Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

There was already a buzz of discussion amongst the countless old-timers.

“He’s one of the Grand Emperors from ancient times, Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven! The others were Grand Emperors Myriadmagic Heavenspan, Ninelimits Paragon, and Heavenearth Vastocean. Collectively, they were called the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court.”

“Yes, those four were the ones who originally founded the ancient Heavenly Court!”

“I've heard of this Grand Emperor. But didn’t he vanish years and years ago? I thought he became a god or something.”

“Become a god? Not in our era. The legion of gods existed in a previous era, but they vanished. It was only afterward that our immortal dao civilization took hold. Immediately after the vanishing of the legion of gods, there was a period in which the many heavens were in an era of chaos. Later, certain powerful and ambitious individuals rose up, eventually founding the Heavenly Court and unifying the world.”

“Later, friction arose between the four emperors, and eventually the court was dissolved. Ever since then, the countless immortal worlds have been disunited.”

“I can’t believe it’s Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven! Although, it makes sense. He’s a very ambitious person, so maybe he's the one who actually came up with the idea of the Dao Defense League! He’s definitely on the nine stairs leading to the Deathless Throne. I wonder exactly how strong he is.”

“I can’t believe one of the Grand Emperors showed up. Incredible! In the ancient legends, the Grand Emperors were said to be invincible. I even heard that this guy was the apprentice of an actual god!”

“Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven! Dear lord! Who would’ve thought that someone like him would appear?”

“He’s close to being a god, so it’s almost like a Lesser God has appeared! Terrifying!”

“That young lord of the Dragonfolk was impressive before, but not now that Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven is around. He could probably kill him with his aura alone!”

The appearance of Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven was causing a huge stir in the Dao Defense League. He was obviously a truly powerful person, and Yang Qi knew just by looking at him that he couldn’t possibly beat him in a fight. At best, he might be able to defend himself, and at worst, he’d be forced to flee to the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart.

‘Well, I plan to stay out of the limelight anyway,’ Yang Qi thought. ‘Considering how many top experts are here, and how these old-timers are all profound schemers, it was pretty much a given that some consummate master would eventually show up. Unless some other old-timers appear, it seems this Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven is going to be the league-lord. Although, I'm still convinced that Sectlord Nine Yangs had a god backing him. If he does, why hasn’t that god made an appearance? Is it because he can’t actually descend into our immortal dao world?”

The young lord from the Dragonfolk initially looked frightened, but then his expression turned hard. “Well, if it isn’t Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven. What an honor. That said, this is a contest to pick the new league-lord, and I'm the one on the stage. If you want to be league-lord, you need to defeat me first. So, are we going to duel?”

Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven burst out into laughter that boomed painfully in the ears of all the assembled old-timers. “Your father might qualify to fight me, boy, but you’re far, far from that level. You think that just because you acquired the legacy of some primeval expert you can duel me? Of course, I do need to follow the rules. How about this: I won't use my true body, only a clone. If you can beat my clone, you can take the position and I won’t bicker with you. What do you say?”

“Alright!” the young lord replied instantly. It was obvious that he wasn’t a match for Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, so he leaped at the chance to only fight a clone.

Everyone looked on with bated breath, wondering exactly what Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven was going to do.

“I'm going to use a godly-class energy art of mine to make my clone, the Heavenrage Godfire. Come forth, clone!”

The clone was a humanoid expression of fire, burly and without any clothes whatsoever, his hands clenched tightly into fists. Although he was wreathed in flames, no one in the audience could sense even a bit of heat, as though the fire was illusory.

RUMBLE!

As the fire clone walked onto the stage, Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven said, “Go ahead and begin, boy. I think you’ll find that your level is more appropriate for a dharmaraja.”

Snarling, the young lord of the Dragonfolk attacked with countless deadly moves, causing a sea of dragons to swirl around him.

“Buddha Dragon Prajñā!”

He thrust his palm out, causing a host of chanting buddhas to appear everywhere. A buddha king hovered above his head, gazing coldly at Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven’s clone.

Gong!

