No one in Mongoltar would ever be able to forget the events of this day.
Someone they had thought to be like a deva from heaven, a powerful ruler who could never be defeated, the Legendary Patriarch Mongolbeast who had lorded it over them for a thousand years, was decapitated by a single spear move, and then completely destroyed.
It all happened within the space of a few breaths of time.
It was almost like a nightmare, a horrible dream that they were incapable of waking up from.
The vice-president and president of Mongoltar’s branch of the Myriad Consortium were rooted in place, their hands and feet turning as cold as ice.
Even still, no one present dared to trust what they were seeing with their own eyes.
Suddenly, Yang Qi stabbed his spear into the ground and sent out his true energy through it, causing the city walls to shatter, and the warding magics protecting the city to collapse. The multi-colored pillars of light fell apart, indicating that Mongoltar was now completely defenseless.
“What was that guy’s name?” he said loudly. “Patriarch Mongolbeast? What a reckless, suicidal moron. How dare an ant like him try to show off in front of me.” As his words echoed out into the hearts and minds of the onlookers, they began to awaken from their reveries.
“My god!” blurted a nearby Quinary Lifeseizer. “Patriarch Mongolbeast was a Legendary! The Mongol Clan has ruled over Mongoltar for generation after generation. I can’t believe he was killed with one spear move. Is that guy a god, or a devil? Is he human, or a ghost?”
“Patriarch Mongolbeast is dead. He’s really dead! Mongoltar’s warding magics are destroyed. Come on, let’s get out of here! This guy’s going to slaughter everyone!”
“What do we do? What do we do?!”
Panic started spreading through the streets like an epidemic.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Yang Qi said. “For every debt, there is a debtor. I came here today for the Myriad Consortium. Your city magistrate Mongolbeast tried to stop me, and died because of it. When it comes to people who protect criminals, not even death can wipe away their crimes. However, I don’t kill innocent people. Every person who I kill is a person who deserved to die. There’s no need for any of you to panic.”
There was something calming in his voice that quickly quelled the panic that had begun to spread through the city.
The blood of Patriarch Mongolbeast soaked the street that housed the Myriad Consortium, and considering that he was a Legendary with supremely powerful flesh and blood, already, the weeping of ghosts and wailing of gods drifted about, as though a vengeful soul were present that wished to return to life.
Henceforth, even if this street were to be razed to the ground and rebuilt, the area would always be haunted.
Not that Yang Qi cared. Looking at the vice-president and president, he said, “Well, give me your explanation. Why have you been working with wretch-devils? Why did you plot against me with the House of Shadowblight? Why did you not respect the rules of business?”
Backing up, the vice-president said, “Just who are you? You’re a Nonary Lifeseizer, but you can kill a Legendary? How? Maybe you can kill Patriarch Mongolbeast, but you should be aware that the Myriad Consortium is backed by the Crown Prince Society! And we’re friends with plenty of other patriarchs, all of them Never-Dying Legendaries, invincible entities who are just on the verge of becoming Great Sages. If you offend people like that, you’ll be signing your own death sente—”
Before he could finish speaking, he screamed, and his head flew off of his shoulders. The pain he felt pierced all the way to the bottom of his sea of consciousness, and yet, before he could do anything else, a burst of true energy turned him into dust.
“Well, he was a real chatterbox,” Yang Qi said coolly.
“Wait!” shouted the president. Terrified at the prospect of dying, he went on to reveal everything he knew. “Don’t kill me. I admit it! We were behind everything. The Myriad Consortium has been working on a big business deal with the House of Shadowblight. We’re planning to purchase a shipment of spirit stones from the Western Continent. Spirit stones don’t exist in the Rich-Lush Continent nowadays. If we make this deal happen, it will be extremely profitable. That’s why we told the House of Shadowblight about you.”
Many looks of shock could be seen on the faces of the onlookers.
“So, that’s what happened. They really are in league with wretch-devils. And they even arranged to have one of their own customers killed. This Myriad Consortium disgusts me.”
“They had one of their own customers killed so that they could turn a profit? Betrayal like that is disgraceful. No one’s ever going to do business with the Myriad Consortium again!”
“This is absurd! I can’t believe the Myriad Consortium would do something like this. If that member of the Senior generation wasn’t an energy arts expert, then he would be dead now! Not only would justice have never been served, injustice would have reigned supreme!”
