Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

‘This Green Merchant is a real pervert,’ Yang Qi thought. ‘He wants to take his own sister as “his woman”?’ He was taken aback by this Berserk One’s words, but didn’t take action yet. After all, things worked differently in immortal dao civilizations, compared to the mortal world of men.

Relationships like the one Green Merchant was suggesting weren’t necessarily forbidden. After all, cultivators essentially had eternal life, as well as all sorts of unusual powers and abilities. The etiquette and customs that resulted were very different from that of mortals. Besides, cultivators viewed themselves as being as all-important as heaven and earth, and generally did whatever they felt like doing.

“Have you no shame, Green Merchant?!” Green Blaze said angrily. “I'm your sister! How dare you suggest violating family ethics like that! If father or the clan elders found out, do you know what they would do? The Green Clan would become a laughingstock.”

He laughed. “Submit to me and prosper, or oppose me and perish! If the clan elders—or even father—ever dared to lay a finger on me, they’re dead! We seventy-two patriarchs are the most domineering figures in all heaven and earth. And Young Master Leaf controls the essence of the Tusita Heaven! He’s unparalleled in all existence! You think I care at all about what some random people think? I have one way of dealing with people who defy me: I kill them! If it weren’t for the fact that you’re my sister, I wouldn’t be wasting my words here. This is your one chance to agree. If you don’t, I’ll use force!”

As her brother prepared to lunge, Green Blaze said, “Enough. There’s someone here to see you. Young Sir Yang Qi?”

Even as the words left her mouth, an energy fluctuation rippled through her bed chamber and Yang Qi appeared.

“I trust you’ve been well since we last met, Green Merchant,” he said, a faint smile on his face. “So you think Leaf Dao-Denier is unparalleled in all existence? Then how come I've inflicted so many humiliating defeats on him? I even took one of King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions from him! I’ll give you a chance to join me, right here, right now. Give me your soul and your faith. Being my follower will give you much better opportunities than following Leaf Dao-Denier. This is your one chance to agree. If you don’t, I’ll use force!”

He had just thrown Green Merchant’s words right back at him.

“Yang Qi!” Green Merchant growled and leaped out of the bed, his energy pulsing. “You’ve really got a death wish, don’t you? Die!”

RUMBLE!

A mighty fist strike bore down on Yang Qi, hard and unyielding to the extreme.

The terrifying aura of the fist contained power from seventy-two unique constitutions, making it seem like both he and his seventy-one brethren were all attacking Yang Qi at the same time.

However, Yang Qi hardly even looked at the incoming attack as he sent his own fist out to meet it.

Crack!

Space shattered as Green Merchant was thrown back into the wall. The wall began crumbling, but a moment later a warding spell activated and kept the wall intact.

It was obvious that, despite being a Berserk One, Green Merchant wasn’t a match for Yang Qi.

“How could this be happening!?” he yelled. Thrusting both hands out in front of him, he said, “Deranged Heaven and Earth!Grand Derangement Godfist!”

A deranged aura erupted out, seemingly transposing hell and the god world, inverting yin and yang, and flipping the cosmos inside out. A host of conflicting auras filled the fist-wind that rushed in Yang Qi’s direction.

“Fuck off!” Yang Qi said, unleashing another fist strike of his own. This one slammed into Green Merchant’s chest, sending him tumbling head over heels in the opposite direction with blood spraying out of his mouth.

“Hmph! If it weren’t for your sister, I would have killed you already. How dare you act crazy with a weak cultivation base like that! Seventy-two patriarchs? Seventy-two special constitutions? More like seventy-two pieces of shit. Get on your knees right now and kowtow and I’ll make this process painless. If you don’t, things are going to get ugly.”

In the past, the seventy-two patriarchs were powerful individuals that Yang Qi couldn’t possibly deal with. But things had changed.

“Bastard!” Green Merchant shouted. “I'm going to go all out, even if that means we both die! You’re going to know what the fury of the seventy-two patriarchs is really like! Brace yourself for the true power of seventy-two constitutions! Fortuned One! Berserk One! Reincarnated One! Warrior One! Courageous One! Resentful One! Fiendish One!”

Projections of all seventy-two patriarchs appeared behind him, blessing Green Merchant with incredible power that he poured into yet another fist strike.

Swish!

Meanwhile, Yang Qi blurred into motion and appeared right in front of Green Merchant, whom he subsequently slapped across the side of the face.

“Aaaiiiieee!” Green Merchant screamed as he was thrown off of his feet, blood spurting out of various wounds. He almost looked like a raw shrimp as the force of the slap shredded his clothes out of existence, leaving him absolutely naked.

