Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

“Come out and offer greetings to Princess Jadefall,” Yang Qi said.

RUUUUUUMBLE!

He waved his finger and a wormhole appeared, several dozen meters tall, out of which three hundred and sixty warriors appeared, all of them in mechas and radiating the auras of powerful warriors. Lining up in ranks, they dropped to their knees in a salute, and said, “Our respects, Eminent Princess!”

“Where did you get warriors like this?” Princess Jadefall said, her voice quivering from shock. “They’re so strong! And they’re not fiend-devils? No, they have an extremely pure, holy aura. Don’t tell me these are the legendary sage-spirits? They’re definitely strong enough to devastate sixth stage Abstrusity-Demolishers! In the Titan Emperor Heaven, fifth stage immortal marquises are usually stationed as officials at the border regions, and sixth stage immortal paragons are considered extremely important and powerful. How did you get so many?”

“This is nothing,” Yang Qi said. “Look further into the wormhole.”

She peered inside and saw a huge plane of existence filled with locust-like swarms of fiend-devils, all of them sitting cross-legged in cultivation. All of them were at the immortal marquis level and were clearly valiant fighters who didn't fear death. If this force were unleashed on the imperial city, it might be defeated in the end, but the resulting casualties and destruction would be devastating.

To Princess Jadefall’s shock, her initial estimate put the total number of fiend-devils at well over a million. It was hard to say if there were even that many immortal marquises in the Titan Emperor Heaven as a whole.

Within that same plane of existence, there were three hundred and sixty enormous portals, leading to locations that thrummed with devil energy. In short, they led to hells.

Princess Jadefall was a powerful expert, a ninth stage Dao-Demolisher who was nearing the Godmyth level. And once she fully woke the power of a Reincarnated One that existed within her, she would become even stronger than that.

But even she was shocked by Yang Qi’s ability as a summoner.

“How… how many fiend-devils can you summon?” she asked.

“However many I want,” he replied confidently. “You see, the Department of the Imperial Clan set up warding magics to spy on me and I let them see this. That's why the imperial court hasn’t done anything to me. They know I have an army of fiend-devils that I could release at any moment. And if I did, it would be a big problem for them. They’re hesitating to shoot the rat for fear of breaking the vases. And truth be told, summoning an army of a few hundred thousand immortal marquises is like nothing to me. I could summon millions. Tens of millions. Hundreds of millions. I recently reached the first stage of the Demolishing level, and in a few days I’ll reach the second. Then I’ll be able to summon even more powerful fiend-devils, those in the sixth stage. With an army like that at my control, I would be able to destroy just about everyone in the imperial court, with the only exception being a handful of the old-timers. So. What do you think? Do I have anything to be afraid of around here?”

“Obviously not,” Princess Jadefall replied with a wry smile. “No wonder you’re not worried. But considering you’re this strong, what are you doing fooling around as a grand prince? Go somewhere for a decade or so to work on your cultivation, and you could come back and overthrow the dynasty.”

“Like I said, that’s not my goal. I'm interested in my archenemy, Proud Heaven. The main reason I came here in the first place was to find information about him. I've asked around and know that he’s extremely powerful, but little more. Something else that interests me is you. You see, there’s something about you that could be beneficial to my own cultivation. And actually, Proud Heaven might be after you for the same reason. Thus, helping you is another way I might be able to lure him out into the open.”

“Proud Heaven might be after me?” she replied, visibly taken aback. “But he’s vastly stronger and more important than any of us. He saved the entire Titan Emperor Heaven before I was even born. And by the time I was born, he was long gone. Why would he be interested in me?”

“Simple. He’d figured out that a Reincarnated One had appeared in the imperial house of the Titan Emperor Heaven. He just didn’t know who exactly it was. You’re that Reincarnated One, did you know that? You have immense potential, and eventually he's going to come back for you. I'm the same. Proud Heaven wants me because of my special identity. I'm a Fateless One. You see, the two of us have a lot in common.”

