Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The person who had just spoken had a voice as piercing as a sharp blade. It seemed to slice through the meridians and into the soul, bringing intense pain that was obviously the result of some powerful and baleful energy art.

Yang Qi looked over to see an old woman with wrinkled skin, who looked like a witch or sorceress of some sort. She seemed sinister and ruthless in every way, the type of person who had killed countless opponents.

And from the way she was looking at Yang Qi, it seemed she wanted to drain him of all his blood right then and there.

“So you’re not really here to talk business,” Yang Qi said with a slight smile. “The fifteen of you are all Perfect Gods, and that’s quite impressive. Fifteen hegemons of the Wasteland Bazaar, you could say. I shouldn’t be surprised that important people like you wouldn’t actually want to come talk business with a small company like the Sage Monarch Consortium.”

“We are here to talk business,” the witch said. “Specifically, the business of you becoming our slaves. Every single disciple in the Sage Monarch Society. Understand? If you agree, then we won’t kill you, which will be a great benevolence on our part.”

As she spoke, she reached out with a wrinkled hand, pointing at Yang Qi with razor-sharp fingernails. At the same time, a black smoke swirled around her hand, seemingly filled with countless vengeful souls that shrieked in piercing voices.

Ignoring the witch, Yang Qi said, “Is this how it’s going to play out, King Blacktooth?”

“Yes, it is,” King Blacktooth replied. “Granny Witch-Ghost is right. Don’t you agree that it's courting death for the Sage Monarch Consortium to set up shop in the Wasteland Bazaar? Thankfully for you, we believe that there is virtue in sparing animal life. The only question is whether or not you realize what's good for you.”

“I see. Well at least I realize now that you’re not here to discuss business, but rather to pick a fight.” Looking around without a hint of fear in his eyes, he continued, “If I'm not mistaken, you're actually in league with the junior houselord of the House of God Ordainment, right?”

“I would never work for that loser,” King Blacktooth said.

“Oh? Then perhaps the junior houselord’s backer, the third prince?” Tapping his finger, he said, “And am I right that the people who destroyed our previous branch locations here were working for you?”

“That’s right, they were our people,” said a mid Perfect God, throwing his cloak and hood back to reveal that he was a tall, burly fellow. “I'm Devil-Duke Hercules, and to be honest, I'm curious about you. You’re only a measly Consummate God, yet you haven’t once flinched in the face of us Perfect Gods. That level of willpower is worth at least some attention. Normally, even if it was fifteen Consummate Gods facing a single Perfect God, the former would be trembling in their boots. So why exactly aren’t you afraid? Perhaps you're unaware, but the moment we arrived, we locked down this entire building.”

“Devil-Duke Hercules, is it?” Yang Qi said. “You seem pretty strong, and it looks like you have a special type of godhood. If I were to guess, it's herculean true warfare godhood. With godhood like that, you have access to limitless strength, and can unleash devilish techniques that obscure the sky, making you invincible in combat. Unfortunately, you’ve made the foolish mistake of throwing your life away today.”

Devil-Duke Hercules roared with laughter. “I'm throwing away my life? You’re really not willing to shed a tear until you see the coffin, are you, you sharp-tongued brat. Fine, let’s see what you have that makes you so confident.”

He threw out a fist that reached Yang Qi with incredible speed, and without causing a single sound to spread out. It was like the night sky, crushing down with such force it could even kill people in their dreams.

Normally speaking, when incredibly strong people attacked, it would cause explosive rumbling sounds. But after reaching a certain point, the opposite would happen and their attacks wouldn’t make any sound at all.

Yang Qi saw that this attack contained the transformations of yin and yang, and the ultimate expression of the martial path. This opponent was no fool, and clearly surpassed the Perfect Gods from the House of God Ordainment in many ways. After all, the wretch-gods and monsters from the Wasteland Bazaar not only had shocking fighting prowess, but ample combat experience as well.

Yang Qi gently waved his palm to meet the incoming attack in what seemed like a completely casual gesture.

When Devil-Duke Hercules’ fist strike met his palm, it suddenly changed. Devil-Duke Hercules’ fingers snapped into vicious hooks designed to rip out the heart of the opponent, a transformation that happened so quickly it would cause most onlookers to gasp in amazement.

Yang Qi’s palm slid down to cover his chest and protect his heart.

However, the claw move was only a feint; Devil-Duke Hercules shifted to an open palm, which then shot up toward the top of Yang Qi’s head as if to slap it.