“I don’t have time to waste jabbering with you. Be bound!” Yang Qi waved a finger and magical laws descended, creating chains that tied Green Merchant up and completely immobilized him. He struggled, but nothing he did was the least bit effective.

Green Blaze could see that her brother wasn’t a match for Yang Qi and dropped to her knee and said, “Milord, your glory and majesty will last throughout all the ages!”

Although he was bound, Green Merchant still refused to back down. Spitting in contempt, he said, “Very vicious of you, Yang Qi. I never could have guessed that you would become this strong. But if you think I'm going to betray Young Master Leaf, you might as well stop dreaming. By the way, you can’t kill me. If you do, my seventy-one brethren will all know. They’ll instantly rush over here and rip you to pieces!”

“They’ll all know? And they’ll rush over here instantly?” Yang Qi laughed. “Considering how strong I am, do you really think I'm scared of the seventy-two of you? I’ll cut down every last one of you that gets in my way. I have a little whip I want you to take a look at. Let’s see if you can take the pain. If you can, don’t worry, I have other, crueler methods. I control hell, and the tortures of hell are manifold.”

“Hell Scourge!”

All of a sudden, a long, flexible whip appeared in his hand.

It seemed to echo with the howling of hell-born fiend-devils, and the power from dozens of hells. It also seemed to be filled with minor worlds, all of which thrummed with hellish essence.

A loud cracking sound echoed out as Yang Qi struck Green Merchant with the whip. Green Merchant visibly shivered, finally letting out a hoarse scream that bounced back and forth within the bedchamber.

“Wow, you really are useless,” Yang Qi said. “This whip only has the essence of a few dozen hells. For example, the Hell of Tongue-Ripping. That’s why you feel like your tongue is being ripped out when the whip strikes you. And then there’s the Hell of Death by a Thousand Cuts. That’s why you feel like your skin is being slowly flayed off of your body. Then there’s the Hell of Fresh Blood, which is why you have the sensation that your blood is slowly being drained. And the Hell of Suras makes you feel like you’re being chopped apart by countless weapons. Oh, the Hell of Scorching Flame is what gives the sensation of being burned alive in a huge cauldron.” [1]

Yang Qi went on to describe the rest of the hells and the forms of torture that came with them. “Like I said, there are only a few dozen at the moment. But there are as many hells as the eternal sands of the universe. If I use enough of them on you, you might die just from the pain. That said, if you can take the pain, I’ll just keep ratcheting it up more and more.

“Here, Green Blaze. You try out the whip on your brother. Let’s see how long he’ll stay loyal to his Young Master Leaf. Don’t hold anything back!”

He handed the whip over to Green Blaze.

“Yes sir!” She shivered a bit at the terrifying sensation of holding the whip. After all, even immortals would fear the pain and torment of hell, and this whip could combine the torture of numerous hells.

“Don’t blame me for this, brother. It’s important to pick the right leader to serve. You following Young Master Leaf is throwing a bright pearl out into the darkness. Sticking with Young Sir Yang Qi is obviously the right choice. There’s still time to give in, brother. If not, prepare to be lashed.”

“Bitch! The both of you are going to die! Your time is up! Young Master Leaf is coming out of seclusion! Tremble in fear!” He began to twitch and shake as if he were going berserk.

“Going berserk, brother? Let me help you get a bit of clarity!”

SMACK!

She lashed him with the whip, provoking an anguished howl like that of a pig being castrated. It was obviously a level of pain that ordinary people could never take.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Green Blaze began raining blows down upon him, causing more screams to echo out. However, he didn’t pass out. He had a combination of seventy-two unique constitutions, making him particularly tough. Although, now he was starting to regret that.

Swish!

Suddenly, a halo of damnification appeared on Green Merchant, making him vastly more sensitive than before. Now the lashes hurt even more.

“You!” he growled through gritted teeth.

“So, you can take the pain of dozens of hells,” Yang Qi said, his voice ice cold. “Well, now I need to start adding some more hellish essence in there. In the Hell of Bleached Bones, they have the tortures of Bone Flaying and Bone Decay. In the Hell of Rotten Hearts, they have a method that causes your heart to rot away in a very painful fashion. In the Hell of Feasts, you can enjoy the pain of being slowly devoured by ancient beasts….”

1. Death by a thousand cuts was a real type of torture that involved slowly stripping the flesh off the victim using a sharp blade. Here’s a Wikipedia link, just be aware there are some graphic photos and pictures.