Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

‘Who are these people? They’re obviously not from the Dao Defense League.’ It only took a short moment for Yang Qi to assess the group.

Although there were as many people in the Dao Defense League as there were eternal sands, they were all branded with a certain type of destiny that would make them easily identifiable. It was the same as how, in the mortal world, government officials had a certain air to them that commoners might not see but would be sensed by peers. Besides, Yang Qi also had an unusual command of fate.

There were seven of these old-timers, and the leader wore a five-colored robe and had a long, flowing beard. A brightly shining vortex was visible on his forehead, which constantly absorbed the surrounding power and vital energy. He was so strong that not even the water vapor from the sea affected him.

‘This guy is really powerful, probably on the same level as the Emissary of Darkness and Gloom, Wave Charm. If he joined the Dao Defense League, he could probably win a spot as a dharmaraja. I wonder where he's from and if he knows where the other pieces of the Aeonic God Psalter are. I’ll wait a moment before stepping in and taking them captive.’

By this point, Yang Qi was so strong that he could defeat just about anyone who would possibly get in his path, perhaps with the exception of an actual god, or the Four Emperors of the Heavenly Court.

“That's right,” said the man in the five-colored robe. “The Aeonic God Temple is right here in the Heaven Beyond Heaven. In fact, it’s out there on that island. You see, after the legion of gods created the Aeonic God Temple, they made the psalter as a map to lead to the various treasures that were meant to be stored here. It’s designed as a repository of tools for when the most drastic of transformations occur in heaven and earth. There are seven pieces of the psalter and we have four of them, which in turn gives us four aspects of the Aeonic Heaven-Dao Life-Destruction Zen Art. All we have to do is set up our altar and call out to the other pieces. Our boss has already determined that three of them are somewhere in the Dao Defense League.”

One of the other men present had white skin that made him look almost like a zombie. “Dao Defense League?” he said. “It's very strong nowadays. I heard that Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven recently took control and finally started fighting back against the future world. He wants to acquire the immense destiny of the immortal worlds and win the approval of the dao of heaven. I wonder what the boss is planning. You’d think he’d just join the Dao Defense League and directly challenge Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven. Then he could win the approval of the dao of heaven in the fight against the future world. That would be a big help in his effort to reach the deathless throne.”

“The boss has a plan,” replied the man in the five-colored robe. “Besides, if Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven is working with the other three grand emperors, they make a very powerful force. The boss might be able to win in a fight against two of them, but not all four together. It makes sense to avoid open conflict and just wait in the shadows to see how the situation develops.”

Another in the group was a beautiful woman with a cold, no-nonsense expression on her face. “What happens if the four emperors actually lead the heroes of modern times to defeat the future world?” she said. “If they win the universal fortune of heaven and earth, they’ll definitely become gods.”

“You make it sound simple. Don’t forget, the ten magisters of the future world are virtually invincible. Even worse, it's said that they have a God Legion Seal. Right now, they’re wrapped up fighting a war in the Primeval Era, but once they return they could easily wipe out the immortal dao civilization. You see, there's a God Legion Seal in the Primeval Age as well. If they get it and combine it with the one from the future, they’ll be incomprehensibly powerful. What’s worse, the God Legion Seal in the present age hasn't yet appeared. Nobody knows who has it.

“Besides, do you really think Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven will be able to ‘lead the heroes’ nowadays? If so, you’re delusional. The experts from the past and the future are eventually going to converge in the present. There’s going to be a huge war, and a lot of killing. Nobody can stop that from happening, with the possible exception of whoever has the God Legion Seal. The boss is currently remaining hidden in primal-chaos, gathering experts to his side, building power, and waiting. If the holder of the God Legion Seal appears, he’ll snatch him up and assimilate him. Then he’ll be able to take control of the Dao Defense League, defeat the experts from the future and past, and unite the universe. His ambitions are the kind that short-sighted individuals can’t even comprehend.”

“Look, enough chit chat. Bring out the pieces of the Aeonic God Psalter. It’s only because we have the pieces in our possession that we can see the Aeonic God Temple. Even if someone as powerful as Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven came here without the psalter, they would never be able to find the temple.”

With that, the three of them pulled out a map that was comprised of four pieces stitched together, which bore the depiction of a holy temple that looked exactly like the temple on the island.

As soon as the map appeared, the piece that Yang Qi had began to wriggle, then flew out into the open. Obviously, that alerted the seven others to his presence.

“Who's that?”

