Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Buddha First-King was indeed a buddha dragon, which was the most respected type of Dragonfolk. He was the founder of the Nine Dragons Court, a late Paramount God with late Unbounded will convergence. Sadly, that level of cultivation meant he was actually weak in the god world as a whole. Only people like the Second Devil General could be considered potentates that could act like ambitious and ruthless tyrants.

“Dammit!” Buddha First-King grumbled. “It’s that damn Buddha Shockheaven. I can’t believe he stole my destiny. Does he think that just because he founded the Dragonswarm Society, he’s the top figure in existence? That he can dominate the Myriad Dragons Lair? The lair is a true treasure, created as a place of safe shelter by the ancient Dragonfolk founders. It was severely damaged in the God Legion Tribulation, but its core is still as strong as before. Nobody can take control of that core, not even Buddha Shockheaven.

“Just wait until I reach my next cultivation breakthrough. I’ll take over the Deva Dynasty and the Sumeru Temple, and even devour that so-called ‘Mister Second’. With the boost in destiny, I’ll be able to dominate all Dragonfolk. No one will be able to stand in my way!”

“Oh really?” Patriarch Deva said, stepping into the mansion grotto, apparently completely unaffected by the warding magics protecting it.

Of course, Yang Qi was hidden in the shadows behind him.

“We're old friends, Buddha First-King,” Patriarch Deva said with a chuckle. “Why do you look so surprised to see me? I have to say, I’m surprised at how insanely ambitious you are. You really want to devour my Deva Dynasty? And the Sumeru Temple as well? The question is whether or not you can fit us down your throat!”

“Y-y-you... Patriarch Deva!? How did you get in here?” At first, Buddha First-King seemed livid, but then he grinned with vicious excitement. “I can’t believe you dared to come here to the Myriad Dragons Lair. Feeling suicidal? Tired of living?”

“I obviously have reasons for being confident enough to come here. Although, I didn't come alone. I brought someone to meet you, and he has something to discuss with you.” Patriarch Deva stepped to the side and allowed Yang Qi to walk forward, his aura pulsing with a mysterious and unreadable air.

“You’re that so-called Mister Second,” Buddha First-King said. “You’ve been helping out the Deva Dynasty recently, which is why their destiny has increased so much. And supposedly, you're incredibly rich. It's quite impressive that you could just walk into the Myriad Dragons Lair to see me. What are you here for?” He wanted to simply attack Patriarch Deva and ‘Mister Second’, and take them captive. However, he knew that the two of them wouldn’t be stupid enough to simply jump into a hopeless situation, so they must have come prepared. Therefore, he started building up his power to unleash a devastating attack when the time was right.

“Allow me to make formal introductions,” Patriarch Deva said, his eyes flickering with amusement as he looked at Buddha First-King. “This is Mister Second, a clone of the Second Devil General, subordinate of the True Devil and a famous leader from the dao of devils. He went into the Bastille of the One God and found his true self, which was sealed by the Lord of Radiance and Light. After freeing himself, he started working with me, the Nine Dragons Court, and the Sumeru Temple. By following his orders, we're going to conquer everything under heaven.”

“What?!” Buddha First-King was so shocked that his crown nearly fell off his head. Staring at Yang Qi, he said, “Mister Second is actually a clone of the Second Devil General?! The mighty and paragonic figure from the dao of devils of ancient times?”

“That's right, Buddha First-King,” Yang Qi said, easily slipping back into the role he had played before. “I'm the Second Devil General. And my main question is why you haven’t dropped to your knees already.”

“A clone of the Second Devil General? He was a person who brought destruction wherever he went and would fill everything with devilishness. But I don’t sense any devilishness on you. Furthermore, your cultivation level is low. It looks to me like you're only a mid Paramount God with mid Unbounded will convergence. You're no match for me. You’re just pretending to be the Second Devil General! You thought you could hide that from me? Even a mere clone of the Second Devil General would be identifiable by his aura, which would strike fear into my heart. You're a far cry from that! It couldn't be more obvious that you’re not the Second Devil General!”

“He really is a clone of the Second Devil General. Yet you dare to accuse him of lying? Ai....” Patriarch Deva shook his head. “You’d best prostrate yourself and beg for forgiveness, otherwise, it wouldn't do any good even if I beg for leniency on your behalf. You see, you and I have been at each other’s throats for years. But at least I respect you. The time has come to stop fighting, and work together. Mister Second is a good leader, and I’d hate to see you defy him and pay the consequences.”

“Time to die!” Buddha First-King howled. “Heaven-Defying Eight Steps!Dragon-Defying Seven Claws!”

