Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

People were so impressed by what Yang Qi had just done that they felt like prostrating themselves in admiration. After all, his quick victory seemed to indicate that he was actually stronger than Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, which by implication meant that he would soon be the new league-lord.

“Demon League?” Yang Qi said, staring down at Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat. “Since when was that a thing?”

In response to Yang Qi’s question, one of the old-timers stepped forward and said, “Emissary of Radiance and Light, the Demon League is an alliance of immortal worlds inhabited by demons. They didn't want to join the Dao Defense League, so they set up their own alliance. While our members are mostly human, theirs are mostly demons.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is.” Looking coldly at Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat, Yang Qi said, “Well, the Dao Defense League is responsible for the universal fortune of the immortal worlds. And what right do you demons have to declare independence? I’m going to give you an order right here and now, Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat. Bring your demons back into the fold. Got it? The only other option for you is death. If I have to, I’ll take my Army of Radiance and Light over there and completely exterminate all of you.”

“Bah!” Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat spat. “We Demonfolk are going to conquer everything! I’ll never follow orders from you!”

“Pigheaded heretic. What a waste!” Yang Qi closed his hand into a fist.

CRACK!

A shriek rang out as Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat was crushed out of existence down to his soul.

Yang Qi grabbed the resulting blood mist and quickly refined it into a magical treasure, a blood-colored cloak made of pure power.

“This is the Bloodsworn Cloak, created from the quintessence of a Grand Emperor and containing his divine abilities and speed. I hereby bequeath the cloak to Sword Seventeen. Step forward!”

“Yes sir!” Sword Seventeen said, accepting the cloak and throwing it over his shoulders. Just like that, Yang Qi acquired an expert almost like Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat himself. Although Sword Seventeen’s cultivation base wasn’t at a high level, his fighting prowess had just dramatically increased.

Swooosh!

Sword Seventeen drew his sword and performed a few flourishes, causing sword light to arc about that seemed like it could take the lives of actual gods.

“He actually killed Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat?! That level of strength… it definitely surpasses the league-lord’s!”

“We definitely have to switch loyalties!”

“What do we do?”

“Should we join him?”

“The Emissary of Radiance and Light is going to take over the alliance soon. And he's not afraid of the Demon League. He even said he’ll crush them with the Army of Radiance and Light, if he has to. Besides, Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven is cruel and brutal. He and those other Grand Emperors killed a lot of heroes in ancient times just to get their destiny. Sticking with him would be very risky.”

“You’re right. Siding with the Emissary of Radiance and Light is definitely the best bet.”

Meanwhile, Yang Qi realized that his Wheel of Fate was spinning much faster than usual as increasing amounts of universal fortune rushed toward him. Looking over, he saw that the league-lord’s throne in the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple had much less destiny than before.

As for Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven’s confidants, they looked completely crestfallen. Obviously, Yang Qi had established his power and position, earning respect that would not easily be lost.

Having killed Grand Emperor Bloodsworn Bat, he began distributing treasures again. They seemed endless, and many of the observing elders were growing visibly jealous. The god-generals and dharmarajas were trembling, but didn’t dare to say a word. Considering how many powerful items Yang Qi was doling out, it was obvious that the Army of Radiance and Light was going to be incredibly strong.

He was winning over more and more hearts, to the point where he was already the true leader of the Dao Defense League, albeit not in name. Because he didn’t have a scrap of wretch-devil in him, only radiance and light, people were easily drawn to him. It was very different from the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court, who claimed to follow a righteous dao but actually mixed righteousness and evil. In contrast, Yang Qi did everything above board. He could be extremely ruthless, but always treated his own people well and didn’t rely on underhanded tactics.

Eventually, when he was mostly out of treasure from the Aeonic God Temple, Yang Qi said, “Every elder present will be given two primeval god skills.”

He waved his finger, using the Eternal Heavenly Aria to fill the entire area with profound music. The music transformed into paper talismans, which floated down into the hands of everyone present. One was a talisman of blessing, the other, of damnification.

