Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Thus, Yang Qi struggled with the essence of the god world, slowly wearing away at it in a process that was obviously going to take a long time. Ten days definitely wouldn’t be enough.

Not even his ability to alter the flow of time would do any good, because the essence of the god world was tied to the structure of the god world itself. He could speed up time dramatically for himself, but for the god world, time would continue at the same rate. There was nothing he could do other than slowly chip away.

He would have loved to be able to save the Invincible Dugu in that ten-day period. Then he would definitely be able to defeat Proud Heaven and his allies. And a half-Annulled expert would have done amazing things for his destiny.

On the upside, the destiny of his empire was more stable than ever. Everyone knew that he had subjugated the Invincible Dynasty, and they were helping to consolidate it and supply it with resources.

At the same time, the citizens of the empire were developing a sense of national identity.

They knew they represented a powerful empire. The citizens normally wore long, flowing robes that made them seem like sages. They were broad-minded and accepting, and didn't go around bullying people or acting jealous.

It was nothing short of miraculous.

If things went on like this, they would eventually become an empire that could defeat any opponent. Even if the Sovereign Lord, King Immortal-Slayer, the True Devil, Wretch-God Ultimate, and the Demon Master were all resurrected, they wouldn't be able to defeat such an empire.

Ten days passed in a flash.

Yang Qi inhaled as he retracted his will from the Invincible Dugu’s sea of consciousness. His ten-day battle with the essence of the god world had given him many new insights and understandings.

He could even use the God Legion Seal to directly draw on the essence of the god world to create heavenly caliber godstones.

He was like a flea living on the god world, able to suck its blood any time he wished. And if the god world tried to smack him, he would just jump away to safety. There was nothing the god world could do about it.

Normally speaking, the God Legion Seal could only create perfect caliber godstones. The fact that Yang Qi could make heavenly caliber godstones was a result of him being so infinitesimally close to the half-Annulled level. Sadly, he still wasn’t able to reach that level.

Yang Qi inhaled, and like a flea sucking blood, he tapped into the essence of the god world, causing his psyche to surge and his monarch godhood to swell.

Thanks to his close-quarters conflict with the essence of the god world, he knew a lot more about it now, and was able to use it to transform himself much more easily. In the blink of an eye, his psychic scale rose from six hundred billion to seven hundred billion.

In terms of psychic scale, he was now on the same level as the High Priestess.

Generally speaking, it was impossible to push one’s psychic scale and godhood rating past three hundred billion if they weren’t half-Annulled. But Yang Qi was different. In fact, he was the first person in all history to have done such a thing.

That was what resulted from devouring the Halls of Heaven.

Also, no one had ever combined the God Legion Seal with the Mahātmā Jade. That wasn’t to mention that Yang Qi had gained enlightenment of the Wretched Brain God Art, and set up an independent empire that was completely linked to its people. The natural laws of the god world had nothing to do with its inhabitants, which meant that if it broke through to a higher level, everyone who lived within it would die.

But the Everlasting Aegis was completely tied to its people.

As long as the Everlasting Aegis existed, its people would exist. And the people knew that the Everlasting Aegis was their heaven and earth, which would protect them. It was like the relationship between a fish and the water around it.

Yang Qi had already taken the first steps toward surpassing the god world. At the moment, it was in an early stage of development. And while a baby lion cub couldn't possibly defeat a full-grown male dog in battle, eventually, the lion would grow up, and then it would be completely superior.

That was why the essence of the god world had picked a representative to try to destroy Yang Qi.

‘Proud Heaven and the High Priestess should be coming out soon, right?’ Yang Qi thought, looking in the direction of the alliance’s headquarters. Sure enough, hosts of experts from the Central Dynasty and the Chiliocosm Dynasty were converging on the Central God-Temple.

Proud Heaven opened his eyes and exhaled slowly. Feeling more satisfied than ever, he smiled and said, “Doomsday is coming to you, Yang Qi. Starting today.”

“This is bad, Brother Proud Heaven!” someone said as a shadowy form flew into the Central God-Palace.

“Oh? What happened?” Proud Heaven looked over with cold eyes to see Yang Voidprime. He had long since considered devouring Yang Voidprime, but couldn't because he was under the protection of the High Priestess. However, after he became the official emperor, he would outrank Yang Voidprime, and could crush him at will.

“The people from the Dugu Clan have gone crazy! During the past ten days, they consolidated their destiny and locked down their dynasty. No one is allowed in or out. We sent some emissaries over to invite the Dugu patriarchs to the unification ceremony, but they said they’re backing out of the alliance, and won’t participate in the war with the Sage Monarch Empire!” Yang Voidprime could sense that Proud Heaven wanted to kill him. Even a simpleton could guess that Proud Heaven wanted the fateless energy for himself.

However, he wanted to kill Proud Heaven just as much, so he didn't care.

“What? This is preposterous! They backed out of the alliance? Are they feeling suicidal or something?” During the ten days that had passed, Proud Heaven had not only healed up, but had also interacted with the essence of the god world, improving his cultivation base and psyche.

This news had come as a complete and utter shock, and all of a sudden, Proud Heaven’s supreme confidence was shaken.

The ‘alliance of three dynasties’ now existed in name only.

“I knew this was going to happen,” Proud Heaven said, rising to his feet. “The Dugu Clan is unreliable, and simply won’t give up their autonomy. Sadly, events are already in motion, and unification is coming. If they wish to swim against the tide, we’ll make sure the tide drowns them. What did the High Priestess have to say about this?”

Of course, Proud Heaven knew that going to war with the Invincible Dynasty wasn’t something they could do lightly. And he didn’t want to be the one to lead the charge.

Swish!

The High Priestess arrived in the Central God-Palace, along with numerous other old-timers.

Swishing her sleeve, she said, “I'm aware of the situation, and have come to talk it over. I can’t believe the Dugu patriarchs had the gall to leave our alliance. It’s going to be a big blow to morale. Furthermore, we already sent out the announcements. We’re going to be a laughingstock, especially to the Demonfolk. And our prestige is going to drop a lot. We have to strike a blow immediately.”

“I agree,” Proud Heaven said with a vicious smile. “They really don’t know how to appreciate favors. What did they think, that if they went into hiding, we’d hesitate to shoot the rat for fear of breaking the vases? Let's strike quickly. Get our hands on the patriarchs, and enslave them and all their people. They were supposed to be given positions as grand princes in the new empire, but for their traitorous behavior, they’ll be punished according to the law. Furthermore, not giving them positions will save a lot of destiny.”

“True,” said Yang Voidprime. “That means this is actually good for us in some ways. Do we attack them right now?”

“No!” Proud Heaven replied. “At the moment, we’re as disunited as a dish of loose sand. And the Sage Monarch Empire will definitely try to take advantage of the situation. We need to combine the two dynasties so that we're as strong as possible. Set our foundation, and ordain all of the government officials. Once the new structure is in place, we’ll force the Dugu Clan to come and admit their crimes. Then we’ll wipe them out.”

“We agree,” Proud Heaven’s subordinates all said.

The High Priestess had originally been considering vying for power with Proud Heaven. But she could tell that if she did that, the resulting instability would give Yang Qi the perfect opportunity to strike at them.

“Fine,” she said. “Settle the foundation and ordain the ministers. After everything’s in order, we’ll attack the Dugu Clan and wipe them out of existence!”