Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

Yang Qi rose to his feet, making it clear he intended to compete for the spot of Emissary of Radiance and Light. Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven was the league-lord, and there was no way Yang Qi could challenge him. But he definitely didn’t want the position of emissary to fall into someone else’s hands.

Evil could never truly defeat righteousness in the Dao Defense League. When it came to the relationship between the two emissaries, it was a given that the Emissary of Radiance and Light would eventually gain superiority over the Emissary of Darkness and Gloom. After all, cultivators who followed righteous daos comprised ninety percent of the population of the Dao Defense League. Cultivating an evil dao would always involve massacring countless living beings; furthermore, there was always brutal infighting amongst such cultivators. In contrast, cultivators who followed a righteous dao could advance by absorbing vital energy of heaven and earth.

They were as different as carnivores and herbivores. Polar opposites.

If Yang Qi became the Emissary of Radiance and Light, and led the Army of Radiance and Light, then as his cultivation base rose and he won the hearts of the people, he could eventually force Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven to abdicate and take over as the league-lord.

Besides, upon becoming the emissary, he would be blessed by a huge influx of destiny. It was a position that was clearly superior to the dharmarajas or god-generals.

It was obvious that Daoist Great Void was already a loyal confidante of Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, and that the latter had given him an advantage by blessing him with a powerful energy art. However, if Daoist Great Void wanted the spot, he still had to win the position according to the rules. Anyone present who wanted to make a challenge could do so. Therefore, Yang Qi decided to give it a shot. If he could defeat Daoist Great Void, and any other challengers, then he would become the emissary.

Daoist Great Void, Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, and many of the other old-timers present were actually surprised that, in a moment when the emperor wanted silence, and not even the horses were neighing, someone would outright challenge Daoist Great Void.

As Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven frowned, one of the old-timers near him leaned over and whispered, “This guy has two names. Dragon Proudheaven and Yang Qi. He acquired some sort of incredible good fortune and has used it to make quite a name for himself in the Dao Defense League. He can heal true energy injuries even in Chaos Gods, and can also cure morphblight.”

He went on to provide a few more details about Yang Qi and it caused Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven’s frown to deepen.

Seeing his look of displeasure, another of the old-timers said, “Grand Emperor, considering that you haven’t consolidated your power, there are presumably a lot of old-timers out there who are only pretending to accept your authority. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to absolutely crush this kid—why not see what he’s capable of?”

“I'm obviously aware of that,” Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven coolly replied. “Let’s see how this plays out. I personally blessed Daoist Great Void with the Grand Radiance and Light Godfist of the Sunlight Glory, which I personally cultivated for a hundred million years. If he loses to a third division Incarnated God punk, he doesn't qualify to be the Emissary of Radiance and Light.”

WHOOSH!

Yang Qi walked onto the stage with his hands clasped behind his back. Facing Daoist Great Void, he said, “Daoist Great Void, I'm here to take the position of Emissary of Radiance and Light.”

“Well, if it isn’t you,” Daoist Great Void said with a smile. “We’re not playing games here, young friend. You might have established your Sage Panacea Sect here in the Dao Defense League, but you only managed to recruit some low-level elders. Right now, you’re in the presence of the top leaders of the league. So back down. You’ll never become one of the emissaries. In fact, you don't even qualify to be one of the dharmarajas or god-generals. Maybe you can serve as an elder, and sometime in the future when you’re half-Deathless, you might be able to seek a promotion.”

“What matters here is cultivation base; whoever’s strongest will become the emissary. So why run your mouth? I'm also a patriarch, therefore I qualify to challenge you. And whoever comes out on top will be the Emissary of Radiance and Light.”

“Oh?” Daoist Great Void chuckled sarcastically. “Whoever comes out on top will be the emissary. You’re really being stubborn here, aren’t you? You know, if I hurt you badly enough, it will damage your dao heart and energy arts and you’ll have a hard time achieving cultivation progress in the future. But since you don’t know the height of the heavens and the breadth of the earth, I suppose I’ll teach you a little lesson. Now screw off and quit causing a scene!”

Daoist Great Void swished his sleeve and a bright beam of light shot out, accompanied by a rushing wind. It was a move from the Grand Radiance and Light Godfist of the Sunlight Glory called Bright Wind Clear Moon, and it was designed to use soft and gentle methods to absolutely devastate an opponent.

Even another old-timer who was on the same level as Daoist Great Void wouldn’t have been able to withstand this blow.