Everyone was overjoyed. Thanks to Yang Qi’s gift, all of them were now capable of fighting someone higher than their own level. Although the primeval god skills were only temporary boosts, they were still incredible.

Cheering erupted as everyone praised the Emissary of Radiance and Light, extolling his virtues and wishing him long life. Of course, much of it was being egged on by people who had already been won over to his side, including some of the god-generals.

Meanwhile, Yang Qi simply stood there as destiny began rolling in. In the immortal worlds, there were now two primary flows of destiny, one increasingly fiery and intense, the other growing weaker by the moment. The former belonged to Yang Qi, and the latter to Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven.

There was roughly a seventy-thirty split. Previously, Yang Qi had been on the weaker side, but now it was exactly the opposite. Soon, there would be no need at all for Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven to be the league-lord.

Truth be told, were he not the league-lord, the man wouldn’t be benefiting from any destiny at all.

‘Just wait until my supposed duel with Sectlord Nine Yangs. I'm going to slaughter Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven and the other emperors, seizing complete control of all the destiny available. I’ll wipe out the Demon League, slaughter the armies of the future world, and take complete control of everything.’ He was now much more confident in taking on the future world. After all, even if they increased their forces many times over, they would never be able to have more troops than he could get from hell to turn into angels.

After distributing the treasure, the influx of destiny caused Yang Qi’s cultivation base to thrum, and unlocked more profundities in King Heaven-Devourer’s talismans, the Aeonic God Destroyer, and the Engine of the One God.

For now, there was no need for him to go into seclusion. His cultivation base would continue steadily rising regardless of what he did. He was in a very stable position, with power from the god world constantly trickling down into the Engine of the One God, automatically strengthening him and advancing his Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

In fact, once he used Sectlord Nine Yangs to defeat the conspiracies targeting him, it was likely that he would become a ninth division Chaos God.

After the day of treasure distribution passed, Yang Qi called a meeting with Patriarch Annalist, as well as certain god-generals and dharmarajas. It was not one of the normal meetings designed to keep up morale, but rather a meeting to discuss how they should deal with the Demon League.

He was very pleased to see who was in attendance, and was taking note of who had refused to come. The latter were people who weren’t necessarily loyal to Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, but were hoping to take advantage of whatever conflicts might erupt. Those were not the kind of trustworthy people he wanted working for him.

“The Demon League already tried to make a move on me,” he said. “What do you think we should do about them? If anyone has any information, please, elaborate. Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven is gone, having given no indication of what he is doing. It’s a real travesty. Once he returns, I’ll call a meeting of the elders to formally accuse him of misconduct.”

“Emissary of Radiance and Light,” said one of the old-timers, God-General Goldsource. “The Demon League’s headquarters is in a far corner of the universe, and to be frank, they’re all crazy. They kill anyone from the Dao Defense League that they come across and are a real threat. They have some powerful Demonfolk old-timers, such as the famous Patriarch Redmoon, who cultivates all sorts of demon arts, and acquired the legacy of one of the Demonfolk in the legion of gods. There’s also Patriarch Buddhabhadra, who is in fact a fierce bear born out of pure primal-chaos. Then there’s Patriarch Hell-Crusher, who’s the most mysterious of them all.” [1]

“Hold on a moment,” Yang Qi said. “Patriarch Hell-Crusher? What type of animal is he?”

“An ancient megamammoth. Supposedly, he even has the blood of godmammoths in him. Everyone knows about the myth that godmammoths were created to crush hells, and that's the origin of his name. Years and years ago, he was one of the people who led the Demonfolk to join the fight to crush the Heavenly Court. Afterward, he vanished into primal-chaos and was never seen again. At least, not until nowadays. According to our agents in the Demon League, he’s one of their founders.”

“That’s interesting,” Yang Qi said. “Well, he needs to die, that's for sure. If the future world launches an offensive, and the Demon League joins the Dragonfolk to oppose us at the same time, we’ll meet a dismal end.”