He immediately resorted to a consummate art of the Dragonfolk, striding forward in a specific, profound set of steps, simultaneously baring clawed fingers like a heaven-defying dragon. This was the type of attack that nobody could possibly defend against.

BAM!

In response, Yang Qi launched into the God Tombstone Palms. Although he wasn’t even close to having full and complete enlightenment of the technique, it was the most powerful suite of palm moves in existence. When used, it would cause a tombstone to appear, inscribed with the fate of a god. [1]

As Yang Qi launched his attack, a tombstone appeared, upon which was carved the name and epitaph of Buddha First-King. All of a sudden, Buddha First-King felt like he was already dead and was remembering what had occurred previously in his life.

“Damn you!”

However, he was a late Paramount God with a godhood rating and psychic scale of two hundred million. He was vastly beyond the level of Patriarch Deva, and was in the middle of the Myriad Dragons Lair, which made him even stronger than normal. Therefore, he wasn’t terribly shaken.

“Your attacks can’t do anything to me,” Yang Qi said. “You would do well to know, Buddha First-King, that Buddha Testimony, who is second only to you, has already submitted to me. He already taught me your Dragon-Defying Seven Claws. They're nothing special, as far as I'm concerned, and I know exactly how to beat them. In fact, take a look at something I developed on my own. I call them the Dragon-Capturing Seven Claws!”

Yang Qi lunged forward like a bolt of lightning or a flurry of snow.

“Dragon-Capturing Seven Claws, First Stance: Blast of Dragon-Slaughtering!”

Yang Qi’s hand was like an axe that could slaughter dragons, and as he swept it forth, it targeted every single weak spot on Buddha First-King.

He could devour the essence aura of the Myriad Dragons Lair without any negative side-effects whatsoever, which meant he could fight in here as easily as he could fight on the outside.

“Second Stance: Ring of Dragon-Imprisoning!

“Third Stance: Curse of Dragon-Trapping!

“Fourth Stance: Fire of Dragon-Extinguishing!

“Fifth Stance: Pressure of Dragon-Suppressing!

“Sixth Stance: Energy of Dragon-Breaking!

“Seventh Stance: Scream of Dragon-Ending!”

Yang Qi unleashed all seven moves, each of them targeting a weakness of the Dragonfolk. Whether it was the vital energy in the moves, or the stances alone, they were backed by profound will. And the final move, Scream of Dragon-Ending, was particularly effective, and was filled with a momentum that could end all dragons under heaven. In fact, it could remove the Dragonfolk from the god world and expunge them from the many heavens. A screaming filled the area that resembled the death of countless dragons, to the point where the flesh and blood that made up the surrounding area began melting away.

‘Incredible!’ thought Patriarch Deva. ‘Where did he get stances like those? I've never even heard of anything like this before. They’re the perfect weapon to use against Dragonfolk. Don’t tell me he really created them on his own. That’s impossible! Except, if a technique like this existed in the ancient era, the Dragonfolk wouldn’t have survived.’

Patriarch Deva wasn’t making a move, just watching things play out. That was what Yang Qi had ordered him to do.

Yang Qi was curious to see what a late Paramount God from the Dragonfolk was capable of, and he wanted to learn from the experience of fighting him. When he unleashed the Scream of Dragon-Ending, he shot forward like a spear, shattering Buddha First-King’s defensive empyrean energy into dust and stabbing into his body. Buddha First-King was flung backward into the wall, where he coughed up a mouthful of blood, making it obvious that he had been seriously injured.

“You! What was that technique!? I obviously have no choice but to go all out against you! I've spent billions of years perfecting my buddha dragonpearls. They’re my ultimate trump card, the result of the Dragonfolk’s top technique, the Dragonpearl Creation Skill!”

Face twisting with madness, Buddha First-King drew on every scrap of power his cultivation base was capable of.

“The consummate arts of the Dragonfolk are without peer! Compared to the Seven Stances of Creation, those Dragon-Capturing Seven Claws of yours are like nothing. Watch and learn.

“First Stance: Use Energy to Oppose the Enemy!

“Second Stance: Use the Mind to Attack the Will!

“Third Stance: Use the Will to Intercept Thoughts!

“Fourth Stance: Use Thoughts to Continue Life!

“Fifth Stance: Use Life to Seize Fate!

“Sixth Stance: Use Fate to Gather Momentum!

“Seventh Stance: Use Momentum to Create Worlds!”

1. There’s a section I'm leaving out because the English translation makes no sense. Here it is: “any person will have a record of their life written on their tombstone, which is why it's called an epitaph”. It makes sense in Chinese because “epitaph” is literally “grave record inscription”. Basically, the sentence is explaining what an epitaph is by breaking down the Chinese characters that make up the term.