Hailan, the Lord of the Chiliocosm, and others like them.

Of course, there wasn’t even any need to mention Yang Qi’s other friends and family. Some had psychic scales of over ten billion. But at their current rate, they wouldn’t match up to the Lord of the Chiliocosm even if they worked hard at cultivation for hundreds of millions of years.