Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi had taken advantage of the situation and blown through all lines of defense.

Wretch God Ultimate had collapsed, and Yang Qi devoured his brain, until at last he broke through, detonating his monarch godhood. The power released by the explosion of his godhood connected to the Everlasting Aegis, whereupon all people in the empire could sense the power of the breakthrough in their hearts.

Everywhere throughout the empire, eyes were brimming with tears of excitement.

They knew their emperor was now a half-Annulled expert, which meant they were no longer weak and defenseless. At long last, they were a truly grand and magnificent empire.

However, the fluctuations of the explosion didn’t reach beyond the borders of the Everlasting Aegis. No one outside had any idea what was happening inside. And that was a unique situation, as normally, the almighty beings would have sensed the ascension of a new half-Annulled expert, and would have come to investigate.

But Yang Qi didn’t want the news spreading.

Now that he was in the half-Annulled level, there was nothing Wretch God Ultimate could do to fight back.

As Yang Qi absorbed his brain, he reached a level fully a hundred times anything from before. His power, psyche, magic, and daoist techniques were all unleashed as if floodgates had been opened.

“Agggghhhhh!” Wretch God Ultimate screamed. “I'm not going to die! I'm going to enter a special state which will be a nightmare for you. I’ll haunt you forever until I manage to possess you. It’s impossible to truly get rid of half-Annulled experts. The only way to possibly do it is to break into the full Annulled level!”

Eventually, Wretch God Ultimate's voice faded away.

Yang Qi sank into silent contemplation, reining in his power. His body was hardly discernible, as though it had vanished. That was what happened in the half-Annulled level. The body didn't exist. Only the deathless and eternal psyche and will remained. Of course, immense power fluctuations resonated from the heart and mind, spanning the gap between that which was real and that which was illusory.

“God Legion Seal; Form!”

A new God Legion Seal appeared in his hand. Although it was small and dim, that was only because it was an embryonic form. At the same time, golden imps appeared in the foreheads of all the sage monarch magistrates. They were faint, and couldn’t compare to the true God Legion Seal, almost as if they were simple ink wash paintings depicting the real version. But they were there.

The magistrates were experiencing major changes in their form and structure.

Yang Qi’s abilities of extrapolation had increased many times over, and he was now able to see all the areas in which the sage monarch magistrates were deficient. Although the tiny God Legion Seals in their foreheads weren’t complete, nor as strong as even one ten-thousandth of the real version, they still made the magistrates vastly stronger. In terms of the fighting prowess, they would soon be close to the level of God-Lords.

Yang Qi rose to his feet, pleased that the magistrates had taken a big step toward becoming more powerful. Now that he was in the half-Annulled level, he could see everything more clearly and in more detail. His cultivation base was completely different from before, making new levels of enlightenment much easier to achieve. In fact, he was approaching the point of being both omniscient and omnipotent.

His psychic scale was nearing nine hundred billion, making him very close to reaching the level of a trillion.

He was already far higher in level than the High Priestess. It was something extremely rare. Now that he was in the half-Annulled level, it meant that he was superior to any other half-Annulled expert that had ever existed. Even the Sovereign Lord.

In terms of fighting prowess, he was without a doubt the number one figure in the god world. In fact, it might be impossible for the purrling to beat him at this point. At the same time, he now understood exactly what the purrling was.

“Purr. Purr....” The moment Yang Qi reached the half-Annulled level, the purrling spoke in its purring language, making it clear that it recognized Yang Qi as an invincible entity. Soon, Yang Qi would fight his true enemy, which was the essence of the god world.

All half-Annulled experts were threats to the essence of the god world, and it viewed every last one of them as enemies. Not even Proud Heaven was an exception.

‘The time has come to rescue Master,’ Yang Qi thought, turning and heading in the direction of the Invincible Dugu.

The Invincible Dugu’s physical body was now the size of a normal person, but when he breathed out, minor universes and planes of existence appeared, similar to how the Great Necropolis had ejected immortal worlds.

“Begone, essence of the god world!”

Yang Qi was in a completely different state now. His fingers spread wide as he sent boundless power into the Invincible Dugu, backing it with the full might of a half-Annulled expert.

Crack!

He forcefully grabbed the sealing marks inside his Master, and they subsequently twitched as if to flee. However, Yang Qi didn't let them, but instead slowly assimilated them into himself.

