Sage Monarch - Chapter 255

Chapter 255: 255

The larger a piece of driftwood was, the more the water would resist it, and the harder it would be to push it beneath the surface of the water .

The more powerful a Legendary, the more space would resist him, and the harder it would be for him to pierce through it . Space was like water, and people were like driftwood .

As for Yang Qi, he was essentially a mountain-sized piece of driftwood, whereas ordinary people were the size of a fist . One could only imagine how difficult it would be to shove a mountain-sized chunk of driftwood under the surface of the water .

And thus, Yang Qi wished to cry, but had no tears to shed .

With his current true energy, and the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, not even Never-Dying fiend-devils were worth worrying about to him . But levels were levels . And despite how strong he was, he still was worried about how to reach the third Legendary transformation .

That said, if he achieved his breakthrough, it was impossible to say how profoundly he would understand space . Not even Great Sages would be able to wrap their minds around what he could . From ancient times until modern, no one had ever reached the same level Yang Qi had in the second Legendary transformation .

The power of two hundred thousand ancient megamammoths .

Now, even the tiniest bit of his true energy could power up the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to insane levels . As of this moment, it had over a thousand glowing shields, each one powered by a different grand spell formation . Those intended for use by Great Sages were profound, each one more powerful than the last . And because of the Sovereign Lord True Energy and universal power, it even looked different . Somehow, it was more majestic and awe-inspiring, like it had been back when it was created .

‘I did it all without any help from the God Legion Seal . Not that it was an easy process… . ’ Although he was still a bit worked up about everything which had occurred, in the end, the benefits outweighed the detriments .

At the very least, his ultimate power levels had increased . Even being a mere Spirit-Soul Legendary, he would now be able to dominate virtually the entire Demi-Immortal Institute .

The grand elders of law enforcement, and anyone else in the sixth, seventh, or eighth transformations were as impressive to him as dog crap . With the power of only thirty thousand megamammoths, he had been able to kill a fiend-devil in the seventh transformation . Now that he had two hundred thousand, what were his limits?

There were certain constraints inherent to the levels themselves . But in terms of raw power, he was at a level that no one could look down on .

Yang Qi couldn’t have been more pleased . Not even he could have guessed that he would only need his own true energy to succeed, and wouldn't need the help of the God Legion Seal . Of course, he was well aware that it was because of his godly-class energy art, Sovereign Lord True Energy, and universal power . That was what had awoken the sage spirits . And those sages were the ones who had actually repaired the plane’s greyspace .

Essentially, Yang Qi had been the spark, and the sages had been a sea of oil . Of course, the spark was still vitally important . Without it, the sages would never have woken up .

Yang Qi looked around at the fleeing fiend-devils, and put aside any thoughts of pursuing them . He flew off into the distance, and before long, encountered the projection of the Young Lady .

“Did I accomplish the mission well enough, Young Lady?” he asked . “I'd say I actually surpassed the requirements . ”

“The chancellor wants to see you . ” Her projection faded away, and the power of spatial teleportation grabbed onto Yang Qi and pulled him into the presence of the chancellor and the Young Lady .

The chancellor looked at him for a long moment and then said, “You did well, Yang Qi . Very well… . ” 

After that, he stopped, almost as if he wasn’t sure what to say next .

“What,” Yang Qi said coolly . “Still planning to imprison me, Chancellor? I accomplished a mission no one else could accomplish, something that should outweigh killing Grand Elder Feat-Virtue a hundred times over . You know, I spent a lot of spirit stones on the mission . Any chance you could make up for some of that, Chancellor?”

The chancellor nodded . “What exactly do you want? It was a vital mission, and you’ve brought untold benefits to the Demi-Immortal Institute . From here on out, our institute will enter an era of boundless advancement . Over the next hundred years, geniuses are going to abound . Considering the services you’ve performed, I should probably give you the chancellorship of the entire institute . In fact, you would be a good leader for all four of the institutes . ”

Yang Qi had saved the entire plane from a slow descent into darkness and despair .

“I need spirit stones . Lots of them . And the highest quality possible . Sovereign-grade, and at the very least, a thousand of them . Of course, sagely-grade spirit stones would do as well . ” Yang Qi didn’t hesitate to say exactly what he wanted . After all, to achieve his next breakthrough, he needed a lot of high-quality spirit stones .

It was impossible to say how many years of ordinary cultivation it would take to fill in the power of a hundred thousand megamammoths . And with each day that passed, the threat of the Crown Prince emerging from seclusion became more relevant . Yang Qi needed to reach the Space-Void Transformation as quickly as possible, so that he could help Young Master Shroud-Heaven and Hua Tianxiong take out the Crown Prince .

And he absolutely could not allow the Crown Prince to become a Great Sage .

