Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi had known all along that there would be some hard feelings after he split from the Nine Yangs God Sect. But he never imagined that they would be so petty as to view him as an enemy because of it.

Not even killing people from the God Dragon Tribe had earned him such ire.

The Nine Yangs God Sect had a lot of connections, and now it seemed that they were making use of them to turn the other old-timers against him.

Yang Qi smiled coldly. ‘They assume I'm as weak as I was back then. They’ll find out soon enough that they can’t afford to offend me. Chaos God patriarchs? Like I care. Once I'm a Godmyth I’ll be able to crush them all.’

Keeping his thoughts to himself, he followed Patriarch Promoter to the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple in the middle of the Dao Defense League. The temple itself was actually a godrelic that had been brought from afar and set deeply into the void to serve as the heart of the alliance.

The Dao Defense League was huge, made up of billions and billions of immortal worlds that the top experts had organized into a huge spell formation. It was slowly coming to resemble the Heavenly Court of ancient times, and was the focus of all the other immortal worlds in existence.

Lately, more and more worlds were joining. After all, lone immortal worlds could easily fall prey to the future warriors. But for now, the future warriors didn’t dare to enter the territory of the Dao Defense League.

Despite that, the conflict between immortals and future warriors was only continuing to grow more intense, with only the most distant and remote places being safe.

As more and more future warriors arrived, it was reaching a point where not even the farthest corners of the universe were safe. The only way to have a measure of protection was to join the Dao Defense League.

There was no questioning that the alliance was here to stay.

As such, the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple was destined to be one of the most important locations in existence. It was already a gathering place for old-timers from twentieth, and even thirtieth ranked immortal worlds, almighty beings of extraordinary power.

Even the fiercest future warriors would tremble in fear upon hearing about the old-timers from the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple.

If the old-timers went into battle, then unless the most powerful of the future warriors appeared—people like generals or marshals—the forces from the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple would inflict serious casualties.

In the forces of the future world, the generals and marshals were comparable to Buddha Gods and Chaos Gods. Above the marshals were the generalissimos, and above them were the magisters.

No one knew exactly how powerful the magisters were, but it was generally believed that if they joined the fight, the immortal dao civilization would be doomed.

‘I wonder if the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple will really be as dangerous as a dragon’s pool or a tiger’s den,’ Yang Qi thought. ‘I guess I’ll find out soon enough. What are these old-timers going to try to do? Are they really going to make a move against me? According to Patriarch Promoter, a lot of the old-timers approve of me. If they all had it out for me, I’d probably be dead already.’

Even as he pondered these things, he followed Patriarch Promoter into the temple.

The front steps were covered with complex warding magics that made flight impossible. The only way to go into the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple was to walk. Not even Patriarch Promoter was an exception.

Inside, Yang Qi chuckled coldly. ‘Very formal. The future world hasn’t really pressed the attack yet, so they have time to set up a little empire. How will they deal with the war when it gets truly fierce?’

That said, he wasn’t interested in challenging the rules of the Dao Defense League.

“He’s here!”

“The kid showed up!”

“There he comes!”

“On your knees! You’re not even a Godmyth, and yet you dare to just walk right in? Give us three sets of three kowtows and hand over all your good fortune. As a member of the Dao Defense League, you’re required to contribute to the cause!”

“Hmph! You people don’t get to make the decisions here. This kid is a top genius in the Dao Defense League! Are you intentionally trying to get him to switch loyalties and work for the enemy?”

“How impudent! This kid is a criminal! You think he’s a genius? Maybe a genius of evil! He should serve as a slave to us for a hundred million years, and even then he might not have paid his debt. If anybody can break the rules, the Dao Defense League will crumble!”

“Your Nine Yangs God Sect is full of treacherous betrayers, Yang Ghostcatcher! He used to be making money for you people, but when the God Dragon Tribe came along you completely ignored him. But now you’re getting angry? What crime did this kid commit?”

