Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Treasure poured down like rain from the immortal world, and everyone present gaped in utter shock.

They had all assumed that, for dismantling the Titan Emperor Collegium, Yang Qi would be severely punished with the full wrath of the immortal world. Instead, they heaped treasures on him! It was completely and utterly unimaginable.

“No!” the supreme rector shouted hoarsely. “This hellion has brought havoc to the cosmos! Open your eyes, Heaven! This freak has a god item! Why are you showering him with treasure?!”

Unfortunately for him, no one was listening. His energy arts and quintessence-blood had been fully extracted, making it impossible for him to communicate with the heaven on high.

There was no question who was in charge now. With the immortal emissary under Yang Qi’s control, he was in charge of the entire mortal world. He could even pull the wool over the eyes of the immortal world above. The society chiefs, vice-rectors, elder kings, and initiators couldn’t contact the immortal world, and were forced to work as slaves.

Before, some people had been chafing inwardly, even contemplating rebelling. But now, it seemed clear that the immortal world approved of the Sage Monarch Collegium taking over the Titan Emperor Collegium.

All rebellious thoughts were suppressed, and everyone agreed to follow Yang Qi’s arrangements. The overall structure had changed.

“Junior Brother,” Sword Seventeen said, “look at all these immortal items, immortal pills, and immortal stones! We’re rich! The children of the Yang Clan are going to be equipped with immortal items from head to toe!” He sighed in admiration. “I almost can’t believe it. Look, there’s even immortal clothing and armor. Rings, boots, bracelets, and earrings, all of them completely miraculous in nature! The only downside is that they’re all just low-grade immortal items.”

“Low-grade immortal items are still immortal items,” Yang Qi said. “Back in the days of the Rich-Lush Continent, the top organization was the Demi-Immortal Institute, and the best equipment there was damaged or counterfeit immortal items. With so many low-grade immortal items, our battle prowess as a fighting force is going to be incredible!”

“What a pity we weren’t able to capture that yellow-garbed young man. If we had King Immortal-Slayer’s legacy medallions, we could freely go in and out of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. With the treasure from there, we could probably invade the Titan Emperor Heaven itself and take it over. Junior Brother, now that the overall structure of the planetary system has changed, we definitely have to figure out a way to rescue our Elder Brothers and Sisters of the Invincible Society.”

Yang Qi nodded. “Of course. The Invincible Society has treated me with great kindness, and I’ll never forget that. I'm going to figure out a way to get into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart and free our Elder Brothers and Sisters. In fact, I'm actually really worried about what could happen if they run into that young man in yellow. I can't even kill that fiendish villain out here. Once he's back in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, he’ll be stronger than ever and even more difficult to deal with.”

“I wouldn't worry about that. Eldest Brother has the ancient bloodline of a god, and is protected by an amazing destiny. He can deal with any difficult situations he encounters. Right now, we should just focus on getting into the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Considering that you’re literally invincible in the mortal world, I think you should be able to figure out a way.”

Yang Qi thought for a moment. “That kid in yellow is a Future One, and considering that I'm a Fateless One, he thinks of me as his biggest enemy. Maybe I can use that to set a trap for him. He’s keeping tabs on us at all times, so there’s no way he’s unaware of me ending the Titan Emperor Collegium and putting a new order of things into place. He’ll definitely be coming out of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart soon, to get a better sense of the situation. Now that I have the Wheel of Fate, I might be able to use it to get a lock on his location.”

“That’s good. Junior Brother, I think you need to spend some time putting the new collegium in order. It will probably take a good month to get the Four Wilds completely pacified.”

“You’re right. Once things are in order, the true campaign will begin, in which we bring destruction onto the heads of the Megaplexus and Coiling Arc planetary systems. We’ll capture and enslave everyone from there, then take their riches for the Yang Clan and the Sage Monarch Collegium. I'm going to create a truly colossal monster of an organization that will eventually become a new immortal world.” Yang Qi’s eyes glittered brightly.

