Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi and Buddha Thunderjolt had passed all the way through the encampment of the Army of Radiance and Light and were nearing the halls of heaven. High in the sky, the stars glittered endlessly as they surrounded a beautiful palace. However, it was a huge distance away. In fact, it was so far away it was similar to how mortal beings would look up at the sun and never be able to get close to it.

Even now, the halls of heaven emanated the majestic and godly might of the Sovereign Lord. In fact, as the air vibrated, it was possible to see something like chains, which were magical laws created by the will of the Sovereign Lord.

Meanwhile, the shining stars created a cascade of light, filled with godpower that could slaughter devils.

Because Yang Qi had the aura of the God Legion Seal, he could approach the halls of heaven without provoking a reaction. Furthermore, because the surrounding energy contained the might of the Sovereign Lord, he could absorb it and use it to further his cultivation with rapid speed.

As for Buddha Thunderjolt, it was a very different situation.

RUUUUMBLE!

The moment he looked up at the halls of heaven, it was as if he had activated some sort of warding spell. Countless stars flared to life and shot toward him with a speed that surpassed lightning by millions upon millions of times over. They slammed into him before he could react, provoking a bitter scream.

“This....”

His blood and energy boiled as he tried to expunge the starlight. However, it had locked onto him so tightly that it was impossible to get rid of. Worse, one explosion after another was ripping through his insides. Now, every step he took was difficult to the extreme. This starlight could slaughter devil-gods, and was so incomparably powerful that any other person in this situation would already be dead.

‘This is a great opportunity!’ Yang Qi thought. ‘Why does this seem so similar to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart? Both have the power of stars. I guess the difference is that the stars in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart are made of godhood, whereas these stars are made of.... What are they made of? Yang Immortal-Slayer used the stars in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Maybe I can do the same here. Can I absorb their power?’

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he secretly unleashed the God Legion Seal.

RUUUUMBLE....

Incomparable godly might flowed into him, and was converted by the God Legion Seal into something far stronger and purer than sagelight.

It was the Power of the Lord.

The Sovereign Lord had created these stars, and they surpassed godhood. They were actually godstones. Godstones had various calibers, such as noble, imperial, and holy. And the final type was the perfect caliber godstone.

Perfect caliber godstones were incredibly precious, so much so that Paramount Gods would be extremely careful when storing them. Yet this sky was filled with countless stars that were all perfect caliber godstones. As Yang Qi absorbed their power, his heart and mind were filled with countless new truths.

‘These stars are actually perfect caliber godstones, and the Sovereign Lord collected them from throughout the god world and put them here. They’re preheaven objects filled with preheaven auras. And the truth is that they actually surpass ordinary perfect caliber godstones. I suppose they’re sovereign caliber godstones. If I didn’t have the God Legion Seal, I’d already have been destroyed here, and would definitely be incapable of taking the power of these stones.’

It seemed most likely that King Immortal-Slayer had modeled the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart on the Sovereign Lord’s halls of heaven.

As the power of the sovereign caliber godstones poured into Yang Qi, he felt the sage monarch magistrates splitting apart into new versions. Now it only took a few breaths of time to make a single one. Furthermore, he was pushing on toward the late Paramount God level.

‘Incredible. This is simply incredible. If I’d known my cultivation would progress this quickly, I would’ve come here sooner....’

It was almost as if the Bastille of the One God had been created just for him.

He looked back at Buddha Thunderjolt being assailed by the intense starlight and couldn’t help but start laughing. As of this moment, Buddha Thunderjolt wasn’t much of a threat at all.

“Hey you worm!” he called. “Why aren’t you chasing me? You see, I'm just getting stronger and stronger, while you're already a hundred times weaker. You really think you can fight me like that? I’d say the time has come for me to kill you!”

Yang Qi then launched a palm strike, unexpectedly taking the initiative to attack Buddha Thunderjolt.

