Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Contrary to expectation, the evil Yang Qi was threatening to end the fight in mutual destruction, hoping that, in response, Yang Qi would surrender.

He was exerting all his force and putting everything on the line, backing every move with immense levels of godpower. In fact, it didn’t matter what the cool and collected Yang Qi did, the evil version struck back with a force that sent him reeling.

Winds screamed in Demon Master Valley, and the godpower fluctuations seemed powerful enough to rip apart space itself. In the god world, space was incredibly tough, so much so that even gods with actual godhood couldn't tear it apart. Only Greater Gods with Paramount will convergence could hope to pierce through it.

But the two versions of Yang Qi were actually doing it. And such an act could only be described using words such as heaven-defying, freakish, abnormal, and terrifying.

Of course, it all pointed to an imminent breakthrough to the Paramount level.

“I'm not worried about ending the fight in mutual destruction,” the calm Yang Qi said. “What joy be there in life? What bitterness be there in death? You listen to me. I rose from the impure lands, step by step. Starting from the Energy Arts level, I proceeded through Lifeseizing, Legendary, Great Sage, Demi-Immortal, Demolishing, and Godmyth. Then I stepped on the Deathless Heavenly Stairway to reach my current position. And I didn't do it by relying on brute force alone. I had to show tolerance. I had to have an empty heart, an annulled heart, a heart that exists above nothing. So... bring it on. If we die together, so be it. I'm a Fateless One who was never supposed to exist. So what does it matter if I die? Lifeless and destructionless, annulled and pure....”

At this critical juncture, it seemed that Yang Qi had actually reached a state of truly becoming lifeless and destructionless. Everlasting.

His will had reached a major juncture, causing an eruption that was forcing it toward the threshold of the Paramount level.

“You’re breaking through? Sadly, we’re one and the same. Whatever enlightenment you get, I get too!” The evil Yang Qi burst out laughing. “Psychic power boost! Annulled Grand Magic!”

RUMBLE!

Psychic shockwaves rolled out in all directions from the two combatants, provoking meteorological phenomena of all sorts. Thunder boomed, rain fell, snow showered down. There was even burning light and freezing ice.

This was definitely the power of the Greater God level.

After all, only Greater Gods could provoke meteorological phenomena like this, thanks to having Paramount will.

As Yang Qi unleashed his most powerful divine abilities, his evil version threw his head back and let loose a long cry. “God Legion Lament. Myriad Tribulations Devil Hand. Five Decays of the Deva!”

Whizz!

A terrifying devil hand appeared, boundless in size and scope, large enough to support the sun, moon, and the void itself, powerful enough to crush mountains and rivers, overturn the cosmos, upend primal-chaos, and shatter universes.

The evil Yang Qi was unleashing all of the devilishness he contained in his heart, including the True-Devil Unspoiled-by-Myriad-Kalpas-and-Tribulations Body. Thanks to his enlightenment of the secret magic, he could summon thousands of tribulation characters to create this terrifying hand that was now reaching out toward the calm Yang Qi to destroy him.

“Get ready to die, you weakling!” the evil Yang Qi said, laughing maniacally. “How could you possibly prevail over me? Now that I understand how to unleash the Myriad Tribulations Devil Hand, you’re going to see what real ferocity is!”

“When I was born, the void was peaceful and quiet. I was free and unconstrained....” Yang Qi didn’t seem to be throwing up any defenses at all. It was as if he had gained enlightenment of a higher level. A moment later, the terrifying devil hand hit him, and he shattered into nothing. He dissipated into the void.

Then he appeared directly above the evil Yang Qi, standing inverted, placing their heads almost touching.

“What are you doing?” the evil Yang Qi bellowed.

“Restoring my unified body. Defeating my heart-devil.” The calm Yang Qi’s voice was cold and seemed to lack anything that could stir the will. And as he spoke, his body turned as translucent as flowing water.

“DIIIEEEE!” the evil Yang Qi howled, his face distorted with rage. “Nobody can beat me! Not even myself! I’ll kill myself before I let you subdue me, Yang Qi. We’ll both die!”

Immense godpower erupted from the evil Yang Qi, causing his body to begin crumbling. “True Devil Disintegration; Damned by Myriad Tribulations; Sink into Everlasting Oblivion; Aeonic Darkness and Gloom!”

Anyone who heard that evil voice would be chilled to the core.

