Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

It seemed the three dynasties really were being combined.

There was simply no one who could defy a coalition of Proud Heaven, the High Priestess, the essence of the god world, plus the old-timers like the Patriarch of the Universe, King of Dark Mist, and others who had been sentenced to death by the Sovereign Lord.

The High Priestess and Proud Heaven had allowed ten days for everyone to get ready. Of course, they needed that time to lick their wounds and recover. After all, everyone knew that long delays usually lead to trouble, and normally speaking, they would rather have taken care of things immediately.

RUMBLE!

The destiny of the Central Dynasty surged, causing white pillars of energy to shoot up like heaven-propping pillars. It actually looked similar to the Sage Monarch Empire. In fact, it was clear that the Central Dynasty was in a position to directly compete with the Sage Monarch Empire in terms of destiny.

That was what happened when their leader, Proud Heaven, reached the half-Annulled level and defeated the High Priestess in combat. The destiny was like a fire that had just had oil splashed onto it.

Any empire that acquired a half-Annulled expert would experience a major improvement. God-Lords would flock to a place like that, and no other force could possibly invade it successfully.

Not too long ago, the Central Dynasty had been in a very chaotic state, thanks to the defection of their grand generalissimo, prime minister, and imperial preceptor. But now things were very different.

The hearts of the people had been stabilized, all thanks to Proud Heaven’s transformation.

Half-Annulled experts were like powerful weapons that no empire would trifle with casually. They could protect their own empires, no matter how many experts an enemy had. In fact, a nation with one was as safe and secure as flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water.

A half-Annulled expert was the only thing that could provide a truly domineering foundation. And how could the destiny of such a place not be stable?

Furthermore, the fact that Proud Heaven had defeated the High Priestess was a huge boost in reputation, such that experts of the other two dynasties were even thinking of immediately going to join him. Virtually infinite glory was now converged on one person.

That would also have a huge effect on the destiny.

Yang Qi was watching as all this happened. That said, he wasn’t anxious about it. The truth was that everything was going exactly as he wanted it to. Once the three dynasties merged, the half-Annulled Proud Heaven wouldn’t hesitate at all to bring destruction to the Sage Monarch Empire.

After all, the Sage Monarch Empire didn’t have a half-Annulled expert.

The empire formed by the merger of three dynasties would be very attractive to the denizens of the god world, and would be very dangerous for the Sage Monarch Empire. In the end, Yang Qi wasn't going to allow the three dynasties to actually combine.

“Heaven and Earth in all their Brilliance; Growth of the Sun and Moon; Bewilder Ghosts and Gods; A Myriad of Spirits Die in War....” All of a sudden, Yang Qi was powering up to his highest level.

‘I have to stand strong against the High Priestess and Proud Heaven. If I want to avoid being killed, I have to finish devouring the Halls of Heaven. Only then can I brave what's to come. It's time to call on my most consummate technique!’

Even if he couldn’t fully assimilate the halls, as long as he could devour them, he would be able to stand up to attacks from a half-Annulled expert. At the moment, he wouldn’t be able to fight Proud Heaven or the High Priestess without using destiny.

And if they teamed up, he would be dead for sure.

Unfortunately, the Halls of Heaven were something that no one could possibly devour. Not even a half-Annulled expert. But Yang Qi had a plan, and he was very confident it would succeed.

His divine will had spread to all corners of the Halls of Heaven, and he could sense it clashing with the will of the Sovereign Lord.

He might be the bearer of the God Legion Seal, but the Sovereign Lord would even fight against himself if he tried to devour the Halls of Heaven. The halls were suspended above the god world, and were all that remained of the Sovereign Lord. Once they vanished, all of his glory would also vanish.

How could the will of the Sovereign Lord simply allow that to happen?

Yang Qi was going all out. However, his facial expression didn’t show it. Thrumming with a powerful will, he said, “King Heaven-Devourer, I know that your will still exists out in primal-chaos. The rest of your body is out there too. The time has come to fulfill your deepest desire: to devour the Halls of Heaven. But if you want to do it, you have to do it together with me. Become part of me, and you can accomplish your life’s dream!”

RUMBLE!

Yang Qi’s divine will and thoughts swept out of the god world and into primal-chaos, to a distant location where he had long since sensed a powerful entity lurking.

It was an enormous dragon, millions upon millions of kilometers in length. However, it had no head, and was completely skeletal. Even its bones were in tattered condition, having been battered by the primal-chaos paleo-energy that surrounded it. Obviously, it had long since been scraped clean of any flesh.

It was King Heaven-Devourer’s corpse.

Yang Qi had acquired the head, but not the body. But by using certain methods, he had tracked it down. Apparently, the rest of the corpse was naturally absorbing primal-chaos paleo-energy in the hopes of restoring itself. It was a given that a primal-chaos elder-snake would absorb primal-chaos paleo-energy.

However, it was all instinctual, and there was no way it would result in King Heaven-Devourer being resurrected.

When Yang Qi’s psyche reached the headless corpse, it unleashed a roar with its mighty will, instinctively fighting back. Mighty entities such as King Heaven-Devourer would never agree to be subjugated, even after they died.

King Heaven-Devourer devoured people, not the other way around.

Aaaaoooooo!

As Yang Qi met resistance, he repeated his offer. “King Heaven-Devourer, give your remains to me, and allow me to wield your power! Understand? I’ve accepted your legacy, and I'm about to devour the Halls of Heaven. Don’t you want to be a part of that? Come, join me! When I devour the Halls of Heaven, I’ll accomplish the final thing you never managed to accomplish!”

Roar!

The headless primal-chaos elder-snake corpse thrashed and howled, seemingly having been stirred into action by Yang Qi. Apparently, there was still deathless anger and resentment in it that Yang Qi had prodded, and they were focused on the Halls of Heaven. Although it took some time, King Heaven-Devourer finally agreed.

King Heaven-Devourer would pay any cost to see the Halls of Heaven devoured!

It didn't matter that he had perished, he still wanted to achieve his goal. The longing to devour the Halls of Heaven and the King Heaven-Devourer still burned within him.

The headless snake shivered, then shot through the world of primal-chaos toward Yang Qi.

Crick! Crack!

It surged into him, whereupon Yang Qi himself suddenly transformed into the image of King Heaven-Devourer.

Wham!

Opening his mouth, he drew on the God Legion Seal and the Mahātmā Jade to the ultimate limit, causing his divine will to fill the Halls of Heaven. Then, the halls began shrinking rapidly, as if Yang Qi were the Sovereign Lord himself. Soon, they had solidified into a starry sphere that he inserted into the God Legion Paradise.

The Halls of Heaven were a fantastic magical treasure, but now they were part of him, and he could draw upon them at any time. However, if he wanted them to truly become one with him, it would take a lot of time and effort.

That said, at least he was now in the position to hold his own against a half-Annulled expert, even without using destiny.

Next, he needed to work on the next phase of his plan.

And he only had ten days to do it.

At that point, the High Priestess and Proud Heaven would have recovered, and Yang Qi would be finished if he didn’t prepare. The Sage Monarch Empire couldn’t stand up against those two. Nor could his Ascendants couldn’t rise to incredible heights in such a short time.

Right now, he needed to buy some time.