Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

‘I need to identify where the destiny is converging,’ Yang Qi thought. After doing some searching, he found what he was looking for. It was an incomparably vast tree that was so high it was almost impossible to measure. And it was covered with immense buildings that pulsed with the energy of an emperor. This had to be the imperial palace.

There was one location in the middle of the palace where the vortexes of destiny were so strong, and the net of law so dense, that anyone who tried entering would be killed instantly.

Thankfully, Yang Qi had subjugated Sprite Tushan, thus acquiring some of the destiny of this place. With it, he could pass himself off as a Spritefolk general.

Thus disguised, he entered the empire without suffering any ill effects. An ordinary person who tried to do the same, even someone with a psychic scale of ten billion, would trigger invasion alarms and be inflicted with crushing pressure.

But not Yang Qi.

As he approached the imperial palace, he drew on the heavenly workings calculations systems that were built into his mind, using them to analyze the destiny and net of law. He assessed their profundities and weaknesses, and even tapped into the destiny a bit to strengthen himself.

The destiny here was no weaker than that in the Invincible Dynasty, but given Yang Qi’s cultivation base, it was an easy task for him to remain hidden.

Swish!

Soon, he was inside the palace without having been detected. And in his hand was a small replica of the Spritely Sage Grail.

That was his trump card.

After becoming familiar with Yang Susu’s grail, he had used the preheaven explosions in his growing minor god worlds to produce a copy. With it, he could exercise immense control over the Spritefolk. Without an asset like that, he would never have just strolled into this empire to try to subjugate the emperor.

Exercising utmost caution, he used the Life-Death Void-Destruction God-Lightning to head into the middle of the tree. There were countless soldiers on guard here, as well as numerous spell formations that actually surpassed anything he had seen among the Dragonfolk.

Dragons were incredibly strong on an individual level, but they weren’t good at building things. They weren’t particularly skilled at pill concocting or equipment forging either. So there was no need to mention spell formations.

Of course, after being conquered by Yang Qi, they tapped into their true potential and started turning into actual humans.

As they grew stronger, their destiny grew more impressive, and they slowly parted ways with their animalistic nature, heading more in the direction of civilization.

In some sense, Yang Qi hadn’t conquered the Dragonfolk, but saved them.

‘What a powerful energy,’ he thought as he blurred into motion, heading deeper into the palace. What he sensed up ahead was an energy so immense that it surpassed his own cultivation base significantly. It almost seemed like some sort of ancient beast was waiting for him.

This shocking level of power was nothing to look down upon.

He had been operating under the assumption that the strongest person in the Totem Empire was the emperor, whose cultivation base was similar to Paragon-King Sage Dragon, at twenty billion. But this energy he was sensing actually surpassed fifty billion. In fact, it seemed something more like eighty billion, or possibly a hundred billion.

How strong would a person like that be?

This was someone who could step halfway into the Annulled level, and as far as Yang Qi knew, the Spritefolk didn’t have any experts like that. If he faced someone like that, he would have no choice but to flee, and would definitely have to abandon any plans to subjugate the emperor.

Even if this person wasn’t half Annulled, but still had a psychic scale of a hundred billion, they would still be someone very difficult for Yang Qi to deal with.

‘Who is it? It’s definitely not one of the Spritefolk.’

Eventually, he reached an area where the emperor was meeting with a visitor. Yang Qi inserted himself into the flame of a lamp so that he could spy.

This person looked dangerous. He was tall and fit, and had a majestic aura that caused Yang Qi to shudder.

Behind him, ten universes rotated without cease.

It was the aura of the Ten Universes!

Proud Heaven!

Yang Qi couldn’t mistake him. It was Proud Heaven! From the impure lands to the Ancient Road to the Gods, all the way here to the god world, this man had always been his biggest enemy.

He looked physically different than before, taller, with different facial features. But in his substructure, he was the same. And the aura of his Ten Universes was very similar to Yang Qi’s Sage Monarch Grand Magic. [1]

Proud Heaven was here, discussing some private matter with the emperor of the Totem Empire.

Yang Qi felt an impulse to just jump out and start fighting. However, he suppressed the urge. This wasn’t the time for that. He would have to wait until Proud Heaven left, then continue with his plan of subjugation.

