Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi had taken the initiative, attacking the Demonfolk Empire and snatching up Yang Voidprime. Then he combined the Sage Monarch Empire with the Invincible Dynasty, thereby creating a new world populated entirely by sages and mahātmās. Not only that, the new world had two half-Annulled experts protecting it.

No one could possibly crush his empire now.

Now there was no need to keep the place sealed up and hidden from the eyes of the public. He had opened up, and all heaven and earth now trembled in the face of his empire.

His empire held a long sword in its hand, ready to slash apart the sky.

His empire wore iron boots, ready to trample all the lands.

His empire was a warship, ready to sail and conquer all the oceans.

Where Yang Qi’s empire existed, no one could block his path. It was his empire, a place devoted to the people, a place that surpassed the ordinary, a place in which the populace caused destiny to surge.

And what in existence could possibly stop his empire from continuing to grow?

Even the King of Godmammoths had to back down from his empire, and didn’t dare even think about trying to attack it. And if they tried getting inside to attack Yang Qi, they would die. It didn’t matter that they were considered invincible in the world.

Their billions of years of experience, and the power they had accumulated during that time, were now laughable.

Not even their Operation Demon Destruction would do any good at this point.

“How could this be happening? How could his empire have developed to this level?” The King of Godmammoths felt powerless and bereft of valor. He could easily face hordes of devils and the boundless armies of hell. But facing Yang Qi’s empire, he felt absolutely no confidence.

And he knew that he wasn’t a match for Yang Qi, either. If he fought him alone, he would be crushed. That wasn’t even to mention the empire that backed him.

He couldn't even have fought the Sovereign Lord’s empire, let alone this one.

“We have to mobilize the Demonfolk Empire!” the Demon Master shouted. “We can’t wait any longer. That brat is gaining momentum, and we can’t let it continue. If we don’t act, Yang Voidprime is going to die, and we won’t have any hope at all. The essence of the god world is furious, even more so than it ever was in the era of the Sovereign Lord. It’s definitely going to take action against him soon.”

“We have to summon the Demonfolk and get them moving. And what's going on with Proud Heaven’s empire? Is he going to do anything?” the High Priestess said.

Looking in the direction of Proud Heaven’s empire, her jaw dropped. “Dammit. DAMMIT! Proud Heaven you piece of shit! I can’t believe you're doing that!”

Only now did she realize what had played out in the Deathless Heaven Empire. She had no place there anymore, and couldn’t touch its destiny. Her palace there had been completely removed. The empire had been united, and was rapidly developing, without anything holding it back. And it was so strong it could kill her instantly.

“What happened, High Priestess?” the Demon Master asked.

“Proud Heaven took away all of my destiny,” she said through gritted teeth. “I'm all alone now. He even subjugated my apprentice. He’s founded a unified empire that we can’t resist. And the essence of the god world has provided him with endless resources. His resources even surpass the Sage Monarch Empire! He has the support of the entire god world. We're no match for him!”

The god world itself was still the ultimate entity.

It had been like that in the time of the Sovereign Lord as well, which was why he had never been able to truly defy it.

And although Yang Qi’s empire had transcended the god world, enabling him to head toward the Annulled level with all his people, it still couldn't directly fight the essence of the god world. And in terms of the resources it could create, it also couldn’t compete.

The god world was still constantly expanding, and because of that process, it was creating preheaven treasures nonstop.

In the past, the resources had been evenly distributed throughout the multiverse inside the god world. But now, all of the resources were going to Proud Heaven’s empire.

The god world was also producing preheaven souls to add to the Deathless Heaven Dynasty’s aegis, ensuring that it was a place of peace.

Fighting within empires generally had to do with lack of resources. But when resources were abundant, there wasn’t any need for competition.

Thus, Proud Heaven’s empire was peaceful and harmonious, and its destiny climbed constantly.

“We can still use the Demonfolk to carry out Operation Demon Destruction,” the King of Godmammoths said. “Without a secret weapon, they won’t dare move against us, lest we all end in mutual destruction. With Operation Demon Destruction, we can unleash the most destructive force in existence!”

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

The three half-Annulled experts drew on powerful divine abilities to draw the scattered Demonfolk back together.

