Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“You scum! If I hadn’t shown my true strength, you wouldn’t know what it means to ‘be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt’!”

Yang Qi was finally showing what he was truly capable of as he resorted to the full fury of the Nation-Fate Godfist. And he mixed it in with the Hand of the One God, the Fist of the Halls of Heaven, and the Sage Monarch Grand Magic.

The Nation-Fate Godfist fit perfectly into the ten daos of the Sage Monarch Grand Magic, specifically the aspects of Emperor and Sovereign.

All of his opponents staggered backward.

Neither Yang Voidprime, Yang Chiliocosm, Proud Heaven, Hailan, nor the Dugu patriarchs were a match for him.

Yang Qi knew that his empire’s population was low compared to the others, and that he couldn’t sustain such heavy casualties. Furthermore, if it weren’t for the help from the High Priestess, the three dynasties’ forces would have already been vanquished.

But she had interfered, and it had led to a very unfavorable development for Yang Qi.

It was going to be a tough battle, and there was no room for playing games. Yang Qi needed to use his most deadly moves to take out some of the enemy’s leaders, such as Proud Heaven or Yang Chiliocosm. If he could do that, it would lead to a chain reaction that would greatly weaken the enemy forces. When an emperor fell in battle, his people would be leaderless, and they would eventually be defeated.

RUMBLE!

Proud Heaven, Yang Voidprime, Yang Chiliocosm, the Dugu patriarchs, and Hailan were now being forced to defend personally against Yang Qi, and were scrambling to stay alive. Luckily for them, they were backed by trillions upon trillions of troops in spell formations, which made their cultivation bases a hundred times more powerful than normal.

Proud Heaven had a tight grip on his dynasty’s destiny, and was unleashing power that even a half-Annulled expert would shy away from.

Continents were being wiped from existence, and subterranean worlds were being destroyed. The god world was shaking violently as its essence was damaged.

Countless almighty entities were trembling in fear, and even the most colossal sects were terrified.

Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam! Bam!!

Yang Qi was drawing deeply on the Nation-Fate Godfist, unleashing moves like Son of Heaven Subdues the Border Regions, Sovereign and State Die Together, Blood Stains Spring and Autumn, and Eternal Peace and Security for the Living.

His attacks contained such immense convergences of destiny that even if the Sovereign Lord had come, he would have been swept off his feet by it.

“Pray for the Blessing of Destiny!” Yang Qi howled as he led the fighting on the front lines, battering the armies of the three dynasties with incomparable might that surpassed that of the King of Godmammoths.

People were dying left and right in the most brutal fighting the god world had ever seen.

“I pray that my Sage Monarch Empire be in good health for all time....”

“I pray that my Sage Monarch Empire is triumphant in every battle....”

“I pray that my Sage Monarch Empire lasts forever....”

The sage monarch magistrates led their troops in prayer. Soon, everyone was risking life and limb to send their prayers to the empire, causing its destiny to surge.

Even the Second and Third Devil Generals were praying in all piety, ensuring that their fates were tied to that of the empire.

As a result, the fighting prowess and morale of the troops surged.

“Take these medicinal pills!” Yang Qi said, sending out a host of extremely precious pills from the Halls of Heaven, healing wounds and bringing his people back to full energy.

It was a big loss in terms of wealth, but what good would wealth do if he lost the battle? And if he won, he could always get more wealth. After all, at that point, the god world would be his.

Yang Qi was a burning sun in the middle of the battlefield, his attacks vaporizing countless enemy experts. Not even Proud Heaven and his compatriots could do anything to stop him.

SPLAT!

Yang Qi landed a major blow on Yang Voidprime, who coughed up a mouthful of blood. Behind him, a squad of thirty billion soldiers was turned into ash. Not that thirty billion was much. In this battle, numbers like hundred million, trillion, or even quadrillion could be considered trifling.

Truth be told, no one present really knew how many people they had within their various empires.

The war playing out today was going to significantly change the face of the god world. And if it went on for much longer, the god world might very well split in two.