Yet Yang Qi hardly looked at it. He flicked his own sleeve and a tempest of radiance and light appeared, slammed into Daoist Great Void’s attack, and caused a massive explosion. As the shock wave rolled out, the other old-timers present backed away.

Thump, thump, thump!

Daoist Great Void staggered back three steps before stabilizing himself! Meanwhile, Yang Qi just stood there with a calm smile on his face. “Now who’s causing a scene? Considering how old you are, Daoist Great Void, how could you possibly serve as the Emissary of Radiance and Light? Wouldn’t you say that this energy art of mine has been cultivated to perfection? And it’s far purer than yours. When you get as old as you, it's better to spend time resting and relaxing, not fighting duels. Leave the fighting to younger people, like myself.”

The crowd burst out into an uproar. Everyone could see from this one exchange that Daoist Great Void was in an inferior position. He had been forced backward across the stage while Yang Qi simply stood there unmoving. In fact, everyone was now wondering exactly how strong Yang Qi’s energy arts were.

Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven leaned forward. ‘This kid is really strong! With a cultivation base like that, I don’t think that even I could defeat him without a protracted fight. He’s about the same level as a demigod. And he surely has some trump cards that could unleash even greater power.’

“Dammit!” Daoist Great Void growled. He had just lost a lot of face. His plan had been to act like a lofty member of the senior generation and simply defeat his opponent with the wave of a sleeve. Instead, he was the one who was shoved backward. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that he had many years of cultivation under his belt, plus some hidden treasures, he might have been knocked off the stage.

“So, you really want the position of emissary, do you boy? Fine. Don’t blame me for what comes next. God Trove of Radiance and Light!” A host of glowing weapons appeared behind him, including sabers, swords, bows, arrows, spears, lances and the like. And there were generals, like the guardians of a kingdom of radiance and light, warriors that would attack anyone who didn’t honor the glory of the legion of gods.

RUMBLE!

Without any hesitation, Daoist Great Void attacked.

“Radiance and Light Bathes All Things! Mountains, rivers, lands, the void. Light shall touch it all, and where light exists, so does life!” The script of the Godfolk appeared, swirling like a tornado of bright holiness and giving everyone the urge to drop down in worship.

But then Yang Qi made his move.

He threw his hands out, causing even more impressive radiance and light to erupt from him. This was true godly light, like a prayer from the legion of gods. In fact, it was even possible to see an enormous figure within the light, a holy god toward whom the rest of the legion of gods would offer supplication to.

If Daoist Great Void’s radiance and light caused a sensation of reverence, then Yang Qi’s radiance and light was the source of all brightness, to the point that all other types of radiance and light would crumble in the face of it.

“Halls of Heaven!”

He thrust his fist out to meet Daoist Great Void’s attack and another massive explosion rocked the temple.

RUMBLE!

Daoist Great Void was flung back like a bullet, shooting through the temple and out the doors.

The radiance and light that Yang Qi had summoned was virtually liquid, and as it converged on itself it took the shape of an enormous angel hovering in the air, surrounded by godrelics. Yang Qi was using his energy arts to prove to everyone present that his strength was no illusion, and that he did qualify to be the Emissary of Radiance and Light.

‘I can’t believe he’s gotten this strong!’ Leaf Dao-Denier thought, trembling. All of a sudden, he realized that Yang Qi was too powerful for him to defeat. In fact, he wouldn’t even be able to handle him inside the Tusita Heaven.

Emperor Tusita was also trembling. ‘He’s s-s-so strong! He's stronger than the Emissary of Darkness and Gloom, or even that Buddha Shakya-Karma!’

Many of the other old-timers were visibly stunned.

The new Emissary of Darkness and Gloom, Devil Empress Wave Charm, was among them. ‘How could he be that strong? Not even I could match up to him. The two emissaries are destined to clash, but right now it seems that I'm doomed to lose! What can I do to prevent him from taking the position? Probably nothing! Considering how strong he is, I bet he could challenge Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven for the league-lord’s throne. Instead, he chose to go for Emissary of Radiance and Light.’

Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven was clearly unsure of what to do. Waving his finger, he sent a stream of light to pick up Daoist Great Void, who was gasping for breath and clearly shaken. It was very telling that Yang Qi had easily defeated the energy art that he had bestowed on Daoist Great Void. His shock was quickly turning into fiery rage, although he didn’t let it show on his face.