Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The sword, manifested as an ice dragon, slashed out with its claws, sending crystalline streams of frigid energy out to wrap like fetters around Yang Qi’s true energy trunk.

‘True energy reversal.’ The trunk swished, shattering the fetters.

‘Nascent divinity incarnation.’ Yang Qi poured more true energy into the depths of the spring, creating a Humanoid True Energy manifestation with an elephantine head and a human body.

Personally controlling the manifestation, Yang Qi sent it to attack the ice dragon with the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

By this point, the massive wastage of true energy had Yang Qi down to half of his total reserves.

After all, the divine projection with the elephantine head and a human body required massive support to be able to unleash the true battle prowess that Yang Qi was capable of. Otherwise, it would be smashed by the ice dragon in the shortest of moments.

‘Life force springwater!’ A drop of life force springwater flew out of his thumb-ring, entering his mouth and instantly dissolving into true energy, replenishing and invigorating him.

The fact that he had to resort to life force springwater was very telling. Clearly, other than him, no one but a Legendary could possibly try to subdue this divine sword.

As the battle raged in the icy depths of the spring, a long spear suddenly appeared in the hand of the godmammoth, a spear that burned with Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World.

The Infernal Deity spear had appeared, accompanied by the wail of ghosts and the howl of gods. It was like a scene from hell itself.

POP!

The spear stabbed into the ice dragon, and pierced all the way to the dark green body of the sword itself.

The sword seemed to pulse with fury, and sent more frigid energy sweeping out into the darkness around it.

Pinging sounds rang out as the ice dragon sword and the Infernal Deity Spear clashed back and forth dozens of times. With life force springwater at his disposal, Yang Qi’s true energy was virtually limitless. In no other circumstance would he be forced to do this. In fact, even when he was fighting five fiend-devil viscounts in the Preheaven Devil-Eye, he hadn’t been even close to running out of true energy.

From that it could be imagined how much he would benefit if he managed to subdue and take this divine sword.

In fact, he was willing to throw caution to the wind to do so.

The true energy that flowed out of him looked like crystal or porcelain, and as it smashed into the ice layers of the stream, it fueled the epic battle.

The godmammoth projection grew more and more corporeal, and unleashed such heaven-shaking, earth-toppling power that the ice around it began to melt and turn into steam.

‘The power from hell and the power from the legion of gods. The sovereign lord of everything, glorious and mighty….’ The Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth was operating at its current limit, causing beautiful scriptural texts praising the legion of gods to swirl here and there, like the singing of angels.

“A freezing to time immemorial….” All of a sudden, a faintly discernible groan echoed out, like the chant of some mysterious ghost-god. Because of the incredible pressure weighing down on the sword, the ice dragon was beginning to fade away. But then, a mountain-toppling, sea-draining blast of frigid energy erupted from the sword, freezing everything, and locking the godmammoth in place.

The godmammoth’s true energy began to build, and then it struck out with its fist, shattering the layers of ice. Then it lashed out with the Infernal Deity Spear, the ultimate expression of the quintessence of Yang Qi’s martial arts. Each strike of that spear was like the blow of an infernal deity out collecting souls, the Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World burning bright as it fought against the frigid energy in the spring.

The divine sword didn't seem to care. In fact, it began to vibrate, causing humming sounds to echo out as a frigid tide suddenly rose up from the depths of the spring. It was pitch black, and so cold that the godmammoth’s true energy began to crack and break apart, and the Cleansing Flame of the Heavenly World on the Infernal Deity Spear began to die down.

“Apex cold wave?” Yang Qi murmured, stunned. He knew that the purest, intense type of cold waves originated in the depths of the earth, and that they were called apex cold waves. During a lunar corona, in the deepest part of the night, frigid energy would seep into the lands, causing everything to freeze. It was a frigid yin energy, the ultimate expression of cold, something that not even powerful Lifeseizers could handle.

Supposedly, when some Lifeseizers reached a certain level, they would incite an apex cold wave, a tribulation of sorts that had the potential to turn them into a zombie in the blink of an eye.

Yang Qi recalled a certain lecture given by an elder in the institute, talking about geographical theory. The elder had taken the class to observe a captive Octonary Lifeseizer, a conclave student who had succumbed to an apex cold wave and been transformed into a zombie. The sight of his freezing bone spurs had caused everyone in the class to shiver with fear.

