Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

To hunt tigers, one must have the help of a brother. To fight wars, one must have the help of an army of fathers and sons.

Yang Qi was very familiar with that old adage.

If he just left for the Demi-Immortal Institute, and didn’t leave someone powerful behind to keep charge, chaos would ensue. Therefore, he would pass some of his energy to his father, and also improve his brothers’ cultivation bases. Only in that way could he rest at ease in his studies, and pursue his revenge on Yun Hailan.

At the moment, he had no idea how she and Song Haishan were progressing in their cultivation. However, he was confident that they weren’t a match for him. Their only advantage was their backing, and the fact that she had presumably consumed the Latent Dragon Pill, and advanced by leaps and bounds.

The mere thought of his potential revenge on Yun Hailan caused Yang Qi’s heart to itch with the desire to get to the Demi-Immortal Institute as quickly as possible.

He also couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she found out how powerful he was. And Song Haishan’s reaction would surely be similar.

‘Song Haishan. Yun Hailan. I'm going to make the both of you wish you could be dead.’

In a private chamber in the Yang Clan, Yang Qi, Yang Zhan, Yang Hualong and Yang Yunchong sat in the east, west, south and north corners of the room.

“Third Brother,” Yang Yunchong said, “won't it adversely affect you to transmit your energy to us? You’re at the peak of the eighth phase, just on the verge of becoming a Master of Energy. If it's going to harm you to do this, then don’t.”

Yang Qi shook his head. “It's fine. My life force is quite vigorous. Even if I give up some true energy, I can get it back soon enough. What I'm going to do this time is use an exceptionally powerful divine ability to cleanse you and strengthen your meridians and seas of energy. You should become ten times tougher than before, allowing your cultivation base to advance rapidly. In the future, you shouldn’t get stuck in any bottlenecks, either. Father, your cultivation base is the highest, and you have the best control over your true energy. I’ll start with you.”

“Okay.” Yang Zhan knew that Yang Qi had many mysterious and unfathomable aspects. Although he didn't know exactly what he planned to do, he was curious about what ability he would use to strengthen his meridians and improve his sea of energy.

“Infernal Deity Boneflame: Hellfire Crucible!”

Rising to his feet, Yang Qi pulsed with boundless true energy as power equivalent to ten ancient megamammoths erupted out of him.

The chamber they were in seemed to separate from the world around them. And Yang Qi was like the god of that realm, his black hair whipping about as his true energy took the shape of an illusory crucible, as well as other hellish images.

The howling of depraved, fallen gods soon echoed out from the crucible.

He still couldn’t use the full power of the Hellfire Crucible, and wouldn’t be able to even in the Master of Energy level. However, even the illusory version could give birth to true energy flames that could temper the physical body.

With the flick of a finger, he sent out a tongue of flame that contained infinite variations, which then took the shape of a magical pendant that entered Yang Zhan’s forehead.

Yang Zhan watched the process, his eyes flickering with fear; sometimes he felt like this son of his wasn’t even human, but rather some sort of demon or devil. Whatever he was, he was some higher form of life, perhaps even a god, something that didn’t originate from this world.

‘What technique is this?’ he thought. ‘It definitely surpasses even imperial-class energy arts! When I was in the Hanging Mountain, I saw some of the Demonfolk patriarchs who cultivated imperial-class arts, and I even encountered some entities who possessed saintly-class arts. Although they were stronger than Qi’er is now, he surpasses them in terms of how astonishing he is….’

It would almost have been impossible for Yang Zhan to be more shocked than he was. However, he was still very happy for his son.

Whizz!

As the flame entered him, he felt his meridians ignite. As a Master of Energy, he had a profound understanding of energy, and thus cooperated with the flow of the flame, allowing it to pass through all of his meridians.

As that happened, impurities within him that he hadn’t even been aware of were burned away. Pulses of black smoke began to rise up from the top of his head, and noxious filth began to ooze out of his pores.

As his blood pumped through his veins, it began to take on an aura like that of a god-spirit, and his meridians grew stronger. His skin grew tougher, his bones and tendons stronger. Every part of his body grew more closely connected, and if he closed his eyes and cast his senses inwardly, everything seemed to be glowing.

He could even hear his marrow bubbling.

Eventually, Yang Qi’s true energy reached his father’s sea of energy. When it did, Yang Qi saw something very unusual.

“Huh? What's that?”

It was a green medicinal energy that looked almost like a plant.