“Reincarnated One. Fateless One.” Princess Jadefall muttered the words a few more times. “No wonder. I remember hearing my father mention that term once. He looked very serious when he said it. I had no idea what he was talking about at the time, but now I realize it must have been me.”

“Yes, you’re a Reincarnated One. Just like me, you’re from a select group of unique people in the universe, people who certain other individuals want to control, no matter what price they have to pay. That’s why I think the two of us should work together. We’d only be stronger if we did.”

“What do you mean work together?” she said. “For some time now I've sensed an unusual power within me, something I’m unable to release. If I could, my cultivation base would reach a much higher level. Is that the power of a Reincarnated One? And can you help me to unlock it?”

“I'm not totally sure. The only way I came to know even a little bit about these matters is that I’ve had some interactions with a Future One. Based on my understanding, that Future One acquired some of King Immortal-Slayer’s legacy and has control over part of the power of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. I ran into him in the Hanging Heaven, and from what I can tell he’s working with Proud Warpatience. He knows my true identity, and I doubt it will be long before he reveals the truth. He wants me to get in a fight with Proud Warpatience and his allies, then swoop in to take advantage of the situation.

“It’s highly likely that Future One realizes you’re a Reincarnated One, which would mean that he has his eyes on you as well. If he gets the chance, he’ll kill you and assimilate you. There’s no doubt Proud Warpatience knows about you too, and might even have passed the information on to Proud Heaven. I’d say your time is limited. If you hadn’t run into me, you would definitely fall into Proud Heaven’s hands sooner or later. Not even the two of us together are a match for him, which is exactly why we have to join forces. If we do, we’ll have a chance to pass the tribulations to come. Furthermore, we might be able to kill that Future One I mentioned. If we could get his powers, as well as the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, we’d be even better equipped to handle whatever Proud Heaven plans to throw at us. My goal, of course, is to kill him and use his power to shake the universe. I’ll conquer one immortal world after another and spread radiance and light everywhere, until I eventually reach the Deathless Throne.”

Yang Qi was certain that if he and Princess Jadefall joined forces, and she lent him her power, he could most likely achieve multiple breakthroughs.

After the scene he had caused, there was no doubt that plots were being hatched against him, and a blow would soon be struck from the shadows. He needed to be strong enough to deal with that when the time came.

After a long moment of consideration, Princess Jadefall made her decision. “Fine. You’re right, we have no time to lose. I'm already in the ninth stage and have successfully cultivated my Jadefall Dao Heart, which is covered with cracks. Those cracks are the initial step of Dao-Demolishing. However, I need to fully crush my dao heart to reach the next higher level and become a Godmyth. Perhaps unlocking the divine abilities of a Reincarnated One will be what I need to take that next step.”

Although working on her cultivation with Yang Qi would be risky, for some reason, she believed and trusted him.

“What? You’re really agreeing? You want me to try to unlock the power of the Reincarnated One in you?” Yang Qi was more than a little taken aback. “Aren’t you worried I might try to just take the power for my own?”

“I'm a good judge of character, and I can tell you wouldn’t do that.” She smiled. “You're quite famous in the lower world, so it wasn't difficult to get information about you. You’re the type of person who knows when to show gratitude and when to hold grudges. You’re not someone who will bite the hand that feeds you or kick people when they’re down.”

“True,” he said, nodding. Then he drew on his Wheel of Fate to begin making calculations.

“In that case,” she said, “why don't we get to work right away? We can go into seclusion here.” With a wave of her hand, everything around them changed and Yang Qi suddenly sensed immense deathless godliness. Apparently, they were now inside some sort of god item that resembled an enormous pearl.

“This is my Jadefall Origin Pearl, a god item that I acquired in my travels. Although I can’t draw on its full power, it should be more than enough to keep us safe during cultivation.”

Looking around, Yang Qi thought, ‘She says she trusts me, but she’s still being cautious. Otherwise, why would she want to use her Jadefall Origin Pearl?’