Shockingly, this ice dragon sword had summoned an apex cold wave, something that even godly power would be forced to take seriously.

‘Well, yin can beget yang. I’ll use this apex cold wave to further improve my Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique!’ It took focus, but Yang Qi managed to control the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth and simultaneously unleash his Cosmic Sunflare Sword.

“Treat the sword as a god. Treat the god as heaven. Oh great sun, release your burning energy….” As Yang Qi murmured the mnemonic of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword, the flame spark in his sea of energy flared to life, connecting to the sun above and causing a golden stream of light to descend, which became a dazzling burst of incisive sword energy.

With the wave of a finger, Yang Qi sent that sword energy down into the spring. In the depths of the mysterious kingdom of ice, it took human shape, a swordsman with a long, golden robe, who resembled Yang Qi in every aspect, with shining halos rotating behind him. That swordsman merged with the godmammoth to fight the ice dragon sword and the apex cold wave.

It was none other than Yang Qi’s sword energy nascent divinity of the sun.

Unfortunately, the combination was too weak. As the apex cold wave rolled up, it seemed that the combination would soon be destroyed.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Qi once again summoned true flame from the sun itself, then sent it down into the nascent divinity, empowering it further.

Tempering a fire-type sword energy in the middle of a cold wave was actually the best way to improve it. Yin can beget yang, and the juxtaposition of heaven and earth created the perfect, endless cycle.

Naturally, Yang Qi understood that principle.

By now, the sky was beginning to grow dark, and the power of the sun waned as it set. That in turn made the battle he was fighting more difficult. And yet, overcoming difficulty was often the best way to provide tempering.

As Yang Qi sat there at the edge of the spring, sending out a flow of constant true energy, golden light shone above his head, and flames surrounded him, making him look like some sort of burning god.

Soon, the sun dropped below the horizon, and the moon rose. Instantly, soft moonlight filled the world, the manifestation of yin power.

In the blink of an eye, it became ten times more difficult for Yang Qi to work with his Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique.

However, he didn’t even think of giving up. Doubling his focus, he reached out to the already-set sun, working hard to grasp onto the thin thread of sunlight that moments ago had been as thick as a bucket.

POP!

In the depths of the spring, the Cosmic Sunflare Sword’s nascent divinity was frozen by the apex cold wave, and then shattered. As it dispersed, Yang Qi was grievously injured, and his face turned pale white. Another drop of life force springwater flew into his mouth, which he used to heal his wounds and restore his true energy to its limit. The golden strands of light that had been as thin as gossamer threads were now as thick as chopsticks, and as they flowed into the depths of the spring, they once again took the shape of the Cosmic Sunflare Sword’s nascent divinity.

Then, the entire cycle repeated. Again. And again.

Yang Qi lost track of how many times the nascent divinity was destroyed. However, he could sense that the sword energy was changing, forming a deeper connection with the sun.

Soon, he entered a state in which the only thing that existed in his mind was a rising sun that could dispel all evil and darkness. He felt completely radiant and righteous, as though his mind and soul were being baptized, and his sword technique were being propelled to new heights.

He had entered a state of enlightenment in which, despite the fact that the sun had set, he could still call upon its aggressive, masculine power.

Soon, it reached the dead of night, when the cold wave was at its most powerful state. And yet, the true flame of the sun that burned above him only continued to grow stronger, sending out streams of light as thick as an arm.

The night passed, and the nascent divinity in the spring was defeated countless times. Soon, the sun rose, sending yang energy out into the lands. In the blink of an eye, Yang Qi’s Cosmic Sunflare Sword technique was ten times as powerful as it had been a moment before. Back in the depths of the spring, it easily began to fight back against the apex cold wave.

And thus, Yang Qi continuously sent out true energy to fight the ice dragon sword. Three days and three nights passed, during which time he ran out of true energy over and over again, but replenished it with life force springwater. His true energy was being thoroughly tempered, and he was also developing incredible patience. Even the true energy vestiges in his acupoints were becoming more refined.

He was experiencing benefits and enlightenment that would normally only come with ten years of cultivation.

Unfortunately for the ice dragon sword, it didn’t have the reserves Yang Qi had, and after three days and three nights, it was beginning to tire. Finally, it mustered its energy for one final attack.