“We can’t let this go on,” Hailan said. “Yang Qi is too strong. Even if he suffers major casualties, our casualties will surpass his.” She was spattered with blood, having killed too many people to count. However, she had also lost too many people to count, making her feel like singing the saddest of dirges.

“Die!” she howled, lashing her whip at a host of Dragonfolk experts from the Sage Monarch Empire. Her whip happened to find a crack in the protective destiny, and...

BAM!

A Dragonfolk expert was hit, and he screamed, his body twisting and distorting into death. Shockingly, it was one of the God-Lords from the Dragonfolk.

Of the original group of twenty-eight, eighteen had been killed, leaving only ten alive. The Spritefolk had also seen numerous God-Lords killed.

Of the God-Lords who had recently defected, sixty were dead! Yang Qi had suffered about thirty percent casualties so far. There were even close calls in which Yang Susu, Brahma, and the Second and Third Devil Generals had nearly died.

Luckily, the prime minister, imperial preceptor, and grand generalissimo had been there to save them. Roughly half of Yang Qi’s closest friends were dead. It was brutal, but none of them feared death.

“This is the grandest war that’s ever played out. Even if we all die, we can die proud!”

The Shepherd, Yang Proudworld, Yang Manifestation, Yang Memory, Sword Seventeen and many others like them were filled with zealous faith. Their cultivation bases had constantly improved, and they had gained enlightenment that most people would never experience in a lifetime.

And it was all thanks to Yang Qi.

“Come forth, power of the Halls of Heaven! Become one with me. I am the Halls of Heaven, and I shine down upon the entire god world!” Everyone watched as boundless radiance and light descended from above, as if God himself were on patrol.

“Be destroyed! Halls of Heaven! Become part of me!”

As Yang Qi’s voice echoed out, the Halls of Heaven surged with numerous streams of power that descended into him in an explosion of dazzling starlight. As they did, a destructive shockwave spread out all around him, killing countless enemies.

“Proud Heaven. Yang Voidprime. Your doomsday has arrived. Prepare to fight. Your foolish alliance is about to be ended. Your worlds. Your kingdoms. They will all be destroyed!” In order to seize victory, Yang Qi had assimilated all of the stars and treasures in the Halls of Heaven. Of course, he hadn’t taken the ocean of faith, as he didn't want to be infected by the karma of so many individuals.

“Oh great Sovereign Lord, you singlehandedly collected the faith of so many people, and it caused you to perish. But my empire, and my people, will benefit from that faith!”

RUMBLE!

The ocean of faith spasmed, then shot out from the Halls of Heaven and into the net of law and destiny that surrounded the Sage Monarch Empire.

The destiny and net of law moaned as the faith of the ancient legion of gods filled it. Any individual, even a half-Annulled expert, who tried to accept this faith would collapse. But the destiny of an empire was different.

Yang Qi was taking the faith of one group of living beings and giving it to another.

Crunch. Crack!

The destiny of the Sage Monarch Empire suddenly increased dramatically. At the same time, explosions occurred throughout the net of law as it both expanded and crystallized. In the blink of an eye, the destiny of the empire increased by tenfold! Meanwhile, individual members of the empire were growing stronger rapidly.

“Everyone, power up!” Yang Qi roared, his voice echoing like thunder. “I hereby ordain all citizens in the empire as nobility!”

The net of law descended, and every person it touched experienced a dramatic and rapid upgrade. Normally speaking, it would have been impossible. The Sage Monarch Empire just hadn’t had destiny to support that.

But with the ocean of faith from the Halls of Heaven, it was a different story. The Sage Monarch Empire was now mighty enough that it could ordain Quasi-Gods to the level of Paramount Gods. Of course, it couldn’t do it for everyone.

Even still, it was an unimaginable thing.

If the Central Dynasty had tried to do that, it would have collapsed immediately.

Nobody could have predicted that Yang Qi would do something this crazy. However, doing something crazy had been in his plans all along.