Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“Young Sir Dragon, please, save him! He’s our only son! If he dies, we’ll have no offspring! We’ll do anything. Just save him!”

“Yes, you have to save him! If you do, we’ll give all of our treasure to you and the Dragonfolk!”

“Right, right, right! We were exploring a godrelic once, and found several buddha dragon dragonpearls that had taken the shapes of actual buddhas! Kindly accept them, Young Sir Dragon!”

In an enormous hall in the Nine Yangs God Sect, medicinal ingredients and texts were piled up everywhere. An enormous medicine cauldron occupied the middle of the hall, surrounded by a handful of Godmyths who fanned the flames carefully and occasionally added ingredients to the bubbling brew inside.

In the depths of the hall was a huge placard that read: Heaven-Dragon Medicine Hall.

This was the culmination of the healing enterprise that Yang Qi had set up in the Nine Yangs God Sect. Every day, people came here to request healing.

It was a far more grand and elegant place than anywhere in the Titan Emperor Heaven, Sage Monarch Heaven, or Sage Sword Heaven. The Heaven-Dragon Medicine Sect was Yang Qi’s faction within the Nine Yangs God Sect. It was all above-board and officially approved by the sect; they even allowed him to recruit his own disciples. Yang Qi found plenty of reliable applicants, who he took in as novitiates to assess their temperament and personality. All of this was slowly improving the foundation of the Sage Monarch Heaven.

The developments that had occurred in the past year were surprising even to Yang Qi. It was really a case of sticking a willow branch into the mud, only to have it grow into a shade tree.

The Sage Monarch Heaven was advancing far more satisfactorily now that it wasn't stuck in a remote, desolate part of the universe. Thanks to the fact that people came on a daily basis to seek healing from Yang Qi, and would pay just about anything to get it, he was able to send a constant flow of magical treasures, building materials, medicinal pills, daoist texts, magical incantations, and the like down to the Sage Monarch Heaven. Add in the fact that it was also benefiting from the Cruiser of Civilization and it was no exaggeration to say that it was literally improving on a daily basis.

At the moment, Yang Qi was there in the Heaven-Dragon Medicine Hall, consulting two very important people.

They were a middle-aged husband and wife known as the Confucian Cloud Immortals. He looked like a scholar, and she was spectacularly beautiful. Both were fifth division Nirvanic Gods.

They were there to seek aid for their son, who lay still, unmoving, and hardly able to breathe on a cot in front of them. His skin pulsed with dark energy, and was gradually transforming into scales. Once the process was completed, he would be a morphling.

The Confucian Cloud Immortals were from a very important sect called the Sagely Confucian Institute, which in turn was from a twentieth ranked immortal world.

Instead of immediately treating the young man, Yang Qi tapped his finger on the table and said, “I heard that the Sagely Confucian Institute has dealings with the Immortal-Slayer’s Sect.”

“No!” the husband blurted.

“Never!” the wife echoed. “Of course not!” They stared helplessly at Yang Qi. Considering the level of their cultivation bases, and the fact that Yang Qi was a mere Dao-Demolisher, they knew that they could force him to drop to the ground and kowtow to them if they wanted.

But they didn't dare to make a single move. Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven had the full backing of the Dragonfolk elders. In the past, certain experts had tried to kidnap him, only to face the treasures of the Dragonfolk and be instantly knocked unconscious.

Although this Dragon Proudheaven wasn’t a Godmyth, he had a reason to be brash. And there were always countless individuals from the Nine Yangs God Sect watching out for him. As he grew more and more important, it had reached the point where even if people as strong as the Confucian Cloud Immortals tried to do something to him, they would end up dead.

“Everyone in the Immortal-Slayer’s Sect is arrogant and conceited,” the wife said. “Our Sagely Confucian Institute cut ties with them long ago. There used to be some disciples from there that had come to our institute to study, but we expelled them. Furthermore, we swear that if anyone from the Immortal-Slayer’s Sect dares enter our presence in the future, we’ll drive them away!”

“Good. Hopefully you’ll keep your word. I accept your gifts, and will ensure that your son doesn’t turn into a morphling. Incidentally, even if he had become a morphling, and was killed, I could use his blood to resurrect him.” With that, he collected all of the treasures they had brought as payment.

They had provided quite a collection, including sabers, swords, medicinal pills, power stones, jade, and jewels. Most eye-catching of all were three fist-sized dragonpearls.

They were amber in color, and within them flickered the images of swirling dragons chanting buddhist songs. They thrummed with the aura of dragons and a power the likes of which Yang Qi had never seen before.

Obviously, they were śarīras left behind by buddhas.

The strongest of the Dragonfolk were the buddha dragons. They would eventually become buddhas, and after experiencing buddhist death and nirvanic rebirth, they would leave behind śarīras of incredible power as they pierced through to pāramitā, the other shore of the universe.

