Sage Monarch (Sage Emperor)

A fiery god soul had been assimilated, and a perished god finally disappeared from existence.

Truth be told, Yang Qi had only taken advantage of fifty percent of the quintessence energy, leaving forty percent to give to family and friends. With such incredible energy, some of them would likely be able to reach the Grand Emperor level.

That was especially true of Empress Jadefall, who had yet to fully awaken the porcelain godspore within her and release the ultimate powers of a Reincarnated One. Who knew how strong she would be as a Grand Emperor?

Forty percent of the quintessence energy of a perished god would put the Dao Defense League in a much better position.

BAM!

Tribulation struck Yang Qi, and a halo appeared around his head, filled with the boundless power of Valor. It was an expression of the rage of the god world, and it poured down into Yang Qi like liquid.

As the tribulation coursed through every inch of his flesh and blood, it felt like a wonderful massage. The many types of energy that filled him swirled into a huge vortex, especially the types from the seventy-two monarchs. Thanks to the current tribulation, they were advancing to a higher level.

King Heaven-Devourer. King Mourn-Parting. King Wilds-Horn. King Fierce-Savage. King Life-Killer. King Hell-Freezer. King Death-Stillness. King Lone-Fall. King Eon-Void. King Ultimate-Beginning. King Pāla-Warden. And many more.

Before, he had assumed he would have to wait until he reached the god world before making any significant progress with them. He had doubted he could master them even on the Ancient Road to the Gods. But thanks to the tribulation he was facing, and the power of the god world that was pouring into him, he was now able to give those seventy-two energy arts a solid foundation.

Suddenly, a host of magical treasures popped into being behind Yang Qi, including King Life-Killer’s swords, King Mourn-Parting’s palace buildings, King Wilds-Horn’s armor, and others. Normally, most of those items were in the hands of the seventy-one patriarchs, but Yang Qi could summon them at will if necessary.

Unfortunately, other than King Heaven-Devourer’s talismans, none of the magical treasures were complete, otherwise they would have pushed the energy arts of the seventy-two monarchs to a much higher level.

RUMBLE!

Seventy-two vortexes appeared behind Yang Qi. It almost felt like the wills of the original seventy-two monarchs were present and ready to fight the will of the Sovereign Lord. Even the God Legion Seal in his forehead was creaking under the pressure.

According to the stories, the original seventy-two brethren were so strong as a group that no one in the god world could stand up to them. Other than the Sovereign Lord, all others were helpless against them. Even Paramount Gods would die at their hands. In the end, the Sovereign Lord crushed them, only to vanish himself.

In other words, the combined godly-class energy arts of those seventy-two monarchs were definitely enough to counter the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth.

‘So strong!’ Yang Qi thought. He threw a punch, and the wills of the seventy-two monarchs created a tempest in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, a level of might that Yang Qi could tell was on par with the Hand of the One God.

Considering he only had one-third of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, it was obviously not on the same level as the combined might of those seventy-two brethren. All of a sudden, Yang Qi realized that combining all of those energy arts actually led to an even more incredible energy art.

‘Combine left and right!’ Yang Qi unleashed the Hand of the One God with his left hand and the Seventy-Two Monarchs Energy Art with the other. It tore through the space in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, causing the chart to tremble. Then, with no warning whatsoever, Yang Qi pushed the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart to a higher state!

As it turned out, the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart was similar to the mortal world, immortal world, and god world. It was comprised of multiple states! Every ten thousand years, the chart would open and people from the mortal world would enter it to further their cultivation. That was the first state.

When immortals entered it, that was the second state.

And when Godmyths entered it, that was the third state, where Yang Qi currently was.

Thanks to his increase in energy arts, Yang Qi could now see that the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart had many, many states. And there were still states above that he couldn’t reach until his cultivation base was higher.

The current state had a different type of power, and was filled with the pure energy of monarchs. Absorbing that energy would advance the energy arts of the seventy-two brethren to an even more ferocious and mighty level.

