Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“What? None of them got out?” Yang Qi said in shock.

Sword Seventeen nodded grimly.

Months had passed, and the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart had long since closed up; once that happened, no amount of powerful divine abilities or incredible energy arts could be used to exit it. In other words, his Elder Brothers and Sisters were all going to be stuck inside for the next ten thousand years.

And their Master, the Invincible Dugu, was in some unknown aspect of space-time, working on his cultivation in seclusion.

Eldest Brother’s whereabouts were unknown, and for all they knew he had also gone into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. As of this moment, the mighty Invincible Society only had two members present: Sword Seventeen and Yang Qi.

They made for a small and pitifully weak force.

Even working together, the two of them couldn’t accomplish much. Before, Yang Qi had felt like he truly had a powerful force to rely on, but now he was trying to clap with one hand. There were many, many societies in the Titan Emperor Collegium, and most of them were at each other’s throats. And now the Invincible Society was in a very weak position. If people ganged up on them, it would be hard to take a stand.

“Regardless, our priority is to get stronger,” Sword Seventeen said. “Besides, I believe that virtuous people will naturally receive the help of heaven. Our Elder Brothers and Sisters will be fine, wherever they are. We people from the Invincible Society are all miraculous in one way or another. Even if they’re all stuck in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart for now, they’ll figure out a way to get out.”

Yang Qi thought about the situation and, after a moment, snorted coldly. ‘Once I'm a Demi-Immortal, I’ll truly be invincible and nobody will cause problems for me. In fact, even now I doubt there are many people I would consider a threat.’

Not even the thought of Revered Demi-Immortals with godly-class energy arts bothered him. If he absolutely had to, he could use the Blood of the One God to take control of his God Legion Seal. And there definitely weren’t many people who could stand against that level of power.

He now had ten times as much Blood of the One God as he had before, and as things progressed he knew that he would eventually gain complete and utter control of the God Legion Seal. Unfortunately, even though he had a bit of control over the seal, using it now would cause him to become incredibly weak afterward.

After some thought, Yang Qi said, “Let’s keep working on our cultivation, Elder Brother. We got plenty of immortal items in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. For example, why don’t you take the Mourn-Parting Heaven-Palace?”

When brothers act as one, they will be as powerful as a sharp blade that can cut any metal.

The Mourn-Parting Heaven-Palace had been created by King Mourn-Parting, who was as famous as King Immortal-Slayer or King Heaven-Devourer. There were a total of nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine parts of the palace, and if they could all be connected together, they would create the Mourn-Parting Heaven.

Even one fragmented hall of the palace was a minor world that could be used to pierce the dome of heaven and travel freely in the universe. In that respect, they were similar to the imperial snakecharms.

“Maybe,” Sword Seventeen said. “We did get a lot of treasure, that's for sure. However, you have your Planet Sage Monarch to think about. There are plenty of disciples and family members back there who could benefit from what we found in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. With those things, your clan could reach new heights in only a few hundred years. Besides, I cultivate the dao of the swords, so most of the treasures we found won’t help me much.”

“That's true,” Yang Qi replied. “And one of my main goals in going to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart was to find things that would help my continent become a planet, or even a planetary system. Why don’t we head back to Planet Sage Monarch and see if there are any geniuses of the dao of the sword who you might be able to train a bit?” With that, he rose to his feet.

However, before either of them could do anything else, a muffled boom rang out and the Invincible Society trembled silently. It almost sounded like someone had struck a blow onto the main entrance.

Then, a voice which fairly dripped with killing intent spoke. “Sword Seventeen! Yang Qi! Get out here right now! The Hall of Beheadings and Executions has issued a warrant for your arrest for the murder of a noble student. Come with us to stand trial.”

Yang Qi looked outside and saw that a group of experts had gathered at the entrance. All of them wore suits of armor engraved with the ancient character for “behead”, and they were so fiendish and vicious-looking that anyone who saw them would shiver with fear.

“So,” Sword Seventeen said, “the experts from the Hall of Beheadings and Executions have come. See that Tyrant Demi-Immortal? His name is Unmerciful Beheader, and he has the reputation of being a top genius.” He chuckled coldly. “Well, we're not going anywhere. Who has time for houseflies like them? And it’s not like they can break through the Invincible Society’s warding magics. Going to the Hall of Beheadings and Executions would make us two lambs in the tiger’s den.”

“You’re right,” Yang Qi said with a nod. Raising his voice, he said, “Who’s causing a ruckus out there? The Hall of Beheadings and Executions? I've never heard of you. And we don't admit to committing any so-called crime. If you people have a problem, have your elder kings go talk with our Master. He ordered us not to come out of seclusion. Now kindly screw the hell off. Elder Seventeenth Brother and I have ten thousand years of cultivation to work on. During that time, please don’t disturb us.”

“Dammit!”

The experts from the Hall of Beheadings and Executions were so mad they were nearly fuming. One of them, who wore the garb of a royal student, turned to the one Sword Seventeen had called Unmerciful Beheader and said, “Elder Brother Unmerciful, those two are like a clog in a sewer line: disgusting and difficult to deal with. Thanks to the warding magics of the Invincible Society, they’re acting like they're unequalled under heaven! What do we do?”