“Exalted Proud Heaven, it’s a true honor to have you visit me in person like this.” The emperor was an old man clad in an imperial gown, who pulsed with the aura of an emperor. However, it was obvious that he couldn’t measure up to Proud Heaven.

“There’s a big matter to discuss, Emperor Sprite Totem. One of your Spritefolk is set to marry that brat from the House of the Invincible, Dugu Yunkong. I'm here to take charge of the matter. If you Spritefolk join up with the Invincible Dynasty, that leaves me out in the cold.” After hearing his voice, and the immense air of control it contained, Yang Qi was convinced that he was dealing with Proud Heaven.

Smiling obsequiously, Emperor Sprite Totem replied, “You’re mistaken. That princess is nothing but a figurehead. Exalted Proud Heaven, everyone knows the Central Dynasty is the one that truly has the mandate of heaven. Your destiny is righteous and pure, and surpasses even the ancient halls of heaven. If we were truly going to join a dynasty, it would be yours. What makes you think we’re really going to be loyal to the House of the Invincible?”

“Yes, I know that.” Proud Heaven smiled. “You’ve done well to stick to the plan. I'm just here to guide you a bit. I want your empire to become the strongest among all the Spritefolk. Unite your people, then sow chaos in the House of the Invincible. With you working on the inside, and the army of the Central Dynasty pressing in from the outside, we can finally bring the House of the Invincible crashing down!”

“Many thanks for your interest,” Emperor Sprite Totem said, sounding delighted.

“There’s another thing,” Proud Heaven continued, “something that must be kept a secret. When your princess marries Dugu Yunkong, it’s highly likely that someone named Yang Qi will show up. He’s my biggest enemy. He’s long since ascended here to the god world, but unfortunately, I have no way to locate him, as he’s a Fateless One. I absolutely must get my hands on him.”

“What? Fateless One? Isn’t Yang Voidprime from the Chiliocosm Dynasty a Fateless One? Are you saying there’s another one? All the old records say that there's only supposed to be one Fateless One at a time.”

“The details are too confidential to explain to you right now. Suffice it to say that Yang Voidprime and Yang Qi are connected. They're predestined to be enemies. Yang Voidprime is a genius with an incredibly powerful cultivation base. He’s also extremely ambitious. Sadly, it's foreordained that he’ll be killed. He’s no match for Yang Qi. You see, it's impossible to describe exactly how crafty and cunning Yang Qi is. In any case, he's connected to Sprite Susu, and that’s why I’m here to watch over things, ensuring that everything happens as it should. If I can make Yang Qi show his face, and simultaneously bring down the House of the Invincible, I’ll have killed two birds with one stone.”

“Oh exalted Proud Heaven,” Emperor Sprite Totem gushed, “I have nothing but the utmost admiration for you!”

“Enough with the bullcrap. Here, I brought some resources for your empire.” Proud Heaven produced a talisman filled with countless medicinal pills, ores, and other types of wealth. “This should push your empire to an even high level. Furthermore, here’s another talisman that contains a Heaven-Burying God Pill that I personally concocted, expending great effort to do so.”

The second talisman was roughly the size of a fist, and looked like some sort of ancient stone.

‘That’s the quintessence of the Great Necropolis!’ Yang Qi thought, having immediately sensed what he was looking at. He knew that if he could get that pill, his previous connection to the necropolis would ensure that he experienced a huge boost in cultivation base.

“Only consume this Heaven-Burying God Pill after you still your energy. And go slowly. With it, you can double your strength! Remember, don’t rush. It will take at least a thousand years for you to fully assimilate it. Very well, I’ll leave now, before anyone from the House of the Invincible senses my presence. I have important matters to attend to, so don’t attempt to contact me. In a hundred years, burn that talisman, and I’ll return to you.”

1. This is a good place to point out that Divine Dreamwalker is not very consistent with terms. He often changes the names of things seemingly randomly. Sometimes he goes back and forth, sometimes switches from one name to another. In some cases, I replicate that inconsistency in the translation, when it makes sense, as with the Invincible Dynasty and House of the Invincible. But in other cases, it’s confusing enough that I pick one name and consistently stick with it. In the case of the Sage Monarch Grand Magic, that was the original name he called it, but it has other versions. For instance the Sage Monarch Ten Daos or the Sage Monarch Ten Magics. Remember, it has ten major components. So the comparison to the Ten Universes is apt when the “ten” versions are used.