Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

If the power of the House of the Invincible alone was enough to surpass the leaders of the Sage Monarch Empire, what would happen if all three dynasties joined forces?

Of course, the Sage Monarch Empire had an advantage in the united hearts of its people. There were no plots or infighting sullying its destiny. Nor were there political shenanigans, ensuring that the destiny burned hot and bright.

If there really was a clash between the two empires, the Invincible Dynasty would ultimately be routed. Destiny was the determining factor in everything, so in the case of a protracted war, the chaos and disunity there would lead to its downfall.

It was the opposite with the Sage Monarch Empire. Even if they were wiped out, the people would fight to the last man, completely determined to give their lives for their empire.

There were now more than a hundred million sage monarch magistrates, and they continued proliferating every day. With each new magistrate that appeared, their ability to govern the empire improved, and the citizens felt safer.

In most empires, a protracted war would lead to situations in which some of the people became resentful, and would surrender to the enemy if they had the chance. Not so with the Sage Monarch Empire.

Everyone had their place in the system, and all of them were rewarded with resources for their services. As such, everyone was content.

One factor had to do with the fact that the sage monarch magistrates weren’t human. They were thralls, almost like machines, and performed their duties with cold efficiency. And their mere nature meant that no one was jealous of them.

Furthermore, the sage monarch magistrates were completely righteous and just, and would never discriminate. They were impartial and incorruptible to the core. The end result was that they were respected and trusted. Even people who had once completely trusted in the confucians had to admit that the sage monarch magistrates were superior to even the confucian grandmasters.

That was why a conflict between the Invincible Dynasty and the Sage Monarch Empire would end in certain defeat for the former.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a matter of great importance both to our empire, and the god world as a whole,” one of the nine patriarchs said. “In short order, all of our top leaders will go to the Central Dynasty, where the three dynasties will discuss the matter. For the entire existence of the three dynasties, we’ve abided by a general non-aggression pact. Now, a fourth empire has arisen that presents a clear threat to all of us. Soon, we will decide exactly how to deal with the situation.”

There were several hundred members of the imperial house present. This group truly represented the top leaders of the dynasty. And it was only now that Yang Qi was getting a true sense of what the House of the Invincible was capable of. Sadly, almost all of Yang Qi’s psychic power was focused on keeping the Lord of the Sword Dao in check, otherwise he would have tried subjugating a few of these people.

A similar meeting was taking place in the House of the Chiliocosm, and after it was over, Yang Qi sensed Yang Chiliocosm and other top experts heading in the direction of the Central Dynasty.

Neither group was afraid. Given that they both had so many top experts present, there was no way the Central Dynasty would try anything tricky. In fact, most of the time, none of the dynasties would ever agree to let so many top experts inside their borders. That was one reason they knew the Central Dynasty’s invitation had been made in good faith.

It went to show how anxious the Central Dynasty was about the situation, and how much they wanted to destroy this newly-arisen fourth empire. No one knew exactly what the emperor of the Sage Monarch Empire was like. They knew little more than his name. However, the might of the Lord of the Sword Dao was something they all recognized.

Yang Qi remained hidden as the group flew along.

Several days later, the Central Dynasty appeared in front of them, like a mass of white energy, as pure as jade. A road appeared leading inside, standing in the middle of which was a mighty expert with flowing black hair and disdain in his eyes. Unexpectedly, it was Proud Heaven!

Proud Heaven himself was accepting the visitors!

He was the number two figure in the Central Dynasty, so it made sense for him to be the one to wait for the top figures of the other dynasties. Unfortunately, Yang Qi didn’t have much idea what was going on in the Central Dynasty, thanks to his agents there being of such low rank.

In fact, the true secrets of the dynasty were completely beyond his purview. And right now, he very much needed to know what was going on behind the scenes there.

“Patriarchs and royals of the Invincible Dynasty, I am Proud Heaven. I've been waiting here in great anticipation of your arrival. The patriarchs from the House of the Chiliocosm are already here. Please, allow me to escort you to the Central God-Palace, so we can begin our meeting.”

Proud Heaven spoke with great poise and dignity.

