Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi had passed all of the tests, and was now going to take the final interview.

This was the most difficult part of the exam. The proctors were all-important Greater Gods tasked with assessing the examinees’ cultivation base and fighting ability. It was a common thing for people to fail at this point. After all, everything before the interview was designed to automatically weed people out, ensuring that the proctors didn’t need to pay much attention to those aspects.

As he walked into the examination hall, Yang Qi thought, ‘I wonder who’ll be interviewing me. Don’t tell me it's going to be that Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger. He hates me down to his bones. Not that I care. As long as I perform well, it won’t matter how much melodrama he tries to stir up.’

Upon entering the hall, he saw a young man with white hair, a beautiful woman with flaming red hair, and Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger.

There were three proctors.

“White-Haired Boxer King,” Yang Qi said, nodding in greeting. “I never would’ve guessed that you’d be one of my proctors.”

“That’s right,” the White-Haired Boxer King said, his eyes flickering with hatred. “Well, now we get to see what you’re capable of, Yang Qi. Do you have what it takes to pass this part of the exam?”

“Are you going to be the one to decide?” Yang Qi replied. “Didn’t you already test me earlier? You didn’t hold anything back, yet failed to kill me.”

“That’s complete nonsense,” the White-Haired Boxer King spat, his expression flickering. “How dare you slander one of your superiors! I ought to arrest you right here and now, and charge you with something that would make sure you never see the light of day again!”

Remaining completely calm, Yang Qi replied, “It’s hard to say who wouldn’t see the light of day again, you or me. This is the Law-Enforcement God-Palace, right? Maybe I should produce my evidence and hand it over to the elders. That would cause quite the commotion, wouldn’t you say? Although, considering this is a test for me to become a law enforcement disciple, as long as you don’t make things difficult for me, I can keep that evidence under wraps. We can just pretend nothing ever happened.”

“Very cunning, you brat,” said the crimson-haired beauty. “Are you saying you have incriminating evidence against the White-Haired Boxer King? If so, hand it over for us to have a look. What do you say? If your evidence is good enough, it might be enough for us to just let you pass immediately.”

Yang Qi nodded respectfully. “May I venture to ask who you are?”

She giggled. “I'm Crimson-Maiden Inferno, a Greater God and holy child of the Law-Enforcement God-Palace. And yes, I'm important enough that I could easily allow a puny person like you to become a law enforcement disciple. So what do you say?”

“I agree. I’ll use a water-type godly-class energy art to show the circumstances in which the White-Haired Boxer King tried to kill me. I’ll even include what was said between the two of us. Take a look, and see if it’s enough to allow me to pass the test.” Yang Qi pulled out a jade amulet and tossed it over to Crimson-Maiden Inferno.

“Oh?” Crimson-Maiden Inferno said, catching the jade amulet. Sending her true energy inside, she watched the scene play out between Yang Qi and the White-Haired Boxer King. Laughing, she said, “You loser, White-Haired Boxer King! I can’t believe you couldn’t even beat a measly Quasi-God in a fight!”

“So do I pass the test?” Yang Qi asked.

“Absolutely not,” she replied. “Do you really think you can pass the test just because I say so? My words were actually part of the test! Did you actually believe what I said? Ai! Sadly, you’ve failed. A law enforcement disciple must always remain cool and collected, and shouldn’t be trusting. That’s the best way to enforce the law. When you're out in the field, chasing down criminals and executing the guilty, do you really think you’ll survive without good judgment? I hereby declare that you are unfit to be a law enforcement disciple!”

She looked down at the jade amulet. “And I'm keeping this. If you want it back, White-Haired Boxer King, you’ll need to offer me something valuable in exchange.” With that, she burst out laughing.

The White-Haired Boxer King chuckled grimly. “That’s fine. What do you want? Although, only a lunatic would dare to use evidence as flimsy as that to try bringing me down. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

“I think I’d like a medicinal pill of some sort,” Crimson-Maiden Inferno said. As of this point, she seemed to be completely ignoring Yang Qi. Until....

CRACK!

The jade amulet in her hand collapsed into powder, which then faded out of existence.

“What?!” she blurted, looking over at Yang Qi.

“I knew from the beginning that you were testing me,” he said with a faint smile. “Do you think I’m that stupid? The amulet I gave you just now was an illusory projection. The real version is with Jadefall. I'm an elite disciple and a god, so if I die, the sect will definitely run a full investigation. And in that case... you’ll be out of options, White-Haired Boxer King. Incidentally, I also made sure to record everything you just said, young lady. Although it’s not much in the way of evidence, it does prove that I actually passed the test you gave me. If you suddenly try to change things so that I fail, I suppose we’ll need to turn this into a more formal dispute.”

