Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

At long last, Yang Qi was in the Titan Emperor Heaven.

His imperial snakecharms continued devouring the surrounding magical laws, and in fact, the will of King Heaven-Devourer seemed to be urging them to actually devour the entire world. The magical laws of any immortal world would contain faint traces of the will of heaven, which could not be resisted. That was why each immortal world had a name that conformed to the convention ‘Such-and-Such Heaven’. And it was also why King Heaven-Devourer was so-named.

Of course, Yang Qi continued devouring the magical laws, converting them into Heaven-Devouring True Energy, and sending them down to the world below.

He was currently in the Stormwind Plains, which covered more area than hundreds of planetary systems from the mortal world. The magical laws here were strong and the terrain was complex, stretching far beyond the limits of sight.

From what Yang Qi could tell, there was some immense power that lurked within the Stormwind Plains that gave birth to the tempests.

The Vile Dragon Gales could kill immortals, so the catastrophe they would wreak if they swept through the mortal world could only be imagined.

The winds screamed as Yang Qi proceeded along.

At one point, he was swept up by one of the Vile Dragon Gales, which was like a tornado large enough to swallow up planets within its scope. As soon as it happened, he dropped to the ground and planted his feet in place.

The wind was so strong that it uprooted some nearby mountains and threw them toward him with deadly force.

He sent the God Legion Paradise spreading out to block the mountains, which crumbled into dust because of the impact. As the rubble spread out in all directions, Yang Qi realized that, here in the immortal world, even the blades of grass and the dirt could be turned into immortal items.

‘What if I turn this Vile Dragon Gale into a talisman?’

Even as the wild wind whipped about him, he reached out and traced a talisman in the air, using the vital energy of heaven and earth to form the strip of paper.

A vortex sprang out of the talisman, which slowly began dragging the Vile Dragon Gale into it. As it shrank down, it became a whipping dragon-snake that eventually disappeared altogether.

Afterward, everything was still and calm. Yang Qi looked at the talisman, within which was a wind dragon that was twisting, turning, and howling as it tried in vain to escape. Obviously, if it were released it would unleash heaven-destroying, earth-extinguishing power.

“Milord, you actually sealed a Vile Dragon Gale inside a talisman!?” Titan Duelbringer said. “That’s incredible. Usually, it would take a fifth stage Demolisher, an immortal marquis, to do something like that. But you made it look easy!”

“The power in this talisman could destroy an entire planetary system in the blink of an eye. It's really terrifying. No wonder immortals view the mortal world as being useless.” Yang Qi sighed. “Even the blades of grass and the dirt here would be considered priceless treasures down there. By the way, did you just say that fifth stage Demolishers are called immortal marquises?”

“That’s right, Milord,” Titan Duelbringer said. “The Demolishing level is broken up into nine stages. The first stage is Void-Demolishing, and those people are called immortal soldiers. For example, that fiendslave battalion you fought was made up of such people. In fact, I'm also an immortal soldier, although I had a much higher status because I was an imperial clansman. Second stage Space-Demolishers are called immortal warriors. Third stage Thought-Demolishers are immortal officers. Fourth stage Origin-Demolishers are immortal generals. Fifth stage World-Demolishers are immortal marquises. Sixth stage Abstrusity-Demolishers are immortal paragons. Seventh stage Wilds-Demolishers are immortal ancestors. Eighth stage Antiquity-Demolishers are immortal emperors. And ninth stage Dao-Demolishers are called sovereigns of heaven.

“After that is the Godmyth level, although there are no Godmyth experts in this immortal world. Even the lord of the entire Titan Emperor Heaven is only a Dao-Demolisher, and isn’t even close to the Godmyth level.”

“Oh?” Yang Qi said. “Are there other immortal worlds that have Godmyths?”

“Of course, Milord. The Titan Emperor Heaven is a very low-level immortal world. And as you know, the number of immortal worlds rivals the grains of eternal sands in the universe. There are definitely immortal worlds out there who have Godmyths. According to the stories, the Godmyth level is broken up into nine divisions, after which is what they call the Deathless Throne. People in that level enter the kingdom of the gods and become part of the legion of gods. They aren’t immortals anymore.” The envy in Titan Duelbringer’s eyes couldn’t have been clearer. “Unfortunately, people like me could never reach that level. Compared to even Godmyths, we Demolishers are like ants. And that's not to mention the deathless legion of gods.”

‘Well, he’s right about that. The more I cultivate the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, the more I realize that my energy art is so profound that I have no way of understanding it's true complexities right now.’

Yang Qi had long since come to the conclusion that immortal ascension was vitally important. Rising through each of the nine stages of the Demolishing level was more difficult than progressing from the Energy Arts level all the way to the Demi-Immortal level.