The hysterical laughter was the kind that could only be heard when someone reached the peak of madness and was ready to end their own life. In the past, many people who had attempted to cultivate the Psychic Devil-Raising Demon-Sacrificing Heaven-Defying Grand Magic would go mad at this point, ultimately exploding in death.

It seemed as though Yang Qi was no exception.

The evil Yang Qi’s devilishness erupted with destructive power, engulfing his calm version and ripping him apart.

All of Demon Master Valley reverberated with the sound of the explosion.

Then, after a long moment passed, everything went quiet.

Outside the valley, the demon-gods finally sensed that the energy shockwaves had died down. Looking inside, they saw nothing but ruins and rubble.

“Things finally calmed down.”

“The brat experienced cultivation deviation and couldn't extricate himself. He's dead. Ai. How come there are always suicidal people who think they’re the main characters of all heaven and earth? Well, this is how they die.”

“The brat died, just like all of the other people who study the Demon Master’s ultimate taboo jade disc. How tragic....”

Inside the valley, the ghostface monkey-god didn't dare to look at the taboo jade disc. Shaking his head, but with an expression of delight, he said, “I guess we can just assimilate the devil embryos now.”

“Yeah,” the snake goddess replied. “It would make no sense at all if he survived that. Plenty of elite Demonfolk experts have died here, much less people who aren’t Demonfolk. And even if he survived, there’s no saying he would benefit at all. Let's look around and see if he left behind any magical treasures worth taking. That was a big explosion. Almost on the same level as the self-detonation of a Common God with a rating of ten or more. I really can’t imagine how he caused something like that.”

Striding over, the ox god smiled coolly and said, “Considering he didn’t achieve godly ascension, he must’ve had a big stockpile of godpower. He was definitely one of the top geniuses I've ever seen. Better than the top geniuses of any of the major sects. But in the end, he couldn’t defy heaven and ended up dead. What a pity.”

“He’s dead, and that’s that,” said the moon-eating lion king. “But it doesn't look like he left behind any magical treasures. They were all destroyed in the explosion.”

Other demon-gods were there, looking around, but none of them could find any treasures left behind. Apparently, everything had been destroyed in the explosion.

“Forget about it. Some kid died, it’s not a big deal. This kind of thing happens millions of times per day in the god world. No one even knows how many top geniuses perish at any given time.” Many of the demon-gods turned to leave, not wanting to be close to the taboo jade disc and possibly suffer a similar fate.

However, before they could walk off, an immense force of will suddenly descended from above.

Cries of shock and bellows of rage rang out as the ghostface monkey-god, snake goddess, ox god, and moon-eating lion king were forced down on their hands and knees.

“This is beyond Terrifying! This is Paramount! Paramount will convergence!” Many of the demon-gods were being pressed down into the mud because of the force weighing down on them.

The Paramount level was something that countless gods dreamed of reaching, but only Greater Gods could understand.

In other words, gods that didn’t reach the Paramount level could only be Lesser Gods.

But now, someone with Paramount will had appeared.

“Who is it?”

Many of the demon-gods didn’t even dare to look up or release their divine will to check their surroundings. Thus, few saw the bizarre scene that was playing out. Countless scraps of power were collecting, flying through the air to create a perfect body as tall and strong as a mountain. But at the same time, its vital energy seemed empty and soft, as though it didn’t exist at all.

It was Yang Qi’s body.

He had exploded, but he’d also reached the Paramount level, whereupon he reformed his body. His previous body had become incomparably strong, but was destroyed. He had died, but his will survived. And after his death, he overcame his evil side, gaining deep enlightenment that allowed him to break through to the Paramount level.

His new body was stronger than the old one, because it had absorbed the spatial power of the god world. After all, he had been unable to manipulate that spatial power in the past. But now his will could spread out into the god world and perceive many things. His eyes were clear, able to perceive the cultivation methods of any type of energy art. He could perceive the secrets of space, and he now saw that the space of the god world wasn’t linear. It was a spatial labyrinth, filled with all sorts of dangers. Unfortunately, his cultivation base wasn’t at a level that would allow him to pierce through it yet. But he could draw on it to form a new body.

The God Legion Seal, sheepskin scroll, and Mahātmā Jade were hidden deep within the space that made up his body. After all, each particle within him was like its own dimension. They were small, each of them only the size of a bean, and that was after his major cultivation base improvement.

But in the past, they had been the size of dust. As such, the fact that they were now the size of beans went to show how much his godpower reserves had increased.

Now he realized why reaching the Paramount level before becoming a god led to monarch godhood.