“What?!” the Young Lady blurted . “A thousand sovereign-grade spirit stones? Go steal them yourself! My own cultivation requires spirit stones, and even building up a supply of royal-grade is difficult . I hardly ever get to use sovereign-grade . In the Rich-Lush Continent, sovereign-grade spirit stone are extremely uncommon . And you think you're going to get a thousand?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Yang Qi said, his voice as cool as ever . “Chancellor, are you saying that you're refusing to reward me?”

The chancellor shook his head sadly . “I really can’t give you that many spirit stones . The Demi-Immortal Institute doesn’t even have that many in stock . Spirit stones are not very common in the Rich-Lush Continent, not since the mines and quarries dried up in ancient times . However, considering how strong you are, it shouldn't be difficult for you to get some . Just go to the Western Continent . There are plenty of spirit stone mines there that are still in operation . Sometimes they even dig up immortal stones . ”

“Immortal stones?”

Yang Qi knew that the highest grade of spirit stone was godly-grade, but he had never heard of any sort of immortal stone .

“Immortal stones come from high-energy ores . Considering your power levels, I would say that ordinary spirit stones probably won’t sate you . If you could get some immortal stones, you could easily achieve the breakthrough you seek . Without them, you won’t succeed, at least in any short amount of time . You're strong, but that will only make your next breakthrough even harder . ”

Yang Qi nodded, his eyes glittering with intense light . “Oh? Well, in that case, I guess I’ll go check out the situation in the Western Continent . ”

He had already guessed that if he asked for spirit stones from the Demi-Immortal Institute, the chancellor would say that he had none to give . Despite the amazing services he had performed, the stingy man wasn’t going to give him the slightest reward .

Most likely it had to do with the Crown Prince . After all, if Yang Qi got even stronger, he could obviously cause problems .

And intentionally or otherwise, the chancellor was always protecting the Crown Prince . Yang Qi had long since realized this, and at the moment, he chose not to point it out . There didn’t seem to be any reason to quibble about the matter now . The day would come in which Yang Qi would plainly demonstrate to the chancellor how weak the Crown Prince was, and how wrong he had been to support him .

“Very well then, Chancellor . I’ll take my leave now . ” With that, he turned to leave .

“Go ahead,” the chancellor replied . Then he waved his hand, and he and the Young Lady vanished .

Yang Qi flew into the air, and soon, was high above the transforming Minorcosm World . ‘You're so worried about protecting the Crown Prince that you don’t even abide by the rules . Fine . Don’t blame me for doing what has to be done . ’

With that, he also vanished .

In the depths of the Minorcosm World, the Young Lady was discussing matters with her father . “Father, why didn’t you give any reward at all to Yang Qi? He’s surely coming to resent you . What if that ends up harming the Demi-Immortal Institute? The service he just performed was incredible . Even sovereign-grade spirit stones wouldn’t have been enough of a reward . Are you worried that he might get so strong that he’ll cause problems for the Crown Prince?”

“I'm trying to find the proper balance . You can’t underestimate Yang Qi . He was just blessed by the host of saints in the Planar Pearl, and has reached a terrifying level of cultivation . If he becomes a Space-Void Legendary, with an understanding of the power of space, then he’ll be able to use the Grand Emperor's Pagoda with complete and utter ease . At the very least, he’ll be as strong as a Half Sage . In fact, he’s probably in the position to threaten the Crown Prince right now . Consider my actions a test . If Yang Qi can maintain a cool heart, free from hatred, then perhaps he's worth grooming . Sadly, it seems he’s already developing a grudge . ”

“I’d develop a grudge if I were him . ” The Young Lady shook her head . “It’s just not fair . If you’re this scared of him, why not take the Grand Emperor's Pagoda away?”

“I can’t . That pagoda is his now, and it has power that even I find terrifying . Besides, from what I can tell, Yang Qi’s backer is so strong that even if Grand Emperor Rich-Lush came back and tried to reclaim his pagoda, he would fail . ”

The Young Lady shivered . “Are you really sure you can keep Yang Qi in line, Father?” 

“Of course . His level is too low, and he doesn’t understand anything about magical law . My only fear is that if I made a move, his backer would show up . Then I’d be in trouble . Even if I were joined by all of the chancellors, and all of the prime elders from all four institutes, we would all die . The Rich-Lush Continent itself would probably be destroyed . I'm afraid Yang Qi is far more powerful than anyone in his generation . In the end, though, I promised the Crown Prince’s mother to safeguard him . I can’t go back on my word . ”

The Young Lady frowned . “Father, we never even saw that backer of his . Does he even exist? You absolutely cannot afford to be mistaken in this regard . ”

“I'm not mistaken . Based on what happened in the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, I'm absolutely sure . That said, what happened with the Planar Pearl was a surprise . Yang Qi actually accomplished the mission without the help of his backer . ” At this point, the chancellor’s eyes shone brightly . “Having Yang Qi off in the Western Continent looking for immortal stones will put some of the pressure off of the Crown Prince . ”