Something similar was playing out in Proud Heaven’s empire. Obviously, the old-timers there were able to see the Sage Monarch Empire combining with the Invincible Dynasty.

“Call an assembly....”

“Call an assembly....”

Countless voices rang out, as if war were about to break out at any moment.

The leaders of the empire converged on the Central God-Palace. Proud Heaven was there, and his mysterious aura and surging destiny were such that no one even dared to look at him directly for fear of being burned out of existence.

His cultivation base was truly enigmatic and impossible to assess.

As the old-timers filed in, he looked over at his empress, Hailan.

Her cultivation base had advanced significantly, yet he wasn't worried, as he knew she couldn’t possibly reach the half-Annulled level.

“Your Majesty!” said the Patriarch of the Universe, dropping to his knees. “Yang Qi finally made a move. He's been hiding his true strength all along and is already in the half-Annulled level. Furthermore, the Invincible Dugu awakened and joined the Sage Monarch Empire, bringing his entire dynasty with him. Of course, we didn’t dare make any decisions about what to do. We need your input, Your Majesty!”

The Patriarch of the Universe was someone the Sovereign Lord had sentenced to death. In other words, the Sovereign Lord hadn’t actually been able to kill him. Yet here he was, kneeling in front of Proud Heaven. That just went to show that Proud Heaven had already surpassed the Sovereign Lord.

Of course, what the Patriarch of the Universe was really kneeling to wasn’t Proud Heaven, but rather the essence of the god world.

The reason he and all the others the Sovereign Lord had sentenced to death were able to flee with their lives was because the essence of the god world had supported them.

“I know about all of that. Yang Qi is the greatest enemy of the essence of the god world. And the god world will do something about it soon. For now, do everything necessary to resist him. In the meantime, I’ll bring the full glory of the essence of the god world with me to go visit the King of Godmammoths and the Demon Master. I’ll get them to join my empire, then together, we can go destroy Yang Qi. The god world has arranged all of this, and as its representative, I'm fully on board with everything.”

“That Yang Qi has to die,” Hailan said. “Unfortunately, when he attacked the King of Godmammoths, he kidnapped Yang Voidprime. If he combines the two halves of fateless energy, he's going to be difficult to deal with.”

“Don’t worry. The essence of the god world has planned for that outcome, and will give me extra power to deal with it. I'm literally invincible in the god world, no matter where I go.” Proud Heaven looked closely at Hailan in the hopes of getting a better idea of what she was thinking. “Hailan, you’ll be in charge of everything here while I go to see the King of Godmammoths. Got it?”

“I don’t think I can accept such a weighty responsibility,” she said.

“You’ll do fine. The officials of the empire are loyal to me. I represent the essence of the god world, which means no one in the god world will dare to attack me. Not even Yang Qi can do so. He's already being rejected by the god world itself, placing him under severe restrictions. I'm going to subjugate the King of Godmammoths and the Demon Master. And even that pesky High Priestess. Then I can deal with Yang Qi. The power of the Demonfolk will come in very handy.”

“In that case, I’ll await your triumphant return, Your Majesty.”

“Good,” Proud Heaven. Smiling viciously, he continued, “You’d better bear me a son soon, Hailan. I need an heir to inherit my rule after I transcend.” With that, he vanished without a trace.

Hailan could sense life force stirring within her, something that resembled Proud Heaven’s aura. It was the result of her humiliation by him, and there was nothing she could do about it. She was completely under Proud Heaven’s control.

She couldn't do anything to get rid of the child. However, that was when Yang Qi’s voice echoed in her sea of consciousness. “Proud Heaven left some life force quintessence in you. Once you give birth, he’ll kill you. But we can beat him at his own game. I can add some of my life force to you, which will cause that child to dramatically transform.”

“What's your plan?” she replied. “Proud Heaven is gone, so I'm in charge of the empire now. What do you want me to do?”

“There’s no plan for now. Proud Heaven’s empire is too stable to overthrow. And I haven’t yet reached my peak. Once I have, I can crush everything in my path.” Hailan suddenly sensed a life force enter her and head to her belly, where a wriggling lump of flesh and blood already existed. It was Proud Heaven’s child. However, it was now changing. Would it become Yang Qi’s child? Or would it become something else?