The flow of destiny was intense and bright.
However, there was a large portion that wasn’t moving toward Yang Qi, and he immediately knew why. That had been caused by the interference of Houselord God Bastard. Thanks to him, there were a lot of people who didn’t truly approve of Yang Qi being the league-lord.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about that now, short of killing Houselord God Bastard. At the moment, he was only getting about two-thirds of the total amount of destiny. That said, he was still certain that no one would openly defy him as the league-lord. Whether it was Houselord God Bastard, Huangfu Genesis, Mu Renwang, or Su Xin, none were a match for him, and in fact, he could likely kill them.
There was also no way those three factions would suddenly team up to oppose him. They were all in opposition to each other, which meant that Yang Qi himself had a great opportunity to take advantage of them. There was little doubt that Houselord God Bastard would try messing with him during the process of the blessing. In fact, maybe they all would. In the end, Yang Qi didn’t care.
He would consider it training, perhaps even tempering. And he would make sure he benefited greatly from the process.
In fact, a faintly sinister smile had already appeared on his face.
“Prepare for the blessing,” Huangfu Genesis said. “Yang Qi, you’ve earned the endorsement of our three great organizations, the Genesis Sanctum, the House of God Bastards, and the Woodfern Couple Palace. But just because you’re the league-lord doesn’t mean you get to act on your own and make all the decisions. You have to abide by the conditions set by the three of us. It’s for the good of all of us, got that? We’re now going to provide you with a baptism of blessing. Your energy arts will increase by a level, and at the same time, you’ll receive a sealing mark to indicate that you have the approval of the three major sects to be the league-lord. Henceforth, anyone who wants to cause problems for you will have to deal with our three organizations first. Do you understand all of—”
“Cut the crap,” Yang Qi said. “I know full well that the point of this assembly was to install a puppet league-lord. But if you think I’m going to agree to an arrangement like that, you’re sadly mistaken. I’ll never be a puppet, and as you clearly saw during my run-in with Houselord God Bastard, my cultivation base is no weaker than any of yours. Therefore, I demand an equal position alongside your three organizations. In other words, I’ll be the fourth power in the alliance!”
“You!” Huangfu Genesis blurted angrily, and it seemed like he was about to lose his temper.
Meanwhile, Mu Renwang and Su Xin exchanged a very pleased glance. Huangfu Genesis was their biggest enemy, so they were always glad to see him humiliated.
“Yang Qi is right!” Mu Renwang said. “He’s definitely strong enough that he ought not be a puppet. However, he definitely must agree to receive the blessing. If he doesn’t, then our three sects won’t agree to let him be the league-lord, and he can just go off and manage his own organization. How about that? Remember, Yang Qi, if you don’t accept the blessing, there are plenty other young elites who will.”
“That’s right,” Houselord God Bastard said, nodding. “According to our agreement, Yang Qi, I won’t seek revenge against you, but you have to accept the blessing.”
“Refusing to accept the blessing would be forfeiting your right to the position!” Huangfu Genesis said.
“Well this is odd, isn’t it?” Yang Qi said coolly. “At what point did I ever say I would refuse the blessing? Good grief. All I said was that I don’t agree to be a puppet. I never even mentioned the blessing. The two don’t have anything to do with each other!”
“So you’re saying you’ll accept the blessing?” Houselord God Bastard said with a nasty grin.
“Of course. How could I pass up something as amazing as that? No one in existence would neglect their own true energy, and I’m not an exception. Bless me to your heart’s content, and please, don’t hold back.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Huangfu Genesis said with a profound and unreadable smile. “We want to make you into the ultimate enemy of the Executors of the Ancient Road. It’s going to be your job to kill their emperor, so how could we be stingy when it comes to improving your cultivation base?”
“Very well, Yang Qi,” Mu Renwang said coldly. “Sit down on the fighting platform and prepare to receive the blessing. Time is of the essence, so there’s no use in any more rambling. Once you accept the blessing, we’ll begin rearranging all of the sects into a unified organization, with Destructionless Castle as our base of operations. We’ll all be bound together in spirit and action, with the various sects becoming factions that can work together to defend against any tribulation or calamity.”
The moment of truth had come. When the alliance was reorganized, some sects would disappear forever, while others would become stronger. Factions and groups would emerge, but everyone would be formally united. And any who resisted would be wiped out of existence.
“I’m ready,” Yang Qi said, taking a seat and sitting there motionless, looking completely calm, ready to absorb anything that was given to him as part of the blessing.
