Sage Monarch - Chapter 172

Chapter 172: 172

The most difficult aspect of the fight with Yun Hailan was finding her true body .

There were so many projections of her that the task was truly challenging .

She had the Pearl of the Thousand Illusions World, which made her much stronger than normal, and capable of casting out millions upon millions of incarnations . And each of those incarnations was roughly as strong as her true body, and so realistic it was almost impossible to tell which was real and which were clones .

However, regardless of the fact that the clones were not ‘real’, the attacks they unleashed were .

Each fist strike contained unimaginable power; the Son of Heaven’s Godfist was being unleashed without restraint . This was a true imperial-class energy art, and a complete one at that, not like the fragmentary Painting of Immortal Immolation of Gu Fenxian .

That godfist was like a sovereign lord of all creation, giving Yun Hailan incredibly destructive power . And of course, it was all magnified considering how many of her incarnations were attacking Yang Qi simultaneously .

With the exception of the Crown Prince himself, this was a strength that no Nonary Lifeseizer could possibly stand up to .

However, as the fighting played out, Yang Qi quickly realized that Yun Hailan was not herself a Nonary Lifeseizer . Just like him, she was in Senary Lifeseizing .

The main difference was that her cultivation base wasn't stable . She had obviously been assisted by some powerful expert who shoved their cultivation base to a higher level with force . It was a sharp contrast with Yang Qi, who had forged ahead with hard work and personal enlightenment .

Because of that, the execution of her forms had flaws, causing vital energy leakage that Yang Qi was able to detect .

Without any hesitation, he unleashed the quintessence of his Infernal Deity Spear technique into his sword moves . It was the Nightfall Symphony!

According to the ancient myths and legends, the godmammoths who suppressed hells subjugated numerous infernal deities and evil gods of hell . When such evil gods congregated, they could join forces to perform the Nightfall Symphony . And when it sounded loud and clear, even the legion of gods in heaven would find their glory fading . Night would fall, and hell would visit the world of men .

It was because of the Nightfall Symphony that the ancient legion of gods had pooled their own power to create the godmammoths, and thus crush the infernal deities . It was only in that way that the Nightfall Symphony could be rendered powerless .

However, as the godmammoths suppressed hell, they were stained by the aura of the infernal deities, and thus, the Infernal Deity Spear of the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth, when it reached a high level, could perform the Nightfall Symphony .

And right now, Yang Qi’s sword technique also contained that deadly symphony .

As his sword stabbed forth, the Son of Heaven’s Godfist was suddenly tainted by the darkness of nightfall, and began to crack apart .

One projection after another was cleaved by the sword, and collapsed into mist .

‘The mighty Son of Heaven leads an empire, and his rage can subdue millions of commoners . And yet, even he will eventually be forgotten in the sands of time . Nothing can completely escape death in the end . To humans, it is nothing but fair . Even the legion of gods who created countless worlds, as well as the sun, moon, and space-time itself, will eventually reach a time when night falls on them… . ’

It was thoughts such as these that ran through Yang Qi’s mind as his sword energy vanquished the Son of Heaven’s Godfist .

Bam . Bang . BANG!

Projections exploded left and right, until there was only one version of Yun Hailan left . The real one .

She looked a bit pale in the face; never could she have guessed that Yang Qi’s single sword form would be so spectacular . In the face of his sword, even her imperial-class energy art seemed completely useless .

Now that he had forced her out into the open, he didn’t hesitate for the slightest moment, or have any thoughts of mercy . From the perspective of the onlookers, it was as if night were falling on the arena, with the beautiful setting sun giving way to ultimate darkness .

“DIE!”

Yang Qi’s sword energy swirled around and around, forming a black vortex that looked like it came from the depths of hell .

Yun Hailan instantly lost control of her true energy, which was now being slowly dragged into the vortex . Now, it was obvious how much Yang Qi’s hard work and training made him completely different from her .

He had never received assistance from anyone . His journey of cultivation had involved hunting and killing monsters, refining demon cores, and defeating enemies on his own, one after another .

Yun Hailan was very different . Her cultivation had progressed without any hitches . She was blessed by Patriarchs Wind and Cloud, as well as the Crown Prince . She had been given plenty of life force springwater, as well as medicinal pills, all without having to work to get them . Unlike Yang Qi, she had not developed the tenacious instinct to stay alive even in drastic circumstances .

When facing an opponent like him, she would end up dead if she made the slightest wrong move .

Besides, Yang Qi’s sword move, backed by the Nightfall Symphony and his godly-class energy art, was so powerful that even the Crown Prince’s technique was like a drop in the ocean compared to it .

Swish!