“I might have to deal with some restrictions, boy, but I can still kill you and take that treasure. Considering how low your cultivation base is, do you really think you can do anything to me? Dragons Exterminate the Horde of Devils! Dragon of Myriad Demons!” Buddha Thunderjolt launched a counterattack, a palm move of his own that caused countless demon-dragons to shoot out, creating a preheaven blade nimbus that slashed back and forth toward Yang Qi.

Unfortunately for him, those demon-dragons also had to deal with the devil-exterminating starlight, and as a result, they never even reached Yang Qi.

As for Yang Qi, he had attacked with the Hand of the One God, which was bolstered by the starlight, causing cracking sounds to ring out everywhere as it expanded in size, pulsing with the might of the Sovereign Lord.

POP!

There was no more time to do anything; Buddha Thunderjolt was struck by the palm and sent flying backward.

‘What's going on? What’s going on?!’ He was completely stunned by this unexpected development.

Laughing loudly, Yang Qi said, “Your attacks are all going to be dispelled by the might of the Sovereign Lord. Meanwhile, my attacks are bolstered, making me hundreds of times stronger. Might as well just accept your fate! Considering how long you’ve been chasing me, there’s no way I’ll let you off the hook! Dragon-Beheading Seven Stances!”

SWISH!

A host of blades slashed at Buddha Thunderjolt. Outside of this place, nothing like this could possibly have happened. Buddha Thunderjolt’s movement techniques were too advanced, and the attack would never have hit him. But here, Yang Qi’s every movement was so smooth and quick that not even the most elite expert could avoid his attacks.

Buddha Thunderjolt was being hit badly, to the point where he was struggling to hold his own.

‘This is bad. If this goes on, the brat might actually beat me.’ Realizing his predicament, Buddha Thunderjolt decided that the time had come to back off.

Sadly for him, there was no way Yang Qi was going to let that happen.

“Inescapable Net of Heaven and Earth; God Legion Battle Robe; God Legion Paradise; Activate!” A tremor passed through him as he locked down everything around him. The God Legion Paradise spread out rapidly, bolstered by the godpower of the starlight. Godtrees sprang up everywhere, and the sage monarch magistrates fanned out in formation, with new ones constantly splitting off thanks to the starlight.

BAM!

Buddha Thunderjolt tried to flee, but he only slammed into the border of the God Legion Paradise. The God Legion Paradise was resonating with the halls of heaven, and as a result, Yang Qi’s cultivation was ten times stronger than normal.

Buddha Thunderjolt’s head was spinning from it all.

“Now it’s my turn to brutalize you!” Yang Qi growled, then he unleashed a torrent of blows onto Buddha Thunderjolt, holding absolutely nothing back.

“Damn you!” Buddha Thunderjolt howled. He tried fighting back, but his attacks simply dissipated. At a certain point, he pulled out a dual-crescent-bladed halberd, not a manifestation of godpower, but an actual weapon.

“Fine, boy. Maybe godpower isn’t the way to deal with you. Instead, I’ll use martial arts! Don’t forget what makes us Dragonfolk so powerful. It’s our fleshly bodies! Using that power, I’ll rip you to shreds. Die!”

His halberd was made from bone, and was incredibly heavy and difficult to wield. When he attacked, it rumbled like a huge mountain, slashing through the starlight directly toward Yang Qi.

Ding!

Yang Qi reached out and blocked the attack with his forearm, causing his entire body to tremble.

“Vile dragon!” Yang Qi said. “Get ready to be slaughtered!” Although he was shaken by the blow, it only boosted his confidence. On the outside, the blow from moments ago would have ripped him to pieces. But here, he was simply a bit hurt. And that was something he could easily recover from.

The Bastille of the One God was his territory.

“Sage Monarch Grand Magic!”

All of a sudden, he transformed into ten versions of himself, each of which unleashed one of the stances of the Sage Monarch Grand Magic. Normally, he couldn’t sustain that level of attack, but things were different here. He was launching the most brutal assault possible on Buddha Thunderjolt.