Everyone in the audience was shocked. None of them could ever have guessed that Yang Qi would be this straightforward, and just accept the blessing. If it were an ordinary blessing, it might not be a big deal. But he had just made a big deal about not wanting to be a puppet, and was now going to just submit to their so-called blessing? Was he crazy? A few of the more crafty individuals in the audience assumed that Yang Qi had prepared for this moment, so it wouldn’t be a risk for him. But even they were amazed at how brazen he was acting. When the three top sects worked together this way, nothing short of a god would be able to resist them in that moment.
“I’m impressed,” Houselord God Bastard said. “You’ve got a lot of guts. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone on the Ancient Road to the Gods with guts like you!”
“Enough bull,” Yang Qi said, “get on with the blessing. All the heroes under heaven are watching, so don’t try anything funny.”
“Begin!” Huangfu Genesis said, taking the initiative. He gave a meaningful glance to his subordinates, and they immediately began murmuring certain scriptures, causing a body of text to appear in the air above them. No one was sure exactly what the text said, but it seemed to pulse with the ultimate core meaning of that which was the preheaven.
Were they really going to just bless him?
A lot of people had their suspicions, and were convinced that Huangfu Genesis had more plans up his sleeve. Of course, considering all the witnesses, he would have to be very careful if he wanted to do something crafty.
The people from the House of God Bastards had started chanting their scripture as well, causing a black body of text to appear that pulsed with an immense, evil aura containing an energy of sin and enmity.
The Woodfern Couple Palace experts were also at work creating a golden body of text.
The three great sects had hundreds of top masters, plus four mid Terrifying experts, and all of them were working together to bless Yang Qi. Although it seemed unlikely that they would do anything completely underhanded with so many witnesses, it also seemed questionable whether anyone could sustain such levels of power.
“Begin!”
All three groups began working at the same time. Three immense bodies of scriptural text, like three dragons, bored into the top of Yang Qi’s head, causing him to shiver as he shot to his feet, his hair whipping around him as he floated up off the surface of the ground. Although it seemed certain he must be feeling immense pain and suffering, his face was as expressionless as that of a sleeping child.
Crunch. Crack!
Everyone could hear what sounded like Yang Qi’s nascent divinity being crushed to pieces within his sea of consciousness. It was quite a shock; were the three sects really going to force him to become a puppet?
Houselord God Bastard was the first to realize something was amiss. “Strange… where did the boy’s nascent divinity go to?”
As his will entered Yang Qi’s sea of consciousness, it seemed completely empty. And to the houselord, sending his portion of power into Yang Qi felt like directing a tiny stream into an ocean.
The true energy being provided by the blessing simply vanished, devoured by Yang Qi’s sea of consciousness as if it were a black hole.
Houselord God Bastard had truly begun a process of blessing, using a scripture called the Grand Sutra of the God of Sin and Enmity. It was a deadly scripture that should have caused Yang Qi to turn into a Puppet of Sin and Enmity, making him extremely powerful, yet mentally, little more than the walking dead. In fact, all three major sects were unleashing scriptures like that; they obviously had no intention of letting Yang Qi slip out of their control.
If any other person had become the league-lord, they wouldn’t have done this, as it wouldn’t have been necessary. But controlling Yang Qi was of utmost importance, and this moment of blessing was the best chance to make him their puppet.
Unfortunately for them, as soon as their scriptures entered Yang Qi’s sea of consciousness, they vanished.
It was almost as if some power from another world was absorbing theirs. They had hundreds of people on their side, including four mid Terrifying experts, which meant they were strong enough to destroy immortal worlds with a rank of three thousand. But now, their power was vanishing into Yang Qi’s sea of consciousness without causing so much as splash or ripple on its surface.
‘This is bad!’ Mu Renwang said. ‘He’s using the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart!’ Even as he and Su Xin realized what was happening, Yang Qi’s voice spoke to them.
“Don’t tell anyone about the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Don’t worry, I’ll help you to deal with the House of God Bastards and Huangfu Genesis. Didn’t you want me to give some of this power to Mu Yexi? Don’t you want her to reach the mid Terrifying level?”
“What exactly are you planning, Yang Qi?” Su Xin asked.
“You people want to control me, but I’m not going to let that happen,” Yang Qi replied coldly. “I’ll use this power to help unlock the secrets of my Mahātmā Jade, and then I’ll use that jade to suck my enemies dry! Maybe I won’t wipe out all of the Genesis Sanctum and the House of God Bastards, but I’ll definitely inflict heavy casualties. So what do the two of you think?”
