Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi had finally fused with King Heaven-Devourer’s deathless will, thus accepting his full legacy. He had devoured the Halls of Heaven so thoroughly that it was as if they had never even existed.

The will of the Sovereign Lord had been devoured along with them.

Although Yang Qi hadn’t reached the half-Annulled level in the process, his battle prowess was now roughly equivalent to that level. He was now about three times as strong as he had been before.

When he devoured the Halls of Heaven, the destiny of his empire surged upward and the Everlasting Aegis expanded, allowing it to take in even more primal-chaos paleo-energy. New resources popped into being every day, and the defensive greyspace was sturdier than ever, glowing with countless motes of sagelight. Not even a God-Lord could break through the defenses, and any who tried would suffer a vicious counterattack from the Hand of the One God.

By this point, Yang Qi was the Everlasting Aegis, and the Everlasting Aegis was him.

Now that the Halls of Heaven were inside of him, Yang Qi was taking all of the medicinal pills, spell formations, magical treasures, and other resources stockpiled there.

For instance, there was a Thousand Year Dream formation, which was perfect for training purposes. Supposedly, when disciples entered that formation, they would enter a dream realm in which they faced endless battle. None of it was real, but the experience they gained as a result was immense.

In fact, within the dream of the formation, they could live entire lives and even be reincarnated to experience life again. It was a great way to boost the skills and abilities of disciples in a very short time. It was hard to comprehend how much wisdom someone could get by living numerous lifetimes.

They would eventually become like those old-timers who had been born again and practiced cultivation in ways that surpassed imagination.

As soon as Yang Qi took the Thousand Year Dream formation, he activated it and sent numerous Ascendants inside to work on enlightenment and breakthroughs.

As they succeeded, it caused the destiny of the empire to climb.

By now, it wasn’t even possible to use a destiny valuation to describe the Sage Monarch Empire.

The Ascendants soon became Lesser Gods, then Common Gods, Greater Gods, and Consummate Gods. In less than a day, Paramount Gods could be seen popping up like bamboo after a spring rain. The Everlasting Aegis was like fertile soil, and the Ascendants were like seeds that quickly grew into towering trees.

Friends and family of Yang Qi, such as Jadefall, Yang Doom, the Shepherd, Yang Memory, Yang Manifestation, Yang Proudworld, and even his father Yang Zhan, were all reaching psychic scales of over a hundred billion. And all of it was thanks to the energy of the Halls of Heaven being added to the Everlasting Aegis.

The entire world was reaching a higher level.

The Sage Monarch Empire had over a dozen people with psychic scales of a hundred billion, meaning that it now had incredible fighting prowess. It was almost impossible to compare it to the small and pitifully weak force it had been before.

The only thing they lacked now was a half-Annulled expert. Once Yang Qi reached that level, the empire's destiny would skyrocket.

Of course, the flourishing destiny of the empire caused Yang Qi’s cultivation base to rise as well, allowing him to further get the Halls of Heaven under control.

Once he fully assimilated them, and integrated the resulting liquid into his blood, his life force and genes would transform, and his Fist of the Halls of Heaven would become remarkably divine.

Almost no one would be able to sustain a blow from it. But unfortunately, he needed time to do that. At the moment, he didn't have any idea how to do it quickly.

Blurring into motion, he headed toward the House of the Invincible.

The Dugu patriarchs were opposed to being pulled into an empire, but they had little choice in the matter. There were only ten days to go. Yang Qi hoped to win them over and make the Invincible Dynasty part of the Sage Monarch Empire instead. For quite some time, he had been diametrically opposed to the Invincible Dynasty. However, at the same time, he was the apprentice of the Invincible Dugu, so he also needed to champion them.

He hoped that his visit to the House of the Invincible would result in him finding the Invincible Dugu’s true self. Perhaps he could awaken his Master, even just a little bit, in which case he could easily take over the place.

If he could bring the House of the Invincible into the Sage Monarch Empire, the resulting boost in destiny would push him far past the Central Dynasty or the Chiliocosm Dynasty. Then, not even the fact that Proud Heaven represented the essence of the god world would do him any good.