In response, the nine patriarchs from the House of the Invincible nodded respectfully. After all, they might consider Proud Heaven to be part of the younger generation, but his cultivation base was roughly on par with theirs. He had a psychic scale of over a hundred billion, so there was no way they would try to take advantage of their technical level of seniority.

With little fanfare, they indicated for Proud Heaven to lead the way.

Yang Qi remained hidden. Considering his cultivation base was at the level of ninety billion, he had no fear of being discovered by Proud Heaven. Only a half-Annulled expert would have any chance of doing that.

They walked down the path for some time before eventually reaching the Central God-Palace.

It was a hulking structure filled with countless seats for the guests. Interestingly, the seats were golden thrones that reminded Yang Qi of the thrones in the God Legion Seal. Apparently, the top experts of the Central Dynasty knew a bit about the God Legion Seal.

And it was no surprise that the experts from the Chiliocosm Dynasty and the Invincible Dynasty went a bit chill at the sight.

Even upon initial observation, Yang Qi could sense the tension between the three dynasties, and hoped that he could use that to sow discord, making it difficult for them to form an alliance. Every moment of time he bought now would make his empire that much stronger. In fact, if he could force the other dynasties to drag things out for a few months, he would probably be in the position to hold his own.

He spotted the Lord of the Chiliocosm, and could sense how profound his cultivation base was. It was definitely over a hundred billion. Unfortunately, being in the Central God-Palace, he couldn’t make a more accurate assessment without the risk of revealing himself. That said, he could tell that Yang Chiliocosm was stronger than the Lord of the Sword Dao. After all, he was fundamentally at the level of a God-Lord, but also had a dynasty that had been around for billions of years. For all Yang Qi knew, it might have been around for more than a hundred billion years, or even longer.

Yang Chiliocosm had a lot of people with him, but Yang Qi’s attention was immediately drawn to a burly young man who sat there with his eyes closed, not saying a word. To Yang Qi’s immense and utter shock, that young man looked exactly like he himself during his days in the impure lands!

He looked exactly like teenage Yang Qi from back in Yanhaven!

Of course, Yang Qi had changed a lot since his fateful clash with Yun Hailan. Yet here was a person who looked exactly like he had back in those days. It was really remarkable.

He immediately realized that this person had to be Yang Voidprime, the other Fateless One.

He was no less enigmatic than Proud Heaven, and there was no doubt that he was an enemy. In fact, as soon as Proud Heaven entered, he looked over and smiled faintly.

“Where’s Proud Central?” Yang Chiliocosm asked. “There’s no way you're going to preside over this meeting, is there?”

After all, Proud Central was the official leader of the Central Dynasty.

Proud Heaven smiled. “Lord of the Chiliocosm. Ladies and gentlemen. Patriarch Proud Central in the middle of dealing with an invincible monster. If this monster escaped, it would wreak destruction on the whole god world. Therefore, Proud Central must devote his full concentration to the matter. In the meantime, I have the power and authority to make any decisions here. So yes, I will be presiding over the meeting. Does anyone object? If anyone believes that I'm too weak to qualify, you’re welcome to submit a complaint.”

“It’s fine,” said one of the patriarchs from the House of the Invincible. “He can sit in for Proud Central. I, for one, believe you’re more than strong enough to preside, Proud Heaven. And you're more trustworthy than Proud Central anyway. So go ahead and tell us what’s on your mind.”

The Lord of the Chiliocosm had immediately bristled at Proud Heaven’s response, and had been thinking of making a sharp comeback. But when he heard the patriarch from the House of the Invincible, he suddenly came to a realization. “You’re the real emperor here in the Central Dynasty, aren’t you Proud Heaven? Proud Central works from behind the scenes, but you control the armed forces and all the government officials. Fine. You really are planning to preside over the meeting.”

It was obvious that the two leaders were trying to sow disharmony between Proud Heaven and Proud Central.

Proud Heaven’s eyes narrowed sharply. “I wouldn’t dare,” he said. “Patriarch Proud Central is the one who issues the orders around here. And I follow them. Please, don’t think too much of me. Now, let’s get down to business. What are we going to do about this fourth dynasty, the Sage Monarch Empire?”