As for the Godmyth level, it was incomprehensibly invincible. The culmination of the nine divisions of the Godmyth level was the Deathless Throne, which led to the level of the legion of gods.

The legion of gods were Deathless.

Yang Qi still had a long path ahead of him.

Energy Arts. Lifeseizing. Legendary. Great Sage. Demi-Immortal. Demolishing. Godmyth. Deathless.

As for the ancient legion of gods, Yang Qi knew that they were grouped as Lesser Gods, Common Gods, Greater Gods, Consummate Gods, Perfect Gods, Paramount Gods, and the Sovereign Lord.

But such levels were so far away that they seemed like a thing of dreams.

Yang Qi’s thoughts had wandered, but he pulled them back and looked at the Vile Dragon Gale Talisman he had created. Clearly, the vital energy of heaven and earth in this immortal world was so incredible that it could destroy the heavens and extinguish the earth in the mortal world.

“Milord, if you want to look into the matter of the Holy Mother, we need to go to the imperial city first. The Titan Emperor Heaven might only be a low-level immortal world, but it's still huge, and there’s no way you can search it thoroughly on your own. Considering the level of your cultivation base, it shouldn’t be a problem to sneak you into a leadership position in the imperial city. From there, you can investigate Proud Heaven much more easily, and maybe determine his whereabouts.”

“What about your status here?” Yang Qi asked. “Weren’t you branded a traitor? I thought the decree said that you were to be executed.”

“I should be fine. As an imperial clansman, I know a lot of people. Trust me, I put quite a bit of thought into this. During the ten years which have passed, I’ve thoroughly transformed, thanks to you. With the magical laws of the Tusita Heaven, I'm far stronger than before. Besides, I have godly-class energy arts now. And I’ve reached the Space-Demolishing level, making me an immortal warrior. I actually have a lot of powerful friends in the imperial city, and even have connections to a princess.

“We can say that you’re some enemy of the Sage Monarch Collegium, and you helped me escape from a dangerous situation. I brought you here to the immortal world to help me restore my name. I should be able to get my old position back, and get you official status as well. We definitely have to do that, otherwise we’re nothing but illegal residents! Once we’re in the imperial city, we’ll have to be very careful. If we're exposed, we could be imprisoned, with no hope of escape. Milord, your cultivation base makes you as powerful as a fifth stage immortal marquis, and although such individuals are domineering, in the imperial city they don't count for much.”

“Wow. You have put a lot of thought into this plan.” Yang Qi nodded. “You’ll be well rewarded for all of this. Once I track down some information about Proud Heaven, I’ll help you advance your cultivation even further. Your genes will get pushed even closer toward perfection.”

“Many thanks, Milord!”

“Okay, let’s get going.”

He unfurled his Angel Wings and disappeared in a blur. Following Titan Duelbringer’s directions, he headed through the Titan Emperor Heaven so fast that no one could detect his passage.

One of the first things he realized was that the Titan Emperor Heaven really was huge.

At first, the dangerous but beautiful Stormwind Plains were difficult to navigate, but as he got used to them, he sped up. Two hours later, he was at the edge of the plains.

In the mortal world, he would have passed through hundreds of planetary systems, but here in the immortal world, things were very different.

Suddenly, Titan Duelbringer pointed to an enormous city on the horizon. “Milord, look! That’s Stormwind! It's the biggest city here in the Stormwind Plains, and is actually controlled by the imperial court! It's led by the famous general, Wind Stormwood. He has a godly-class energy art called the Wood Wind Kunlun Eternal Heaven Dao. According to the rumors, it comes from a daoist text from a very high-level immortal world, the Kunlun Heaven!” [1]

The city looked like a fortress made of steel that rose high over the surrounding plains. It was larger than the entire Sage Monarch planetary system and was filled with houses, moats, streets and the like, all of which surrounded a central keep. Immortals came and went, and heavenly soldiers and commanders strolled about on patrol everywhere. As for the violent winds on the plains, they were kept outside of the city limits by means of powerful warding spells.

This was Yang Qi’s first time seeing a city in an immortal world, and it reminded him of a beehive from the mortal world. No wonder everyone longed to ascend to the immortal worlds.

“Hold on, why are there so many people in there who aren’t Demolishers?” Yang Qi asked.

“Oh, those are the serfs who have no talent for cultivation. Normally, natives will give birth to babies that are already in the Great Sage level. Usually, they’ll reach the Demi-Immortal level by the time they're a few years old, and later, will join the army. But some people have no cultivation talent, and even after growing up, will never reach the Demolishing level. Since they have no hope of becoming actual immortals, they serve as serfs. People like that aren’t even fit to serve in a fiendslave battalion.”

1. Kunlun Mountain is a common element of Chinese mythology that appears in all sorts of Chinese fantasy novels. More here.