The clone thrust his own palm out in a consummate and deadly move. “Flame Ignites the World!”

The two palms collided and the young lord teetered backward several steps. However, the fire clone only pressed the attack with more fire magic.

“Watch closely, boy,” Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven said. “My clone is using the Tribulation Fire God Fingers, invented by the ancient Fire God. He can only unleash about one tenth of what I'm capable, but it’s still nothing to underestimate.”

As the words left his mouth, the clone leaped forward and transformed into an enormous hand whose fingers shot directly toward the young lord of the Dragonfolk.

At the same time, clouds of fire appeared above and giant-spirits of fire descended, turning the entire stage into a mass of flames that prevented the young lord from using any of his energy arts.

Not a single person in the audience wasn’t shocked at how strong Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven’s clone was.

That included Yang Qi, who had to admit that the man’s abilities were incredibly powerful. Even a mere clone of his was on the same level as this young lord from the Dragonfolk.

Although this young lord was young, he had profound energy arts that surpassed just about all of the old-timers present. He really did qualify to be the league-lord, at least before Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven showed up.

RUMBLE!

The young lord suddenly unleashed a host of incomparably mighty and devastating palm strikes, the kind that could even shake god worlds.

As he did, the Tribulation Fire God Fingers were shaken.

Apparently, Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven recognized the technique and it caused his eyes to flicker. “Hm. You're using a lost art from the buddhist schools, the Indignant Palm of Buddha. Supposedly, there was a buddha who could rival the legion of gods, and he created this consummate martial discipline in his anger. How did you learn it?”

Fiery wings sprouted out of the back of the fire clone, making him look like a phoenix reborn. He began attacking with renewed vigor, causing promenades, palaces, and temples of flame to spring up everywhere on the stage.

“Sacrifice to the Fire God!

“Civilization of Flame!

“Primal-Chaos Fire Spark!

“Sagefire Flame Tenement!”

The clone unleashed a new set of palm strikes that clashed with the young lord’s attacks, causing deafening booms to ring out. A moment later, the young lord staggered back, his face pale and his vital energy running dangerously low.

Simultaneously, the clone seemed to be running low on energy thanks to the repeated clashes.

“Very impressive, young man,” Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven said. “However, this will be my clone's final attack. Heavenflame God Seal!”

All of a sudden, the clone threw two palms out, causing two fiery sealing marks to appear that radiated the sensation of a god.

“Buddha’s True Ego!” the young lord shouted, throwing everything he had into his final move.

The two enemies collided and the entire Heaven-Dao Operation God-Temple shook. The young lord was thrown off the stage, and the clone faded out of existence a moment later.

But Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven had maintained the upper hand in the end, as his clone had remained visible for a few short moments after the young lord was off the stage.

At the same time, a shadowy figure emerged to support the young lord, then used a mysterious energy art to revitalize and heal him. This newcomer was a middle-aged man from the Dragonfolk.

Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven looked at him and said, “So, Buddha Shakya-Karma, you choose this moment to step out and help your son. But did you really think I wouldn’t be aware that one of the top elders of the Dragonfolk was hiding in the shadows?”

The middle-aged man slowly looked up, and as he did, the boundless might of dragons rippled out, giving everyone the urge to drop down in worship.

This was the chief of the Buddha Dragons, an expert from the legendary Eight Tribes Heaven and one of the top figures among all the Dragonfolk. His name was Buddha Shakya-Karma.

“You said you were only using one-tenth of your strength, Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven,” he said, “but the truth is that you used thirty percent! And my son hasn’t even cultivated his energy arts to the perfect level. Give him another year and a half and he would be at that point.”

“Is that so, Buddha Shakya-Karma?” Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven said coolly. “I know that you opened a passageway to primeval times to summon a god-spirit of the Dragonfolk, as well as a boundless buddha from one of the buddhist schools. You’re essentially involved in the same business as the future world. It was with the blessing of power from primeval times that your son advanced by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, he needs more training before he can be considered a truly consummate expert. Considering both you and I were born in the Primeval Age, we both know things aren’t as simple as that.”