Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

A crafty smile could be seen on Hailan’s face. Truth be told, it wasn’t out of good intentions that she convinced Yang Voidprime to go with the High Priestess to see the King of Godmammoths and the Demon Master. Yang Voidprime obviously didn’t have as good a relationship with the High Priestess as Hailan did. After all, Hailan was the High Priestess’ apprentice.

The High Priestess had arranged everything in advance, preparing this elaborate trap for Yang Voidprime, with the intention of giving his cultivation base to Hailan.

Hailan was a profound schemer, but her cultivation base was only at the level of around two hundred billion. And she deeply wanted to reach the half-Annulled level. Chuckling coldly, she prepared her cultivation base to start absorbing destiny from the empire around her.

However, that was when an immense wave of power washed over her, and she suddenly realized that Proud Heaven was standing in front of her.

“Oh, it’s you, Your Majesty,” she said, snapping out of her reverie. “Might I ask why you’ve graced me with your presence? What commands might you have for me?”

She was under no illusions that he had come for benevolent reasons.

The court had essentially split into two factions, with one loyal to Proud Heaven, and the other siding with the High Priestess. The friction between the two factions was growing increasingly intense, although the top leaders were still refraining from personally interfering.

Furthermore, Proud Heaven was supposed to be working hard on the empire’s aegis, and shouldn’t have had the time to come see her.

Hailan was completely on guard.

“Did the High Priestess and Yang Voidprime just leave for somewhere?” Proud Heaven asked. “Where did they go?”

“I'm not sure,” she replied. “Would you like to wait here until they get back, Your Majesty? You can ask them yourself.”

“Hailan,” Proud Heaven said casually, sitting down and fixing his eyes on her like a predator eyeing prey, “a lot of experts seem to be siding against me nowadays. I know you’re the High Priestess’ apprentice, but have you ever considered working with me instead? I'm going to take over the god world, eventually. Yang Qi isn’t even close to being a match for me.”

“I'm not sure what you mean, Your Majesty. I already am loyal to you. Everything I do is for the sake of the empire.” Hailan knew exactly what was going on. Now that the High Priestess was away, Proud Heaven was taking advantage of her absence and trying to recruit Hailan. But did he really think she would switch sides because of a simple invitation? He should at least offer some compelling arguments, or a reward of some sort.

“Your Majesty, we're always more than happy to offer advice to help you overcome any personal obstacles,” Hailan said, sticking to the prescribed formalities of the court. Obviously, she didn't want Proud Heaven uncovering any of her own weaknesses. “Remember, the empire doesn't belong to you alone, it belongs to the citizens. If the people find fault with you, it's our job to help you rectify the situation. And so, Your Majesty, I really hope that you can refrain from this talk about factions and sides. We're all working together for the same purpose. For the same heavenly empire.”

“Oh really,” Proud Heaven said with a smile. “This is a personal conversation between you and me, so you can drop the official jargon. I know you want to reach the half-Annulled level. After all, you're ambitious. Furthermore, you know a lot about Yang Qi, and I need help in that regard. So join me. If you do, I’ll make sure you reach the half-Annulled level.”

“Is that so?” Hailan said, her heart pounding. That said, she didn’t really trust Proud Heaven. “Your Majesty, if you could really help me improve my cultivation base, that would be wonderful. But I don’t think I deserve that. How could I possibly be so blessed? And why would you give me a reward like that?”

Lounging on the chair haughtily, Proud Heaven stared at Hailan with a piercing gaze as he said, “What do you think of the destiny in the empire, Hailan?”

“The destiny of the Deathless Heaven Empire is boundless and invincible, superior to any empire that existed from ancient times until now. Not even the Sovereign Lord’s court could compare. It’s the result of the hard work of all the loyal citizens of the empire.” She was intentionally refraining from giving credit to Proud Heaven, in the hopes of seeing how he would react. Normally speaking, she should be lavishing him with praise, considering he was the emperor.

Proud Heaven didn’t seem to get angry at all. In fact, he smiled. “The hard work of the citizens? I'd say that if people weren’t so interested in plotting and scheming, the destiny would be even better. Hailan, an honest person does not resort to insinuation. Where did the High Priestess and Yang Voidprime go? To visit the King of Godmammoths and the Demon Master, to ask for their help in overthrowing me? The High Priestess has never really liked me, has she?”

“Careful, Your Majesty,” Hailan said. “I really don’t know where the High Priestess and Yang Voidprime went. But they definitely aren’t doing anything to harm the interests of the empire. Of that I'm sure. Your Majesty, if you start recklessly hurling accusations at your officials, it’s definitely going to harm the destiny of the empire.”