The sword closed in on Yun Hailan’s throat, and she could do nothing but stare at it getting closer and closer .

From the look of things, she was just about to be stabbed through . She fell back, hoping to elude the sword, but sadly for her, it was like an infernal deity that she simply couldn’t shake .

It was like the old proverb: When a yama king wants someone dead by the third watch, who would dare let them live until the fifth?

And of course, yama kings were infernal deities . They were just two different words for the same thing .

“Go to hell, Yun Hailan . Literally!” Yang Qi was unleashing such a massive amount of sword energy that it seemed no one could possibly stop it . It was enough energy to destroy a nation, or bring down heaven .

He was going all out!

The true meaning of the sword, its arrogance, its cleanliness, its haughtiness, its respect… were all integrated into a single attack .

Who could escape from something like that? Definitely not Yun Hailan .

In fact, a drop of blood had already appeared on her throat . Then, it turned into a line, which wrapped around her neck, after which her head flew off of her body . And yet, she was still smiling, almost as if she didn’t believe she had just been decapitated .

“Very fast swordwork, Yang Qi,” she said . “That technique of yours is incredible . ” 

BOOM!

Suddenly, her head exploded, and the rest of her body disappeared without a trace . Unexpectedly, it had been another projection!

It was not her true form!

In her place appeared a blue pearl, which hovered there in the air . As for the identity medallion she had been wearing, it was shattered .

‘What? She wasn’t actually here? She sent an incarnation to compete? An out-of-body incarnation? A second divinity! She used that pearl to create a second nascent divinity?’ Obviously, the pearl floating in the air was that most precious of treasures, the Pearl of the Thousand Illusions World .

Thanks to Yun Hailan’s scheming, Yang Qi had become all worked up over nothing . He had believed all along that he would kill her in the competition, only to find out that she sent an incarnation in her stead .

“Clever,” he growled . “Very clever . ” Although he smashed her command medallion, and thus took first place, it didn't bring him any joy .

His true desire had not been fulfilled in any way .

‘Yun Hailan! You might have escaped death at my hands, but your Pearl of the Thousand Illusions World is right here for the taking!’ He took a step forward and reached out to grab the pearl . No matter what happened, there was no way he would return it to her . In fact, he would melt it with his Hellfire Crucible at the earliest possible moment .

Using his true energy to draw on the Invincible King’s Fist, he used the hand of a king to reach out toward the treasure .

But then, all of a sudden, a voice spoke from within the pearl, cold and full of dignity, like that of an invincible, unmatchable emperor, a sovereign who ruled both heaven and hell .  

“What gall!”

RUMBLE . RUMBLE! RUUUUMBLE!

In response, numerous exclamations rang out .

“The Crown Prince!”

“That’s the Crown Prince talking!”

“The Crown Prince is here . ”

It was a voice that numerous students from all four of the great institutes instantly recognized . All of the experts who were members of the Crown Prince Society instantly rose to their feet and offered respectful salutes .

Without question, it was the voice of the Crown Prince .

He was a mysterious figure who few people ever managed to catch a glimpse of, and yet, he was now making an appearance .

“What? The Crown Prince is here?” Holy Daughter Manyflowers shot to her feet . She had long since forgotten the wager with Patriarchs Wind and Cloud . Of course, she had definitely won the bet; although Yang Qi didn’t end up killing Yun Hailan, he had clearly destroyed her command medallion and won the competition .

“The Crown Prince? That’s the Crown Prince’s voice?” All of the Legendary grand elders were now completely focused on the fighting arena . Generally speaking, no one should have been allowed to enter the scene . After all, Yang Qi’s victory meant that the competition was over . He had won .

But now, the Crown Prince had arrived, completely changing the situation . Even the grand elder presiding over the formalities was completely taken aback, and wasn't sure whether he should interfere or not . After all, the Crown Prince was a mighty and respected individual .

WHIZZZ!

The hand Yang Qi had sent out to grab the Pearl of the Thousand Illusions World was destroyed .

The backlash attack from the pearl then forced him to stagger backward, drawing on all of his defensive sword techniques to prevent himself from getting killed .

‘Such power! Is the Crown Prince really going to show his face?’ Yang Qi sent the Strength of the Hell-Crushing Godmammoth flowing into all of his acupoints to defend against the encroaching power . Although it ended up being neutralized, he couldn’t help but think, ‘I can’t believe that backlash was enough to have completely destroyed me . ’

As he stared at the pearl, it suddenly erupted with pure vital energy, from within which a figure emerged .

He looked like the emperor of heaven, a god in human form .

He was a son of the highest heaven, filled with heavenly might .

The Crown Prince had arrived .