Now that the Sage Monarch Collegium had opened its doors, the Central Planetary River looked very different. Armies of fiend-devils occupied many of the larger planets to keep order, and Yang Qi even set up permanent military bases.

He also set up command centers on planets close to the Dark True Void to keep an eye out for any invaders.

Fiend-devil forces were in locations throughout the planetary system, channels of communication were set up, and key, strategic locations were locked down.

Some wormholes were closed and others were opened. As for those which were left open, they were kept under strict watch by loyal cultivators.

Fiend-devil patrols were set up to inspect the wormholes and surrounding territories and imprison any unlawful travelers.

It didn’t take long before law and order completely took over the new Sage Monarch planetary system.

All cultivators were required to follow the new laws, which included strict controls over travel.

It was a centralized state power that was enforced with unheard-of stringency, more so than even the most exacting imperial dynasty in the mortal world.

From his throne in the Sage Monarch Collegium, Yang Qi looked out at the Four Wilds and was pleased with how orderly and duteous things were.

In the mortal world, it had long been a common practice for martial artists to use their skills to violate the law. They could defy whatever governments existed over their heads, and they spread death and violence at will. Although such individuals would start out as mere worms or eels, they could eventually turn into powerful dragons.

And that wasn’t even to mention those who practiced higher levels of cultivation.

Back in the days of the Titan Emperor Collegium, no heed had been paid to such law-breaking. Feudal rulers of various sects and clans controlled different parts of the Four Wilds, and all of them looked out for their own interests. The Hanging Mountain had been just such a place.

But now, Yang Qi was using armies of fiend-devils to impose strict control. He dismantled the existing practices of numerous clans, sects, churches, and other holy lands, and put new laws into place. And he sent representatives to countless planets to enforce them! Any who refused to comply were executed. It was only through that baptism of blood that the new legal system took shape.

Immense power was all in the hands of a single individual.

As a result, the power of destiny and faith flowed toward Yang Qi like a river. There were even places where divine likenesses of him had been erected in the form of statues, to which people would pray and chant sutras on a daily basis.

Any who failed to pray regularly to the divine likeness would be arrested by the fiend-devil army, thrown into prison, and have their energy arts crippled.

Throughout the vast new planetary system, countless cultivators offered such prayers to Yang Qi, from mighty half-Demolishers all the way down to mortals.

A month later, administrative offices and divine likenesses had been set up on all planets, even the remote locations occupied by simplistic savages.

Thus, the boundless power of destiny and faith constantly flowed into Yang Qi, causing his eight hundred forty million particles to thrum. Those particles which had not yet transformed into dracomammoths began to stir and grow stronger. Thanks to the power of faith, Yang Qi’s Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth became further integrated into his body, and Blood of the One God was produced even more quickly.

The greatest changes of all occurred to the God Legion Seal. The faith power caused the seal to shine with a scintillating, golden light, which arced about in his sea of consciousness and formed magical symbols.

As the magical symbols took shape, the Wheel of Fate grew more complete.

Astonishingly, the speed of his cultivation had also increased tenfold.

In fact, Yang Qi was fairly certain that, if things went on like this, he would be able to reach the Demolishing level within a hundred years.

That was one reason why he was so focused on establishing a permanent rule over the planetary system. He needed the faith and destiny power of the living beings there to be able to push his energy arts closer to the apex.

The fiend-devils he summoned via his Hell Portal weren’t just useful in battle; he even demanded that they pray to him and offer faith. By receiving faith from cultivators and fiend-devils both, he could benefit in greater ways than ever.

‘Even without assimilating the immortal emissary, I can still rise to the Tyrant Demi-Immortal level. Now I need to figure out a way to track down that kid in yellow. And then there’s my father, who is likely another Future One. Maybe if I capture the kid in yellow, he can tell me more about these Future Ones and what they’re capable of.’