Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

The second level of the Scripture Pavilion was a restricted area. All of the works there had been penned by Godmyth patriarchs, and contained incredibly powerful auras.

Restricted areas were set up, not in order to withhold important resources from children of Brahma, but rather to protect them from danger. Some books written by Godmyths were filled with divine will so strong it could kill people who were too weak to withstand it.

Thus, some children of Brahma weren’t allowed to even walk in the door of certain areas. And if they tried, the energies at play would repel them, sometimes injuring them in the process. Therefore, they usually needed to reach a particularly high level before going to the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.

If Yang Qi and Hu Latu had encountered only one book, it might not have been a big deal. But here there were millions of books collected together, which meant that the power level on display could create worlds and destroy suns and moons.

WHIZZZ!

As for the person who blocked their path, there was something unique about him, as if he could traverse the most distant corners of the universe. And he seemed like the type of person who, if he fled, could never be caught.

He definitely had a unique constitution. In fact, three words popped into Yang Qi’s mind. Heaven Moving One.

Yang Qi had already gained a lot of detailed information about the various types of unique constitutions that existed.

He had read plenty of ancient records during his time in the Titan Emperor Heaven, and had benefited even more during the conquest of the six immortal worlds who had allied against him, using plundered resources to create incredible libraries for the Sage Monarch planetary system.

“You two are too weak, so hurry up and get the hell out of here. Work on your cultivation for another ten thousand years, then you might qualify to come to the second level.” Even as this Heaven Moving One spoke, more children of Brahma appeared behind him, clearly his juniors. One of them was a young man with sword-like eyebrows and eyes that glittered like stars. He was good looking and elegant in a way that surpassed ordinary people.

Sneering, he said, “Of course, you could always agree to work for my Elder Brother Brahma Erudite. He can help you get into the second level much earlier. If you rely on your own cultivation, you might never get in here. Understand? Why not swear your oaths right now to remain loyal to him and him alone?”

Yang Qi immediately realized what was going on: there were factions and cliques within the children of Brahma, and these people were from one of them. Obviously, there was a reason why students in the Brahman Institute were said to be princes! The infighting amongst them was obviously brutal.

In the mortal world, an imperial dynasty might have a few dozen princes, all of whom would form alliances as they tried to eliminate each other from the succession. Their lives were never ones of peace and quiet.

Of course, this was an immortal world that ruled over thirty-six thousand other immortal worlds. All of the children of Brahma were struggling amongst themselves to acquire leadership positions and eventually become Godmyths. It was only possible to imagine how terrifying the competition amongst them was. They would do anything to achieve their goals, including forming factions, carrying out plots, stealing, and even assassinating rivals. And now, Yang Qi and Hu Latu were being forcibly recruited into some faction or another.

“Hmph!” Hu Latu had been working for Yang Qi long enough that his personality had changed a bit. Even earlier on, he had been a vicious, savage killer. After all, he had once set a huge trap to murder his fellow emissaries, all for his own benefit. Now that he was working for Yang Qi, he was even more confident and ruthless. So there was no way he would tolerate threats and humiliation like this.

“You think we don't qualify to enter the second floor? We became children of Brahma because we’re on the way to becoming leaders of the Brahman Society. You think some divine will left behind by a few Godmyths can do anything to us? Fuck off!”

RUMBLE!

Hu Latu unleashed a powerful stream of energy that slammed into the divine will and pushed it back, allowing him to step into the second floor.

“Are you feeling suicidal or something?” said the younger man with sword-like eyebrows. “Become leaders? You’re already talking about that? It seems I need to teach you a lesson about the height of the heavens and the breadth of the earth. You think you can just join the children of Brahma and instantly have a high position? Outside, we children of Brahma have incredible power and everyone respects us. But inside the Brahman Institute, you need to grovel like the dogs you are!”

He waved his hand, sending out two streams of energy that became two dragons, one of them azure and one vermillion. The azure dragon burst with preheaven wood energy, and the vermillion dragon thrummed with preheaven fire energy.

Obviously, this was a combination of the Cardinal Grand Brahma Punishes the Wood God Energy Art and the Cardinal Grand Brahma Punishes the Fire God Energy Art. The two dragons swirled forth like yin and yang, forming into a perfect taiji symbol that spun without end. Within the azure and vermillion dragons, it was possible to see Success, Steadiness, Destruction, and the Void. As the four tribulations flowed through reincarnation, it became evident that they had reached the level of thirty-six cycles!