Then he waved his finger, sending another massive burst of power into the Invincible Dugu.

His Master’s will surged, and his voice echoed out from inside the gateway. “I'm finally back! My will was sealed by the essence of the god world for billions of years, but at long last, I can return!”

Everything trembled as the Invincible Dugu slowly opened his eyes, then, with seemingly immense effort, rose to his feet. For a moment, he surged with power, but he quickly pulled it back in. Looking at Yang Qi, he said, “Well done, Yang Qi. Very well done. All of my plans and preparations in the lower worlds have finally come to fruition. And it's all thanks to you. The sealing marks placed on me by the essence of the god world are gone, and I can finally return to full power.”

“I’m extremely grateful for the help you provided in the lower worlds, Master,” Yang Qi replied. “It's thanks to you that I’ve made so much progress. So it's only natural that I return the favor. Master, I don't think I need to go into a lot of detail about what we need to do next. Now that you’re awake, focus on getting back to your full strength. Our dynasty is the strongest in existence, so we have nothing to fear from the Demonfolk Empire or Proud Heaven. Sir, you need to go back to the Invincible Dynasty and take back control. Nobody will dare to oppose you. Once you have everything under control, we can combine our dynasties and I’ll ordain you as the imperial preceptor.”

“Exactly,” the Invincible Dugu said, then sighed. “You’re many times more skilled at running governments than me, so it makes more sense for you to get the Invincible Dynasty in order. I don’t want the destiny, either. I’ll make full use of my position as imperial preceptor to take more disciples and found the Invincible College. I’ll be a sage of the empire, with my primary responsibility being teaching. I will help all of the citizens to develop invincible faith and invincible fighting ability, whether they’re fighting heaven, earth, or man! They’ll be invincible in all!”

“That’ll work,” Yang Qi said with a nod. “Master, please accumulate some more disciples. You’ll be unsurpassed as a sage of the empire. And now, I’ll call all my fellow apprentices to offer you formal greetings.”

He issued a call, and Eldest Brother Mage Cloudwalker, Sword Seventeen, and all the other apprentices from the old Invincible Society came to offer greetings, eyes overflowing with tears.

“Master!”

The Invincible Dugu burst out laughing. “At long last, we’ve been reunited, and the Invincible Society will rise again. What reason do we have to shed tears? The circumstances now couldn't be better. Yang Qi started the ball rolling, and he’s already stronger than the Sovereign Lord ever was. Even if the Sovereign Lord somehow came back to life, he couldn’t possibly deal with Yang Qi. Our task at hand is to unify the god world by defeating all the other dynasties. There’s no time to relax. Come with me to further your cultivation. After all, brutal combat is on the way!”

With that, he began drawing on his immense experience to teach new techniques and skills to his apprentices.

Now that the Invincible Dugu was awake, Yang Qi’s empire had two half-Annulled experts. They were already stronger than the King of Godmammoths and Demon Master, and definitely beyond the level of Proud Heaven.

Unfortunately, Proud Heaven and the Deathless Heaven Dynasty had the support of the essence of the god world, which made things different. They couldn't be taken lightly, and Yang Qi knew that if he wasn’t careful, he could end up being wiped out.

For now, the best thing to do was wait and see how things played out in the Demonfolk Empire.

When the demons clashed with Proud Heaven, anything could happen. After all, the High Priestess was definitely going to cause trouble.

The return of the Invincible Dugu wasn’t announced publicly. However, the loyal citizens all knew that they now had two half-Annulled experts, and it made them more delighted and confident than ever.

Destiny bubbled in the depths of the empire, although no one on the outside had any idea.

Smiling, Yang Qi looked in the direction of the Deathless Heaven Dynasty, and saw that Proud Heaven had erected a powerful greyspace in the middle of his roiling destiny.

‘What!?” Yang Qi murmured, shooting to his feet. ‘That’s the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart!’

It was only natural that, upon devouring King Immortal-Slayer, Proud Heaven had gained control of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. And now he was combining it with his empire’s destiny to create something similar to Yang Qi’s Everlasting Aegis. If he succeeded, it would make it much more difficult for Yang Qi to invade.

Thankfully, the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart could never compare to the Everlasting Aegis, which now had the Halls of Heaven as an integral part of it.