Buddhist death was another level of existence for high-level experts from the buddhist schools. If they failed to reach the Deathless Throne and join the legion of gods, then all of the power within them would become a śarīra. Their soul, their thoughts, and their memories would vanish into the void of the universe. In the end, they were deemed failures. But even failures could leave behind incredible power.

Yang Qi knew that these three śarīras were priceless, and they went to show how much this couple wanted to save their son. Normally speaking, he would have refused because of the fact that the Sagely Confucian Institute had worked so closely with the Immortal-Slayer’s Sect in the past.

But he needed these three śarīras.

He rose to his feet and waved his hand, sending out a rumbling stream of energy that entered the young man and caused him to float up into the air. Instantly, the effects of the morphblight virus crumbled away, and moments later he looked around with brightly shining eyes.

“I removed all of the virus from the young sir’s body,” Yang Qi said coolly. “I also used the mysterious arts of the Dragonfolk to improve his vital energy. In the future, his cultivation base will advance by leaps and bounds.”

“This… this is wonderful!” the husband said. “Son, let’s go.” With that, the Confucian Cloud Immortals excitedly rose to their feet.

“No!” the young man said. “I want to stay here. I want to take Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven as my Master!” The young man dropped to his knees and began kowtowing. “Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven, please, take me as your apprentice. I want to learn how to cure morphblight and help other people!”

“Son!” the husband said. “Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven is only a Demolisher! How could a Godmyth like yourself take him as a Master?”

“Who cares about that?” the young man said, kowtowing again. “Young Sir Dragon Proudheaven is an extraordinary person. He vastly surpasses me, and if I learn from him I could surely pick up some amazing daoist techniques, and maybe even accept his legacy! If the young sir agrees, I’ll join the Heaven-Dragon Medicine Sect and go through hell and high water for him!”

‘What's this?’ Yang Qi thought, his eyes flickering with suspicion. He didn’t immediately respond. But as he thought about it, he realized that taking this young man as an apprentice would come with many advantages and few, if any, disadvantages. His parents had incredibly profound cultivation bases, and they came from an important organization. Having a good relationship with them would be a big advantage. And although Yang Qi already had some novitiates from important sects, none of them were Godmyths.

Normally, a Godmyth would never be willing to lose face by taking a Demolisher as a Master. In fact, this would be the first time a second division Tempered God had ever done such a thing.

When the young man saw Yang Qi muttering to himself in consideration, he quickly unfurled a scroll painting, which caused dazzling light to shoot out, filled with majestic godpower. Shockingly, it was a treasure map, its surface covered with a depiction of a starry sky, immortal worlds, twisting space-time, and void flows. At first glance, it was impossible to determine what part of the universe it depicted.

“Master, this is my initiation gift. I found this treasure map in an ancient godrelic. It's called the Aeonic God Psalter. Please, Master, take it!”

When other people in the hall saw it, they gasped. There were even some old-timers from the Nine Yangs God Sect who sent their divine will over to inspect it more closely.

“It really is the Aeonic God Psalter!” Yang Qi said. “That thing is incredible!” Yang Qi knew that the Aeonic God Psalter was on par with the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. In ancient times, it had been used to record the location of various holy objects left behind in the universe by the legion of gods. It was split into seven parts, and when they were whole they could be used to find a huge stash of treasure. In fact, it was said that one of those treasures was a legacy that would make it possible to reach the Deathless Throne.

“Fine, I accept your gift of this treasure map. And you are now the first Godmyth apprentice of Dragon Proudheaven.” Yang Qi quickly put the Aeonic God Psalter away under the envious eyes of everyone present.

“Many thanks, Master!” the young man said. “I'm Confucian Daoless, and hereby kowtow in thanks to you!”

“There’s no need,” Yang Qi said. “Rise. From here on out, you’ll study with me here in the Heaven-Dragon Medicine Sect.” The Confucian Cloud Immortals rose to take their leave, whereupon Confucian Daoless said, “Master, allow me to see my parents out. I'm sure they have a few matters to discuss with me.”

“Go ahead,” Yang Qi said, waving his hand dismissively.

A short time later, the Confucian Cloud Immortals and their son were some distance out in the void. At that point, the father said, “Son, where did you get that treasure? And why didn't you tell us about it? Also, where did you get the idea of becoming the apprentice of Dragon Proudheaven? Considering his cultivation base, do you know how much of a loss of face it is for all of us?”

Confucian Daoless snorted. “You think I give a crap about that guy? I have only one Master, and that’s Young Master Leaf. The fish took the bait! Dragon Proudheaven is doomed to die!”

1. In this case, a novitiate is essentially an unofficial disciple or apprentice, someone who would need to prove themselves before becoming official. Like an intern.

2. Not that it’s particularly important plot-wise, but in this case “Confucian” is essentially being treated like a surname, with “Daoless” being the given name.