Yang Qi responded with a move so smooth that it seemed as if he had anticipated what tactic Devil-Duke Hercules would use; extending his finger, he thrust it toward the acupoint in the middle of Devil-Duke Hercules’ palm.

Devil-Duke Hercules quickly withdrew his hand and flew back, eyes flickering with astonishment.

They had fought for three rounds, but hadn’t even touched each other. Devil-Duke Hercules had even used his energy arts to completely lock down the area surrounding Yang Qi, which a Consummate God normally couldn’t escape from. In fact, not even an early Perfect God could have dealt with it. Any such person would have been instantly killed.

But Yang Qi had easily evaded his attacks, and even fought back.

Meanwhile, King Blacktooth’s expression fell. He knew full well what Devil-Duke Hercules was capable of. The three moves he had used—a fist strike, an attack on the heart, and the open-palmed slap—were from a consummate martial ability called the Mountain-Shoving Heart-Snatching Head-Crushing Stances. Combined, they contained the transformations of yin and yang, and had been used to kill countless enemies.

How strong was this Yang Qi?

How could a puny Consummate God do something like this? Furthermore, it was true that Devil-Duke Hercules had a special type of godhood, which meant he was far beyond the compare of ordinary Perfect Gods.

The truth was that Yang Qi was also quite surprised. He had used a very powerful counter-attack, but was still incapable of even touching Devil-Duke Hercules. Obviously, the man’s energy arts were so powerful that he could crush any of the Perfect Gods from the House of God Ordainment. Yang Qi had originally assumed that he would be able to at least injure Devil-Duke Hercules within three moves, only to find that the man easily dodged out of the way.

Devil-Duke Hercules had a body like an iron pagoda, but was unexpectedly as slippery as a loach.

Earlier, Yang Qi had been looking at these fifteen Perfect Gods with contempt, but after the exchange just now, he changed his attitude.

Silence reigned.

Not a single one of the wretch-gods said a word, causing the tension to mount.

Finally, Yang Qi cleared his throat. “It seems I underestimated you, which was my mistake. You fifteen experts have come to pick a fight, so I suppose I have no choice but to accept. Everyone knows the rules of business in the Wasteland Bazaar. Whoever is strongest gets the biggest share. So have you come today to fight as a unified group, or will you be selecting a champion to fight me? Or will you be taking turns? Regardless, I'm ready to start whenever you are.”

His words were spoken with the casual confidence of an elite master.

His cultivation level seemed low, but everyone could tell from the exchange with Devil-Duke Hercules that Yang Qi was definitely some mysterious person. There was clearly more to him than met the eye. The fifteen experts exchanged glances, then King Blacktooth said, “You’re a puny Consummate God, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to bully you. Although we don’t care much for rules, we’re not the kind of people who feel the need to use a battle-ax to kill a chicken. Devil-Duke Hercules, how do you feel after your initial clash? It looks to me like you weren’t finished fighting. Why don't we continue and see who comes out on top?”

“Alright!”

Devil-Duke Hercules floated back into the middle of the room with seeming weightlessness. But then he landed, and his feet crushed holes into the floor, revealing how incredibly heavy he actually was.

Remaining fully on guard, he said, “Considering how you handled my three moves earlier, I can tell you’re a worthy opponent. Your name is Yang Qi, right? From here on out, I won’t talk down to you. Get ready, the real fighting is about to start. Let’s see whether you survive it.”

All of a sudden, his cloak burst into flames as he said, “Herculean Supple Fist!”

He launched a punch that contained both hardness and softness, and would inflict such pain that anyone who survived being hit by it would cough up blood. Yang Qi’s eyes flashed as he splayed his fingers, causing an energy field to pop into being that transformed into a huge vortex. Everyone present felt as though the area was trembling violently, but the truth was that everything was still. Yang Qi was shaking their minds with the Annulled Grand Magic, one of the top psychic arts of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

Bzzzzzzzz!

When Devil-Duke Hercules’ fist entered the vortex, he saw Yang Qi standing there as powerful as a mountain and as majestic as a sea. He was like a sun that caused the area to fill with radiance and light, and Devil-Duke Hercules was so shaken he could barely speak.

Even his mind stopped working. However, Yang Qi could still move. He walked forward, unleashing a fist, a finger attack, and a palm strike that were all backed with mountain-toppling, sea-draining force. Heaven and earth shook, as if the King of Godmammoths himself was charging forth.

BAM!

He slammed into Devil-Duke Hercules with such force that the man was sent flying backward.