RUMBLE!

Yang Qi retracted his fists, and the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart went still and quiet again. He was now at the level of a hundred Grand Emperors, and having finished with the tribulation, was fully on the first stair of the Deathless Heavenly Stairway, the Stair of Valor.

Fear flooded Holy Daughter Joyflower’s face as she realized how strong he was. With the combination of the Seventy-Two Monarchs Energy Art and the Hand of the One God, he was incredibly mighty, despite having a relatively low cultivation base.

If he was this powerful while he was this low on the Deathless Heavenly Stairway, it meant that as he climbed even higher, he would surpass her to an even greater extent. For all intents and purposes, there was no level after Grand Emperor. One had to rely on one's luck and wits to improve their power and unlock their potential.

After all, becoming a god was essentially impossible. For Yang Qi to be so strong at such a low level filled Holy Daughter Joyflower with quite a bit of envy.

[Beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep. Tribulation passed. You are now on the first stair of the Deathless Heavenly Stairway. Power index one hundred and three!]

As Yang Qi reined in his energy arts, cracking sounds echoed out within him like thunderbolts. Shockingly, his power index had just risen by over twenty.

Yang Qi’s cultivation base had replaced hunting rifles with cannons, and he had transformed on a most fundamental level. Now he wouldn’t need to be afraid of even the young chaplain of the Ancestral Wilds Basilica; his power index was about fifty higher than Yang Qi’s, but that was within the range of what he could fight.

“Alright, now we can leave,” he said. He put aside the matters of the tribulation, power transformations, Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, and the Seventy-Two Monarchs Energy Art, clearing his mind and focusing on matters at hand.

Waving his hand, he opened a passage and leapt through it with Holy Daughter Joyflower. At the same time, he slapped a sealing mark onto her.

“You!” she said, looking over in anger. However, after circulating her true energy she realized that the sealing mark wasn’t restricting her in any way. “What's that for?”

“It's for your own good,” he replied coolly. “It’s my Devil-God Seal. That young chaplain obviously has a lock on your energy, which is why he can always track you down. But with that seal in place, you’ll be invisible to him. And by extension, we can ambush him. Besides, having your aura sealed will also provide you some protection against whatever ancient entities lurk in the Great Necropolis.”

“Many thanks!” she said.

“There’s no need for thanks. Now, tell me about these places where you say godhood exists. We can go seize some right away. The Great Necropolis is a huge maze; without the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart, I would never have been able to find my way out. By the way, do you know where we are?”

Looking around, she realized that they had emerged into a different location within the Great Necropolis. Apparently, the spatial nexuses within the necropolis actually shifted location.

Things were changing constantly in the Great Necropolis, although the people inside wouldn’t be able to tell that. It was much the same as how, in the mortal world, people living on a planet would never be able to sense the planet rotating beneath their feet.

It was something quite marvelous, and Yang Qi couldn’t help but be surprised. Thanks to his current cultivation base, he was now able to sense the orbits of suns and moons, and other profound movements of the universe. And because of how he was now connected to the countless parallel universes, he could sense the movements of the Great Necropolis.

It would be like someone in the mortal world suddenly being able to sense the rotation of the planet upon which they stood. He was also able to sense how huge the Great Necropolis was, and it made him feel incredibly tiny. He didn’t like the feeling.

Shaking his head to try to clear the unwanted sensation, he looked over at Holy Daughter Joyflower.

Looking both awkward and a bit panicky, she said, “I actually have no idea where we are. As long as I stay in the Great Necropolis, I move along with it and can keep a sense of direction. But because we left for a period of time, I'm completely turned around.”

“Damn,” Yang Qi said. He could tell from the look in her eye that she was telling the truth. They were now on a completely different pathway than before. Instead of the ground being pitch black, it was yellowish, almost as if it were made from gold.