Yang Qi basically had two options at the moment. One was to kill Yang Voidprime, take his fateless energy, and use it to reach the half-Annulled level. Unfortunately, Yang Voidprime was with the High Priestess, which meant killing him would be almost impossible. Therefore, he was going with the second option and going to the House of the Invincible to search for his Master.

In the depths of the House of the Invincible, there was an enormous world in which the Dugu patriarchs and other high-ranking members of the clan were gathered around an immense corpse, fervently praying.

It was a giant clad in a long robe, and while he lay there still, he was clearly breathing. With every breath he took, primal-chaos paleo-energy rushed into his body, resulting in cracking and creaking sounds. And in the depths of his belly, it was possible to hear rumbling, as if of thunder.

This giant was none other than the Invincible Dugu.

Obviously, he wasn't dead, and was being supported by the faith of the House of the Invincible. He was one reason why, over the course of the past billions of years, no one had dared to openly attack the House of the Invincible.

Even the High Priestess was fearful of his corpse.

The patriarchs were all praying similarly. “Oh mighty Patriarch, the Dugu Clan and the Invincible Dynasty has reached a point of deadly crisis. We’ll soon be absorbed, devoured, by Proud Heaven of the Central Dynasty. He’s gained the support of the essence of the god world, and is being profoundly aggressive. The High Priestess also harbors evil intentions. Thus, oh mighty Patriarch, we implore your noble spirit to awaken!”

“Oh mighty Patriarch, in ten days, the House of the Invincible will face extinction. The Sage Monarch Empire threatens us from without, and Proud Heaven eyes us like a tiger eying its prey from within. Patriarch Invincible, you have to wake up to help us survive!”

“Patriarch! Hurry and awaken!”

“Patriarch, we are your offspring, and we implore you to step in and defend the fruits of our labor. We’re currently powerless to deal with the High Priestess and Proud Heaven. We need your protection.”

All of them were trembling in fear and anticipation. After all, the slumbering Invincible Dugu was their only hope.

Unfortunately, he just lay there sleeping, not moving a muscle.

Even as they begged and prayed, another voice rang out. “Greetings, Master. Your apprentice has come to kowtow in salute!”

Shocked, the patriarchs looked over to see a newcomer, who was none other than Yang Qi. Dropping to his knees in midair, he kowtowed to the corpse of the Invincible Dugu.

“Yang Qi...?”

The patriarchs, and other high-ranking members of the clan, shot to their feet in astonishment. Yang Qi’s fame and might were known in every corner of the god world, and it was said he was like the Sovereign Lord born again. Many people even suspected that he was actually a reincarnation of the Sovereign Lord. Although, others said that he was actually a Fateless One.

Regardless of what people thought he was, they knew he was an extremely domineering figure. Although he wasn’t technically a half-Annulled expert, he was strong enough that Proud Heaven and the High Priestess were working together to fight him. And his empire was the top empire in existence.

Compared to the Sage Monarch Empire, the Invincible Dynasty was as disunited as a dish of loose sand.

“How dare you come alone into this sacred area of the House of the Invincible?” Heaven-Defeating Dugu shouted. “Are you looking to die?” However, from the way his voice trembled, he seemed to be at a loss for words.

“Calm down,” Yang Qi said. “The Invincible Dugu is my Master. So why shouldn’t I come here? I want to offer formal greetings, and see if there’s a way to save him. Do you seriously want to stop me from doing that?”

“Don’t run your mouth like that, Yang Qi. Do you really think you can impress us by claiming that Patriarch Invincible is your Master?” Although Heaven-Reaching Dugu was confused about what to do, he knew he couldn’t attack. For one thing, he had to worry about what tricks Yang Qi might have up his sleeve. Also, Yang Qi was claiming that the Invincible Dugu was his Master.

Yang Qi laughed heartily. “You think I'm trying to impress you? I'm so powerful right now that not even the Sovereign Lord deserves to be my Master. You see, I knew the Invincible Dugu in the impure lands. That's where he became my Master. Do you really think I would make something like that up? You weaklings can't save him, and I'm definitely not going to allow Proud Heaven to assimilate him and turn him into an out-of-body incarnation.”