It had nine leaves, each of which had a different shape. One was circular, another was elliptical, and so on. Some even had serrated edges. Just like the nine sons of the dragon, each one was unique.

The plant was simply floating there, and resisted any attempts to be absorbed by Yang Zhan’s sea of energy.

“Father, is this the airmastery plant you consumed in the past?” Yang Qi asked, shocked.

“That’s right.” Yang Zhan smiled wryly. “Airmastery plants are a divine herb from the distant past, with incredible medicinal properties. Mortals who consumed them would be able to float up into the air. Even though I consumed it years ago, the medicinal energy still exists in the depths of my sea of energy. Even after becoming a Master of Energy, I'm not able to completely absorb it.”

“Oh? It's that strong? Well, let’s see if I can help you absorb it….” Growling, Yang Qi sent his true energy out in even more explosive fashion, drawing on the full power of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

Instantly, the airmastery plant sent back a surge of overwhelming force. However, when it encountered Yang Qi’s energy, it dissolved, causing a powerful medicinal energy to begin to ooze out of Yang Zhan. As it did, it took heaps of noxious filth with it.

At long last, the airmastery plant which he had been unable to absorb even after decades, was melting away.

It was a divine herb from the distant past that most ordinary people wouldn’t be able to absorb even after a lifetime of trying. Without Yang Qi’s help, it probably would have remained inside of Yang Zhan until he died, after which it would have absorbed his corpse for nutrients.

But now, it was becoming a source of power for him.

The airmastery plant dissolved, turning into true energy that filled Yang Zhan with a sensation of lightness and airiness, making him feel almost like an immortal. In fact, if he drew upon that power, he would be able to float up into the air.

It truly was the power to master the qualities of air.

The power of the plant flowed through him, becoming a part of his own true energy, and instantly pushing his cultivation forward by leaps and bounds. Because of the true energy of the airmastery plant, Yang Zhan’s own true energy capacity increased by four or five times.

Thankfully, Yang Qi had helped remold his meridians, otherwise his energy would likely have exploded.

“Very well,” Yang Qi said with a smile, retracting his energy. He could sense that after absorbing the airmastery plant, his father had benefited so significantly that not even Yang Xingshi and Dowager Yan working together would be a match for him.

He was now quicker and more agile, and as fast as a ghost. He would be able to dispatch enemies within the blink of an eye, and should be stronger than even top experts in the same cultivation level as himself.

Yang Zhan was now in the very peak of the Master of Energy level, with a longer lifespan than before; he was at the very peak of life.

Yang Zhan couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “I'm afraid not even Yan Gufeng could fight me. He might have that strange thumb-ring of his that stores true energy, but he still couldn’t match up to me.”

Not only was Yang Zhan’s true energy vigorous to the extreme, in terms of quality, it surpassed any ordinary Master of Energy.

“Okay, Father, keep working on your Four Seasons Swordplay. You have to work on getting enlightenment to reach the Lifeseizing level. If you can seize boundless life from the heavens, then you can truly live forever. And now I’ll give some true energy to you, Eldest Brother and Second Brother.”

Reaching out, he placed a palm onto the back of both Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong. Instantly, their meridians began to improve as Yang Qi imparted the infinite variations of his own energy to them.

The two brothers shivered, and their muscles and bones spasmed, causing rumbling sounds within them that resembled steel bands slamming against each other.

Thanks to the boundless true energy improving their cultivation bases, Yang Hualong suddenly achieved another breakthrough, and stepped into the seventh phase, the Energy Manifestation level.

As for Yang Yunchong, he pushed his way to the peak of the seventh phase, right on the brink of a breakthrough to the eighth.

The two brothers were now as powerful as many of the lords of the subsidiary branches.

Seven days and seven nights went by.

Father and sons remained in seclusion the entire time as Yang Qi explained various martial practices to them. As they were tempered and purified, their might increased, and they gained the dignity of gods.

As for Yang Qi, the constant flow of energy pushed an eleventh particle within him closer to awakening, inching him even closer to the Master of Energy level.

On the morning of the eighth day, the process was over. Yang Zhan had completely transformed, and was now more powerful and dignified than ever.

Yang Yunchong and Yang Hualong had also improved significantly, and had made major improvements with their Four Seasons Swordplay. They could perform Silk Rain of the Spring Silkworm and had incredible control over their sword energy.

Yang Qi was now confident in being able to leave. Unless a Lifeseizer suddenly showed up, the clan would be safe.

And thankfully, no such expert would deign to cast eyes on the countryside city of Yanhaven with its population of bumpkins.