Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The Department of Internal Affairs had come to arrest Titan Duelbringer, only to have ‘Titan Dragonguard’ show up, strip their director naked, and force him to his knees. The news flew as surely as if it had wings. Within a day, everyone in the imperial city had heard the story, from the most important people down to the most insignificant figures, and everyone was shocked to the core. Of course, they were also very curious to see how the imperial court would punish Titan Dragonguard for flagrantly violating the rules.

However, what happened next defied all predictions. The court didn’t punish him at all. In fact, they didn’t even respond to the situation, as if they didn’t care at all about the fight that had played out.

Some people in the know were aware that the Director of Internal Affairs was backed by the crown prince, and they were hoping to see a fight break out between the crown prince and Titan Dragonguard.

But soon the reality became clear. After Princess Jadefall was promoted to the position of eminent princess, she was just as powerful and influential as the crown prince. And of course, Yang Qi was her most trusted subordinate.

“Incredible. I can’t believe that Titan Dragonguard fought so many of the imperial guard. He didn't back down an inch, and even threatened to take the fight to the crown prince.”

“Titan Dragonguard is amazing. He really earned face for Princess Jadefall. With him as her right-hand man, she's like a tiger that has grown wings.”

“A year ago nobody had ever heard of Titan Dragonguard. Who could ever have guessed that he would be so strong?”

“Let’s wait and see what happens. Surely the imperial court will punish him eventually. The Director of Internal Affairs really suffered a dismal fate. The mere thought of what happened is terrifying.”

All of the talk in the imperial city was either about Yang Qi and the Director of Internal Affairs, or about the crown prince and Princess Jadefall. It was fairly obvious to any perceptive people that the latter two were in conflict, and that Princess Jadefall had won a big victory. For someone as important as the crown prince to have suffered such extraordinary shame and humiliation was a big matter, and there was no way he wouldn't react.

As the court and the commoners were all talking about the matter, Yang Qi was meeting with Princess Jadefall in her mansion.

“You went a bit too far, Titan Dragonguard,” she said. She looked different than when she led her forces into battle. She wore a long robe embroidered with gold thread that accentuated her lithe form. Now she looked like the picture of a beautiful, young woman.

“If someone tries to make a move on me,” Yang Qi replied, “I strike back with lightning force. The fact that I didn't kill the Director of Internal Affairs was enough of a show of mercy.” He sat in front of Princess Jadefall at a tea table, upon which she prepared cup after cup of tea for them to enjoy. The steaming tea emitted spirit energy that wafted into the air and took the shape of immortal cranes, clouds, heavenly wind, dragons, tigers, and the like.

It was God Incarnation Tea, which came not from the Titan Emperor Heaven, but from a higher-level immortal world, and could strengthen vital energy and benefit one on a genetic level.

Princess Jadefall chuckled. “You were a bit heavy-handed, that’s all. You know that the Director of Internal Affairs is backed by the crown prince, right? He might be holding back from doing anything now, but if he truly makes a move it could get bad quickly. The crown prince is full of crafty plots and machinations, and sometimes his victims suffer horrific ends before he's even made an open move. Considering how badly you humiliated him, it’s impossible to say what schemes he might resort to. You really need to be careful.”

“That’s actually the exact reason why I caused trouble for him,” Yang Qi replied. “You see, the arrest of Titan Duelbringer was part of a larger scheme on his part. If he had succeeded, he could have invented all sorts of accusations based on ‘information’ taken from Titan Duelbringer during ‘interrogation’. It would be better to be punished by the court for being a bit too domineering than to be accused of greater crimes backed by false evidence.”

“Oh?” Princess Jadefall said, sounding surprised. After a moment, though, she smiled again. “So, you do have secrets. Am I right? You know the saying: if one has not done wrong, one need not be afraid of the knock in the night.”

“Of course I have my secrets,” Yang Qi replied. He knew that Princess Jadefall was no one to take lightly. And the fact that he had caused such a scene must surely have aroused suspicion on her part.

“What might those secrets be? Any chance you could let me in on them?” Princess Jadefall was still smiling, almost as if she were playing a game of some sort. “I always thought it was odd that someone like you existed in the imperial house. I can already tell that you’ll surpass me eventually. In fact, it might happen within only a few years. Although, you would know better than me about that. Come, be honest. I can’t believe that you have no ambitions at all. Is your goal to take over the Titan Emperor Heaven?”