“How dare you play games with me!” Crimson-Maiden Inferno growled, her eyes flashing with rage. After all, how could someone as powerful and important as her not be infuriated at being toyed with by such a weaker person?

“I wasn’t playing games,” Yang Qi replied coolly. “I was passing your test, that’s all.”

“Fine,” she said in an ice-cold tone. “Fine! But I'm not going to forget this. Remember well: you’ve offended Crimson-Maiden Inferno, and people who do that don’t end up in good places. Unless they pay plenty of compensation.”

“I'm open to that,” Yang Qi replied casually. “Why don’t we find some time to sit down and chat about it?”

“Alright, I’m taking over the testing now,” Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger said, producing a small silver dagger. “Last time at the banquet, Jadefall was there, so I couldn’t thoroughly test you. If you fail, and end up dead, the worst that will happen is I’ll get a slap on the wrist. There’s still time to back out if you want.”

Yang Qi stood there with his hands clasped behind his back. “Let’s see what you've got. The truth is I don’t really care if I become a law enforcement disciple or not, I'm just curious to see what you people are capable of. You see, I benefited a lot during my time in the Pill-King’s temple ruins. I succeeded in cultivating some amazing divine abilities, and it's only a matter of time before I become a Greater God.”

Yang Qi was finally starting to forge his own path. It was nice to have Jadefall as a backer, ensuring that no one in the sect would truly view him as an ant to be crushed. But up to this point, he had yet to show what he was truly capable of. That was why he was making a scene here. By leading people to believe he had come across good fortune in the Pill-King’s temple ruins, it would hopefully prevent people from suspecting the truth, that he was the bearer of the God Legion Seal.

“Grandstander!” Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger growled. Then, without any warning, he swished his dagger out, sending a glittering beam of blade energy flying toward Yang Qi in a ruthless attack.

Yang Qi hardly looked at it. An arm formed of godpower sprouted from his back, which reached out and grabbed the blade energy. The blade energy writhed and flailed like a silver snake, yet it couldn’t free itself.

“What!?” the White-Haired Boxer King blurted. He, Crimson-Maiden Inferno, and Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger were all visibly stunned. Obviously none of them had ever considered that Yang Qi would actually be this strong.

“Your dagger is strong,” Yang Qi said coolly. “But it didn’t do anything to me. Does this count as passing your test, Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger?”

“No, it doesn’t!” Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger strode forward, summoning another spinning dagger that slashed toward Yang Qi. “You think my test would be that simple?”

“What does that mean?” Yang Qi said. “That you’re intentionally making things difficult for me? It’s a good thing I'm keeping a recording of all this. Don’t tell me you’re not afraid of breaking sect rules.”

“Hmph. I’ll make things hard for you however I want. What are you going to do about it?” Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger attacked with a host of deadly moves.

Silver blade energy flashed everywhere, making the testing hall seem like a hell of lightning. But Yang Qi just danced back and forth, avoiding every single attack.

“The brat’s movement techniques are incredible,” the White-Haired Boxer King murmured. “Exactly what good fortune did he come across? Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger isn’t going all out, but....” He shook his head. “The kid’s even stronger than he was before. It’s going to take a lot more effort than this to kill him.”

“We can’t do that,” said Crimson-Maiden Inferno. “The parameters of the exam are strictly enforced, and we’re limited to only using thirty percent of our power. The fact that Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger has already surpassed thirty percent is a violation of the rules.”

“That’s true. Besides, the brat has a powerful backer, so we can’t just randomly kill him. But do we really have to let him become a law enforcement disciple? I don’t think I'm okay with that. And are you fine with the brat toying with you like he did?”

“It doesn’t matter. Let him become a law enforcement disciple. We still outrank him, so we should be able to find plenty of opportunities to deal with him. For example, we can arrange for some really difficult missions for him to go on.”

“That’s true. As his superiors, we have the right to assign missions. But what if he actually succeeds with the mission? Remember, law enforcement disciples can’t be given missions above the Expert level.”

In the House of God Ordainment, missions were ranked Novice, Expert, Master, and Elite. Of course, the Elite missions came with incredible rewards, but were almost impossible to finish.

For example, one of the Elite missions was to search for the God Legion Seal. Any disciple who succeeded in that mission would be given unimaginable rewards.

“Well, we can still arrange for a very difficult mission. Remember, even some of the Expert missions are very difficult to finish. For example, the Yaksha’s Curse, God Item Unsealing, or God Herb Harvesting.”