Despite her words, Hailan was profoundly shocked. She had assumed that the High Priestess’ actions were top secret. After all, the High Priestess was a half-Annulled expert, which should have made it impossible for anyone to spy on her.

But apparently, Proud Heaven knew everything that was going on.

Proud Heaven laughed coldly. “Not shed a tear until seeing the coffin? It’s not as though you're up to any good, Hailan. You want to use Yang Voidprime to get to the half-Annulled level. By possessing him. Taking his quintessence-blood and vital energy. Unfortunately, your little plan isn’t going to work.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” Hailan said, so shocked that she forgot to address him as Your Majesty. That alone showed how discomfited she was.

“Yang Voidprime isn’t a complete fool,” Proud Heaven said. “Although you’ve been close with him up to this point, even giving him your body, he still doesn’t trust you. Of that, I can assure you. Furthermore, he’s hoping to devour you. By the way, you probably don’t know that when two people have fateless power, they’re fatally connected. If Yang Voidprime dies, his fateless power will immediately be transferred to Yang Qi. There’s nothing anyone can do to stop it. In the past, I was planning to kill Yang Voidprime, but later on, I realized the truth, which is why I’ve kept him alive. Otherwise, do you really think he would still be around?”

“Y-y-you,” Hailan stammered. “How did you find that out?”

“You forget that I'm now the representative of the essence of the god world. I know everything the god world knows. In other words, I'm far more informed than the Sovereign Lord ever was. And I'm privy to many matters. For instance, I've been keeping an eye on the High Priestess. You can’t keep secrets from me, Hailan. I know how ambitious you are, but did you really think that you're strong enough to dominate everyone else in the god world?” There was killing intent hidden in Proud Heavens words, and Hailan could sense it.

“If I join you, Proud Heaven, how exactly will you make sure I reach the half-Annulled level?” Hailan had made her decision. In the end, Proud Heaven was simply too terrifying.

Proud Heaven chuckled darkly. “Simple. You become my woman. I’ll appoint you as my empress, making you the mother of everything under heaven. You and I will have an equal share of the destiny of the empire, and we’ll jointly control everything in existence. As the representative of the High Priestess, you have command of an enormous faction that you can bring to our side. In the end, the High Priestess will be isolated and helpless.”

“Is that so?” Hailan said with a smile. Now she knew what Proud Heaven wanted, and what he wanted her to do. “But I'm already Yang Voidprime’s woman, and I have been since ancient times. If I become your empress, that’ll be a big stain on my reputation. And how will Yang Voidprime react? He’ll go crazy.”

“None of that matters. I'm the emperor. What does Yang Voidprime count for, compared to that? I’ll keep him in check, and make sure he knows what’ll happen if he acts up. Besides all I have to do is break his dao heart, and he’ll never be able to reach the coveted half-Annulled level.” Proud Heaven laughed darkly. “The matter is fairly simple. He’s working with the High Priestess against me, all for the purpose of breaking through to half-Annulled. And that was a big mistake.”

“I like the way you think, Proud Heaven,” Hailan said, flashing a dazzling smile. “You're right, I do have control of a major faction. The High Priestess wants the power of a clique, but doesn't want to deal with its day-to-day affairs. She wants to focus on cultivating and strategizing. So she’s long since handed control to me. There are a lot of officials in the government who are loyal to me specifically. If I become empress, we can unite the dynasty, and Yang Voidprime and the High Priestess won’t be able to do a thing about it. We can even get rid of them, eventually. However, there’s one issue. How do I know I can trust you?”

“What more can I do? As the empress, you’ll be mine, and you’ll have to be loyal to me. At the same time, I’ll have no reason to work against you. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“Well said," Hailan said, nodding. “When will you make the announcement?”

“The sooner the better. In fact, how about immediately.” As he spoke, his eyes gleamed with a lascivious light. “After all, once you’re the empress, you’ll be mine, and you’ll have to do whatever I want you to.”

“What's that mean, Proud Heaven?” Hailan said. Proud Heaven’s lascivious look hadn’t gone unnoticed, and she suddenly had a very bad feeling. It seemed that Proud Heaven wanted to do something inappropriate right then and there.

“You're a half-Annulled expert, Proud Heaven. Can’t you wait just a bit longer? Look, I need to think about this. I never agreed to be your empress. And I currently have the rank of grand princess, so don’t even think of acting outside protocol.”

Snorting coldly, Proud Heaven rose to his feet. “Outside protocol? I'm in charge here, and I’ve been waiting long enough. What the emperor wants, he gets. I'm going to unite the entire god world, and all other empires and dynasties are just stepping stones for me. You’re with me now, Hailan, whether you like it or not. I'm curious to see if you have anything you think can be used to stop me.”

As the words left his mouth, he smiled cruelly and reached out to grab her clothing.