She had hit the nail right on the head, yet Yang Qi didn’t feel any fear. Taking a sip of tea, he said, “What do you think, Princess? Do I seem like the ambitious type?”

“It's really hard to tell,” she said with a light laugh. “If I could tell for sure, why would I be asking the question? Why not tell me the truth about your identity. Who are you, really? I have the feeling you’re not really an imperial clansman, but rather some mysterious infiltrator. And you definitely have some master plan. I looked into your identity, by the way. Based on what happened with Titan Duelbringer, my guess is that you're actually someone from the lower world. Someone mysterious and powerful, perhaps from one of the holy lands of true cultivation. If you had conquered enough planetary systems, you would have plenty of faith power, which would explain a lot about you. Could it be that you’re somehow connected to the leader of the Sage Monarch Continent, Yang Qi?”

“Oh?” Yang Qi had long since assumed that word of his deeds in the lower world would eventually spread, yet his heart was still pounding a bit.

Although the mortal world wasn’t crucially important to the immortal world, it was still considered its property. Besides, there were godrelics hidden in many of the planetary systems, and certain particularly dangerous locations that were actually no weaker than the immortal world itself. And that wasn’t to mention that the mortal world was essentially a buffer between hells.

If a hell wanted to invade an immortal world, it would need to send its armies of fiend-devils through the mortal world first, and vice versa.

There were also the remains of fallen immortals and the ruins left behind from the God-Devil Apocalypse.

The Titan Emperor Heaven was huge, but it wouldn’t be long before Yang Qi would actually be able to see how large it was. In contrast, the mortal world was so large that doing so would be impossible.

The mortal world lacked spirit energy, but the fact that it was the barrier between hell and the immortal world meant that it was an important location that couldn't be overlooked. And the fact that Yang Qi had recently caused storms of blood in the mortal world made it only natural that people in the immortal world would notice.

“Princess Jadefall, I'm honestly surprised that you know so much about the mortal world. It’s a place full of ruins and lacking in spirit energy, and I can’t help but wonder why the immortal world cares so much about it.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Could it be that you are Yang Qi?”

As she looked at him, her eyes glowed with the images of suns and moons, as though she were using some particularly powerful energy art.

“Yes. I'm Yang Qi. The same one who slaughtered countless soldiers from that fiendslave battalion. Enemy of the Titan Emperor Heaven. I infiltrated the imperial house, and have worked my way all the way to the rank of grand prince.” He could have tried to come up with some sort of story to explain himself, but there seemed little benefit to lying. Instead, he just sat there casually and told the truth. He had expected his identity to be revealed eventually anyway.

She let loose a long breath, “So, you really are Yang Qi! My suspicions are now officially confirmed. However, there’s one thing I don’t understand. How can you have such strong Titan blood? It really is authentic, that much is true. There’s no way to fabricate or imitate that blood. Even if you had killed some imperial clansman and assimilated his blood, there would have been evidence left behind. Your Titan blood is so unimaginably strong, it's stronger than any other imperial clansman.”

“Well, that relates to a secret of mine that I’ll keep for now. Besides, how do you know I wasn't just born with Titan blood? Maybe the great god himself is the one who guided me to the point of becoming a grand prince.” Throughout this conversation, Yang Qi was keeping his cool, making it seem like casual chatting.

Clearly surprised, Princess Jadefall said, “Now that I know who you really are, what are you going to do?”

“What am I going to do? Nothing. I'm a grand prince now, and you’re the only one who knows my true identity. Revealing the truth would be like cutting off your own arm, wouldn’t it? With me helping you, you're stronger than ever and can accomplish a lot to help the Titan Emperor Heaven.”

“To be honest, that’s exactly what I was thinking.” She poured some more tea, then said, “However, if I can uncover the truth about you, then so can the crown prince. And that’s not to mention my father the emperor, who is the most mysterious and unpredictable person in all the imperial house. I would say it’s highly likely that he already knows the truth about who you are. What’s really puzzling is the fact that he hasn’t done anything about it. I just can’t figure out what he's thinking.”

Yang Qi nodded. “I’ve prepared for that possibility. As I grow stronger and more powerful, it becomes more and more likely that my identity will be revealed. In fact, it’s a foregone conclusion that it will happen. At this point, I don't actually care. I'm strong enough to deal with any consequences.”

“You’re that strong? Unless you’re a Godmyth, there are definitely ways that the immortal world could crush you. Aren’t you worried about that? I heard that you can summon armies of fiend-devils down in the mortal world. Don’t tell me you can do the same thing here too?”