‘So strong!’ Hu Latu thought as he unleashed his fire and water energy arts to slam into the four tribulations of Success, Steadiness, Destruction, and the Void. How could he ever have guessed that the first children of Brahma he would clash with would have four tribulations with thirty-six cycles of reincarnation!? Obviously, there was no hope of him coming out on top of this fight.

Closing his eyes, he prepared to go absolutely all out. However, that was when an immense force suddenly entered his mind, filling his meridians and sea of energy and pushing his energy arts to an invincible level. In the blink of an eye, his palms unleashed powers of water and fire that contained fifty-four cycles of reincarnation.

POP!

The two palm strikes met, and the young man with the sword-like eyebrows was flung off to the side by Hu Latu. He screamed as massive wounds were ripped open all over him, causing blood to spurt out everywhere. “Water and fire cultivation? And fifty-four cycles of reincarnation? How is this even possible? I came across immense good fortune that let me cultivate thirty-six cycles of reincarnation. And I even ate a sprig of god grass! How could a new student be so strong?”

“Nice move!” said the Heaven Moving One, Brahma Erudite. Taking a step forward, he glared at Yang Qi and said, “You just infused him with strength, didn’t you? His cultivation hasn't actually reached the level of fifty-four cycles of reincarnation, has it? Who could have guessed that a top expert like yourself would rise up in the children of Brahma. Let’s see what you’re really capable of!”

RUMBLE!

Three streams of destruction energy shot out of Brahma Erudite, one metallic, one yellow, and one like water. Swirling into a triangle that represented heaven, earth, and man, they shot viciously toward Yang Qi.

“Sadly, you only cultivate two energy arts, and therefore you’re no match for me. I cultivate three! And I can unleash the power of seventy-two cycles of reincarnation. This attack is going to take you down!”

Shockingly, Brahma Erudite had five lineaments on his dao heart. And he cultivated the energy arts of metal, earth, and water, which made him vastly stronger than any other ordinary person with five lineaments.

When he attacked, he kept the magical laws of space firmly under his control.

Chuckling, Yang Qi took a step forward and flicked his finger, sending out a bright stream of light that turned into a snake. In the blink of an eye, the light dissolved the three godly-class energy arts, then shot toward Brahma Erudite with deadly force.

“What energy art is that?” Brahma Erudite blurted. “That’s not the Cardinal Grand Brahma Five Phases Energy Arts! In fact, it's not from the Brahman Immortal World at all!”

“Yeah, I just picked a random energy art to defeat you with, Brahma Erudite. Look, this is the Scripture Pavilion, which is not a good place for a duel. Why don't we pick a date in the future to have a rematch?”

“Hmph!” Brahma Erudite stamped his foot and an entire world was born, which shot toward Yang Qi. “Three Worlds Slash!”

“Be destroyed!” Yang Qi said, and as a result, the world collapsed and Brahma Erudite staggered backward, his face turning as pale as death. It was obvious who had won and who had lost in this exchange. Brahma Erudite was clearly beneath Yang Qi, and incapable of matching up to him.

This time, he didn’t follow up with another attack. “Well played. It’s hard to believe that someone as strong as you has appeared within the children of Brahma. You’re right, the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion isn’t an appropriate place for a fight. We wouldn't want to damage or destroy any of the books, right? We would both be punished if that happened. So I’ll let you off the hook today. In the future, we can have a bit of a duel. I’d love to ‘learn’ a thing or two from your divine abilities. By the way, what are your names?”

“Hu Latu. And this is my Elder Brother, Hu Yanmeng. Whenever you want tips about energy arts, just come looking for us.”

“Let’s go!” Brahma Erudite snapped to his followers. “I'm going to remember the two of you. And one of these days, you’re going to get what's coming to you.”

With that, he vanished into thin air.

After they were gone, Yang Qi thought, ‘This Heaven Moving One obviously has more skills and abilities that he didn’t use. Trump cards, even. He’s hiding his true strength.’

“Milord,” Hu Latu said, “I don't know much about the Brahman Institute. My clan isn’t important enough to ever have dealings with the children of Brahma. Please forgive me for not having more information about them.”