“Surround him! Don’t let him get away. He has another piece of the map!”

“I knew it! I knew that if we pulled out our four pieces, we would hook a big fish!”

As the group of seven fanned out and surrounded Yang Qi, the man in the five-colored robe looked at him and said, “Are you from the Dao Defense League, boy? Considering you’re here in the Heaven Beyond Heaven, you obviously have a pretty strong cultivation base. Did you really think you would get into the Aeonic God Temple with that one piece of the map? Not likely. Who sent you? It wasn’t Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, was it? He wouldn't have gotten involved if he wasn’t absolutely certain of coming out on top.”

One of the group of seven, a burly man with nasty scars all over his face, said, “Thanks for bringing us a fifth piece of the map, brat. Now hand it over. You don’t stand a chance against us. When our boss finds out we found another piece, he’s going to be very happy. He’ll probably even reward us.”

Smiling faintly, Yang Qi looked around at the group of seven. “If you give me your four pieces, I won’t kill you. What do you say? By the way, who’s your boss, and what makes him think he has what it takes to take over the Dao Defense League? You know I'm going to have to report this to Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven. When he finds out there are people out there plotting against him, he’ll definitely root them out and kill them. We’re out there working ourselves to the bone fighting the future world, and you people are sneaking around in the shadows, hoping to personally profit? Who could possibly tolerate such behavior?”

“You really think you’re going to live through this, brat?” said the man with the scars. “Actually, we can make sure you wish you were dead. Considering everything you just said, there’s no way we’ll let you go.”

The beautiful woman seemed the least patient of all. “What’s the point of listening to this fool’s chatter? Just grab him!”

“That’s true. There really isn’t any point in talking with him.” The scarred man strode forward using a very miraculous movement technique. He moved with the speed of god lightning, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out everywhere.

The thunderous aura that weighed down on Yang Qi made him feel like he was suffocating.

‘This guy is strong. Definitely no weaker than August Patriarch Sword-Burier.’ From what Yang Qi could sense, the man had likely ascended to the fourth or fifth stair on the Deathless Heavenly Stairway. Of course, Yang Qi wouldn’t possibly be frightened of someone like that.

As the burly man closed in, Yang Qi stood his ground and thrust his hand out. In the blink of an eye, he had the burly man by the throat. Lifting him up into the air, he used the Devil-God Seal to completely lock him down to the point where he couldn’t even talk.

After holding him there for a tense moment, he loosened his grip so the man could speak.

“Let me go!” he croaked. “Who are you? How could you possibly be so strong! Release me!”

Crack!

Yang Qi sent an explosive stream of true energy into him, shattering all of his meridians. Then he quickly assimilated his power, energy arts, quintessence-blood, and vital energy, rapidly transforming him into an empty husk which he then dropped onto the ground.

He was utterly and completely dead.

“What?”

“Brother, what happened?”

“Dammit! Our bro is dead? Slaughtered by this brat?”

“What divine ability was that? How could he be so strong?”

“Group up!” said the man in the five-colored robe, who was obviously the leader of the group. “This guy is up to no good!” The remaining six of the group quickly formed ranks, whereupon the leader glared at Yang Qi and said, “Who exactly are you?”

“Ai!” Yang Qi sighed. “You people really are ignorant and ill-informed. You don’t even recognize the Emissary of Radiance and Light from the Dao Defense League? And you think you're in the position to oppose our league?” Although Yang Qi was at odds with Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven, and hoped to take the position of league-lord away from him, there was no way he would just allow people to plot and scheme against the Dao Defense League as a whole. It was important to maintain a delineation between internal and external conflicts.

“Emissary of Radiance and Light?” the leader said. “Oh, you’re that kid who just became emissary. Just hold on a minute here. Our boss knows all about you, and is aware that you have an extraordinary cultivation base. Grand Emperor Ragefire Broilheaven is surely envious of you and will likely make a move against you soon. Are you aware of that? Our boss can help you deal with the emperor. There’s no way you can do it on your own, that’s for sure. Especially not if all four of the emperors are working together. They’ll definitely kill you if you try to make a move.”

“Who exactly is this ‘boss’ of yours?” Yang Qi asked.

“If you want to know,” the beautiful woman said, “you’ll have to come with us. We can take you out into the depths of primal-chaos to his cultivation facilities. Then you’ll understand. You see, he’s on the level of a god.”

“We can definitely work together,” the leader said. “It's true you killed our brother, but we can forget that if you join us. After all, our boss has long since expressed his desire to meet you in person.”