“Crime? He offended the God Dragon Tribe, which hurts the interests of the alliance! That’s treason!”

Almost as soon as Yang Qi stepped into the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple, he was assaulted by a buzz of divine will. Someone with a lesser cultivation base would likely have been killed by the mere fluctuations. However, he simply negated the power.

Within the temple were a host of thrones, upon which sat numerous patriarchs. Some were smiling as though they approved of Yang Qi. Others had more level expressions, while some looked at him with vicious smiles or eyes cold with killing intent.

Yang Qi waved his hand, causing golden light filled with might and power to spread out, illuminating the entire interior of the hall, as well as all of the patriarchs.

His voice ringing loudly so that all could hear, he said, “Patriarchs, I'm in a good mood today, do you really have to sit around here arguing like this? What have I, Dragon Proudheaven, done to deserve being called to a meeting in your presence? Could it be that you wish to promote me to the same position as yourselves? I feel more than qualified to serve as a patriarch.”

He was already putting on a show of both his power and his boldness.

Some of the patriarchs responded with astonishment, and others exchanged awkward glances. The divine will conversations continued to buzz.

“Look at his energy arts and cultivation base! This is incredible! Even I feel the pressure.”

“Yes, his energy arts seem as strong as a Buddha God’s. In fact, he might even be closer to the Chaos God level. How is this even possible? He’s clearly a Dao-Demolisher with nine lineaments. He’s not even a Godmyth!”

“Dammit, how did he suddenly get so much stronger? Could it be that he’s backed by some almighty old-timer? But who? From what I heard, the God Dragon Tribe already wiped out almost all of the fire dragons. In all the interrogations they carried out, no old-timer was revealed to be this kid's backer.”

Considering the display of power on Yang Qi’s part, some of the old-timers were already changing their minds. Some were at least switching to a more neutral opinion of him, while others were considering siding with him. They knew that a person as incredibly strong as him was not the kind that could be easily trifled with. And many of them realized that there must be more to him than met the eye.

“What incredible gall!” one of the patriarchs suddenly shouted. He was a Buddha God, and was flanked by several other Buddha Gods. Eyes burning with fury and killing intent, he said, “Who do you think you are, Dragon Proudheaven? How dare you cause a scene like this in the Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple!”

Instead of responding, Yang Qi looked at Patriarch Promoter and quietly asked, “Who's the loudmouth?”

“That’s Yang Ghostcatcher, one of the old-timers from the Nine Yangs God Sect. His fellows are Yang Mountainpeak, Yang Souldeep, Yang Blessingcloud, and Yang Fortunecloud. They’re top patriarchs from the Nine Yangs God Sect, with equal standing to the sectlord himself. They’re the ones who called this meeting to try to deal with you.

“Don’t worry, old pal. You have a lot of support from other old-timers here. You’ve done a lot for the Dao Defense League, including saving many of the children and other descendants of these patriarchs. Some of them, you prevented from becoming morphlings. Others, you cleansed of heterogeneous true energy. Nobody is going to forget that.”

“Patriarch Promoter!” someone said, his voice oily and sinister. “Are you trying to protect this boy?” A throne appeared which was larger and taller than the other thrones, and was occupied by a patriarch whose eyes were currently closed. However, in response to his words, everyone quieted down.

“Sectlord Nine Yangs!?” Patriarch Promoter said, shivering as if with fear. Sectlord Nine Yangs was a Chaos God with enlightenment of the dao of primordial chaos, making him very close to the level of the legion of gods. The difference between him and a Buddha God was almost too much to put into words. Patriarch Promoter knew that not even ten of himself could stand up to a person like this. In fact, among all the old-timers, only some of the Demigods could deal with him.

“Back down immediately, Patriarch Promoter!” Sectlord Nine Yangs said, smiling at the look of terror he saw on his face. “If you don't, I’ll exterminate both your clan and your sect!”