Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The Buddha God level was extraordinary, and was so named because it was typified by the broad, profound wisdom of a buddha. Upon reaching the level, Yang Qi continued drawing on the power of the god world until the Engine of the One God reached the level of one percent.

Unfortunately, if he wanted to reach two percent, he would need to raise his cultivation to another level.

In other words, he still wasn’t able to fully utilize the Engine of the One God.

It was little surprise; the Engine of the One God had been left behind by ancient members of the legion of gods, just like the Aeon Portal, King Heaven-Devourer’s talismans, King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions, and the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. All of them were items that had been the property, not of ordinary gods, but of Perfect Gods, at the very least, or more likely, Consummate or Paramount Gods.

Of course, even at only one percent power, the Engine of the One God could still deliver a strike on par with the Hand of the One God.

WHOOSH!

Yang Qi emerged from seclusion, and the first thing he did was raise his voice and announce, “Children of the Yang Clan and core members of the Sage Monarch Society, come to me. I have treasure to distribute. Invite the elders, elder kings, and other top elites to attend the ceremony!”

The entire Dao Defense League immediately began to buzz with activity.

The time had come to distribute the loot from the Aeonic God Temple to people such as Eldest Brother, Elder Second Brother, Yang Zhan, and others like them. As usual, Yang Qi took special care of everyone who remained loyal to him. That was one reason why his Army of Radiance and Light was so powerful—and why he could turn the hearts of so many people—taking destiny away from the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court.

The Sage Monarch Heaven had a public square that was filled with radiance and light and was so magnificent that it even rivaled the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple. Soon, teleportation portals in all sorts of immortal worlds began activating as people heard Yang Qi’s call and returned to get their share of the treasures. And some people came just to observe the proceedings.

“The Emissary of Radiance and Light is distributing treasure? What exactly did he come across in the Aeonic God Temple? Let’s hurry over and see what happens. Maybe we should join his army; I’ve heard that he’s very generous.”

“But we already work for one of the dharmarajas.”

“Ah, what are you afraid of? The Emissary of Radiance and Light is far more powerful than any of the dharmarajas. Supposedly, he's on the same level as the Grand Emperors. He might even become league-lord one day.”

“The Army of Radiance and Light is already far more powerful than the Deathless Corps.”

“Exactly. Plus, the Army of Radiance and Light has primeval god skills. I bet they could easily wipe out the league-lord and his Deathless Corps. As long as the Emissary of Radiance and Light can take on Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, he’ll easily become the new league-lord.”

“Not necessarily. Remember, Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven has three other Grand Emperors on his side. If they all work together, the Emissary of Radiance and Light couldn’t possibly take them on.”

“We’ll have to see about that. The fact that the Emissary of Radiance and Light is making such a big scene right now seems to indicate that his cultivation base has reached an even higher level than before. I've heard that there are all sorts of powerful items in the Aeonic God Temple. He might already be in the position to deal with the four emperors.”

“Let’s go observe the ceremony. Even if we don't get anything, it’ll be really interesting to see what type of treasures he got from that temple.”

A stream of experts headed to the Sage Monarch Heaven and the enormous public square, which, to the shock of the newcomers, was as large as a thirty-third ranked immortal world.

Yang Qi was there, observing as his people formed ranks. Next to him sat Patriarch Annalist, who many of the old-timers recognized.

“That’s Patriarch Annalist! According to the stories, he's on the ninth stair of the Deathless Heavenly Stairway. He should be strong enough to defeat any of the grand emperors. And he’s been recruited by the Emissary of Radiance and Light? This is incredible. Doesn’t that mean… that Yang Qi is now stronger than Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven?”

Many of the dharmarajas and other old-timers were very curious to see what was going to happen.

Looking out at the crowds, Patriarch Annalist said, “It's about time to begin, Young Sir.” Then he rose to his feet and raised his voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am Patriarch Annalist. Presumably, some of you recognize me. Years ago during the days of the ancient Heavenly Court, I was to join as the fifth emperor. Yes, I was to be named Grand Emperor Annalist Daoscripture. Sadly, the Heavenly Court turned bad. The four emperors slaughtered many geniuses from the immortal worlds, seizing their destiny to make God Pills of Fate. As a result, the court collapsed. In my sorrow, I went into hiding. Until now. Unexpectedly, the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court have come to power again, having established the Dao Defense League. All of us need to be very much on guard to make sure that history does not repeat itself.

“And now, Young Sir Yang Qi will distribute the treasures he acquired from the Aeonic God Temple. Please feel free to observe. Also, note that any of you who wish to join the Young Sir will be rewarded in kind. He will not hold back.”

Those words caused something of a minor stir in the crowd.

Patriarch Annalist was actually speaking disparagingly of the four emperors, which seemed to indicate that Yang Qi was on the verge of seizing power for himself!

The close followers of Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven exchanged awkward glances, then some of them scrambled to send divine will messages to him, reporting the development.

“Mage Cloudwalker!” Yang Qi said.

Eldest Brother rose to his feet and approached Yang Qi. “Emissary, what are your orders?”

“You’ve campaigned with me for many years, starting in the mortal world. Now here we are in the immortal worlds. For all of your outstanding services, I hereby reward you with a god pill from the Aeonic God Temple, the Meditative-Trance Without-Sorrow Grand-Happiness God Pill. After consuming this pill, you can sink into a meditative trance free of sorrow and filled with happiness. In that state, your cultivation base will improve by thousands of times over. I am also giving you this god saber, the name of which is Mage-Ancestor Slaughters Generals and Plunders Gods. It is a primeval god item, forged by a mage god from the god world, and matches your constitution perfectly.”

The two items flew over to Eldest Brother, radiating godly might.

However, before they reached him, a cackle rang out and a shadowy figure blurred into the square. It looked like a huge bat, and it moved with shocking speed as it headed toward the two god items.

Shocked exclamations rose up from within the crowd.

“Is that…? It is! Someone from a demonic heavenly world! It’s Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat!”

“I heard that quite a few immortal worlds of demons joined forces in an alliance to fight the future world. But they’re in another far corner of the universe, so what’s this guy doing here?”

Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat was no weaker than Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, being on the seventh or eighth stair of the Deathless Heavenly Stairway. As he flew out, he was surrounded by demonlight that indicated he had been blessed by a host of Demonfolk old-timers. And he moved with incomprehensible speed.

Before anyone could react, he grabbed the two treasures and spun to face Yang Qi. “The Dao Defense League is nothing! Our Demon League is the rightful owner of the universal fortune of heaven and earth. We’re the ones who’ll drive away the forces of the future. Don’t forget that you humans used to be part of us Demonfolk! I'm going to kill this supposed Emissary of Radiance and Light and take the treasures of the Aeonic God Temple. Do any of you dare stand in my way?”

Cackling shrilly, he began advancing on Yang Qi.

Patriarch Annalist shouted in rage, but before he could do anything, Yang Qi reached out to hold him back.

“I’ll be fine,” Yang Qi said. “This Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat is just looking to get killed.”

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down to a crawl, to the point where Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat’s attack hardly appeared to be moving at all.

Yang Qi reached out and an enormous hand made of radiance and light appeared, which clamped down onto Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat and provoked a shrill scream.

A moment later, a small, blood-colored bat could be seen in Yang Qi’s hand, struggling mightily but powerless to escape the porcelain-colored light that had it restrained. “How dare you hurt me, boy! Aren’t you afraid of your Dao Defense League being destroyed by our Demon League!?”