Unmerciful Beheader was a tall man with sword-like eyebrows and arrogant eyes. When he heard Yang Qi’s words, his jaw tightened, making him look particularly fierce. “Don’t worry. They’ll come out. The rest of the Invincible Society is all in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Who knows how these two got out, but they definitely have tons of treasure. The fact that they didn’t hand any over to the collegium is disgraceful. Then, they went and murdered a noble student. Those crimes alone have earned them the death sentence. The parliament of elders is already discussing the matter, and once they issue a formal decision these two will get what's coming to them.”

Another royal student said, “Elder Brother Unmerciful, I heard that Yang Qi got some primeval godworm eggs. Do you… do you think it's true?”

The faces of everyone else present flickered with greed.

“I also heard the rumor,” Unmerciful Beheader said, “and I'd say there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance it's true. In fact, that’s why I asked you to come help me arrest these two. I might be a genius, but my chances of reaching immortal ascension are small. But not if I can get a godworm.”

“But they're like turtles with their heads in their shells! What options do we have?”

“Watch and see,” Unmerciful Beheader said, chuckling coldly. Raising his voice, he said, “Don’t think that you can stay hiding in there forever, you two. The Invincible Society is part of the Titan Emperor Collegium, and it won’t be long before the Invincible Dugu achieves his breakthrough and abandons you. By the way, your Eldest Brother is stuck in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, so you have nobody to back you up.”

“Bah!” Sword Seventeen said. “You talk big, but that’s about it. Maybe we should just let down the warding magics, come out, and crush your bones into dust.”

“What?” Unmerciful Beheader said, taking a step back. However, a moment later, his smile turned even more vicious than before. “Who the hell do you think you are, Sword Seventeen? You were a fifth step Great Sage last I saw you, placing you far beneath me. Even if the rumors are true and you’re a Demi-Immortal now, you’re still like the mud and I'm like the sky. Look, I'm done wasting my breath.

“Listen up, Yang Qi, you brat. If you insist on being stubborn, fine. The Hall of Beheadings and Executions will cut the weeds and eliminate the roots. We’ll send experts to your Yore-Wilds planetary system and arrest everyone from Planet Sage Monarch and the Hanging Mountain. That includes your mother. Then we’ll see whether or not you agree to come out of there. You really think we don’t have ways of dealing with you? Let me tell you: you’re weak. Way too weak. You want to drag your family down with you? Fine. When it comes to lawbreakers and rebels like you, our Hall of Beheadings and Executions shows no mercy. We execute everyone, down to the chickens and dogs. So I'm going to give you this one last chance. Get out here and come with us to the Hall of Beheadings and Executions. Be a good boy and stand trial. If you do, we might spare your life. Keep being stubborn, and you know exactly what fate you’re going to suffer.”

Slam!

The door opened and Yang Qi and Sword Seventeen both walked out.

No expression could be seen on Yang Qi’s face as he looked dead at Unmerciful Beheader. “Nice speech. So you’re threatening my friends and family to get me to go with you to the Hall of Beheadings and Executions. Is that it?”

“See, I knew you could behave,” Unmerciful Beheader said, looking very pleased with himself. “Men, arrest him. Use the Titan Emperor Immortal Steel. Drill it into his scapulas, and then drag him to the Hall of Beheadings and Executions.”

“We’ll handle it,” one of them said. “This brat is way too arrogant. I can’t believe he kept us waiting for so long. Well, we’ll make sure he lives the rest of his life wishing he could die.”

Two royal students rushed forward with steel chains in their hands, the ends of which were vicious hooks covered with complex designs that were obviously immortal motes. They were tools designed to capture top experts and prevent them from fleeing.

Wham! Bam!

Even as the two royal students reached Yang Qi, he unleashed a burst of empyrean energy that slammed them into the ground, where they coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

He smiled coldly. “Give you people an inch, and you take a mile. I’ll come with you to the Hall of Beheadings and Executions. But there’s no way you’re arresting me.”

His killing intent was already bubbling, and he was ready to make a huge scene. Because of that one threat uttered by Unmerciful Beheader, he had already decided that the man must die.

“Elder Seventeenth Brother, I'm interested to see what supposed hidden dragons and crouching tigers are in this Hall of Beheadings and Executions. Let’s go.” Ignoring Unmerciful Beheader, Yang Qi began walking directly toward the Hall of Beheadings and Executions. Smiling viciously, Sword Seventeen followed him.

Unmerciful Beheader was initially too stunned to do anything. However, he quickly recovered and shouted, “After them!”

With that, he and the other royal students scrambled after Yang Qi and Sword Seventeen.

At first, Unmerciful Beheader thought that the two of them would make a break for freedom, but when he realized they were really going to the Hall of Beheadings and Executions, his heart filled with venom. ‘Perfect. You could have strolled your way to heaven, but instead, you barged into hell. Even if you both had three heads and six arms, it wouldn’t help you. We’ll extort a confession out of you, take your treasure, and cripple your energy arts. That’s what will happen to you in the end. And of course, your family and friends are all going to die too!’