“Detestable! Come on, let’s spread word of this everywhere. Before long, the Myriad Consortium will be done for. They might do business everywhere in the Rich-Lush Continent, but they can’t stop rumors from spreading.”
After hearing the talk, Yang Qi nodded in satisfaction; his main goal had been accomplished. The Myriad Consortium took orders from the Crown Prince Society, so if he could damage their reputation enough, it would cause harm to the business interests of the Crown Prince Society.
“You….” Upon hearing the talk around him, the president’s face turned ashen. ‘Wait,’ he thought. ‘As long as I stay alive long enough, I can escape and report the matter to my superiors. They’ll definitely be able to come up with a plan. In fact, they can probably just capture him and force him to say that it’s all a sham. That should solve everything. After all, if word really does spread, and the Myriad Consortium finds out it’s my fault, I’ll be severely punished.’
“Am I free to leave now, Senior?” the president asked.
“Free to leave?”
Snap!
Yang Qi’s spear stabbed into the man’s chest, then twisted, causing him to explode.
“Only your blood can wash away your impertinence.”
Waving his hand, Yang Qi then said, “Grand Emperor’s Pagoda!”
RUUUUMBLE! Boundless energy rose up into the air, where an enormous pagoda appeared, large enough to cover everything in sight.
Everyone in the city was so deeply shaken that they immediately passed out, even the fleeing members of the Mongol Clan.
Mongolbeast was the patriarch, but beneath him were numerous sons, grandsons and the like. They were a huge clan who had tyrannized Mongoltar and the area surrounding it for years on end. But when the tree topples, the monkeys scatter, and upon hearing that their patriarch had been killed, everyone in the clan immediately took to flight.
But now, all of those people simply collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Then, Yang Qi’s true energy swept through the entire city, locating the subterranean treasure stores. Medicinal pills. Swords. Divine weapons. Powerful items. Even spirit stones.
Drawing on the power of the Grand Emperor’s Pagoda, he took them all.
Crevices opened up in the ground of Mongoltar, and treasures of the Myriad Consortium and the Mongol Clan flew up into the air, one after another, even demon cores, all of them to be sucked into the Grand Emperor’s Pagoda.
The Grand Emperor’s Pagoda was nothing like the Heart of the Sea thumb-ring. It was huge inside, and actually consisted of multiple separate dimensions. It was large enough to contain mountains and rivers, so a small treasure hoard was like nothing to it.
Of course, this ‘small’ treasure hoard would be nothing less than gargantuan in Yanhaven. After all, part of it came from a Legendary Patriarch who had led an aristocratic clan for a thousand years. And the other came from one of the richest business groups in the lands.
It was impossible to even quantify the level of resources involved. If it were given to the Yang Clan, they would be able to produce countless experts within a very short time.
Yang Qi glanced over the wealth, and shook his head. He had no intention of organizing it all; he would just give it to his father to fund the clan.
But first, he needed to wipe out the House of Shadowblight’s headquarters.
Most likely, they would have hundreds or even thousands of times the treasure from Mongoltar. After all, as Yang Qi now knew, they were essentially a minor outpost of the Blight Legion Church, who had access to unimaginable resources.
WHOOSH!
Having looted Mongoltar, Yang Qi flew up into the sky and disappeared. Before long, the populace woke up, and exchanged awkward glances at the sight of the chaos of the city.
“Mongoltar is in ruins!”
“What do we do? Who’s in charge of this place now?”
“Regardless of who takes charge now, Patriarch Mongolbeast is dead, and the Mongol Clan is destroyed. They always relied on their patriarch to carry out their evil deeds. They bullied men and women alike, and killed too many rivals to count. Now, it’s time to settle accounts! Kill everyone from the Mongol Clan! At long last they’ll understand what revenge really is!”
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!”
Already, Mongoltar was descending into pandemonium. And the Mongol Clan was done for.
Enormous aristocratic clans like that often bullied the populace, men and women alike. When such grievances piled upon grievances, it only meant that when the leader of that clan died, the rest of the clan would receive full payback for their previous actions.
Off in the distance, Yang Qi looked back to see what was happening, and realized that he needed to work hard to make sure something like that never happened with the Yang Clan. In that moment, he decided to enact a new rule when he got back: any member of the Yang Clan who hurt innocent people would be put to death without mercy.
That would be the best way to prevent disaster from striking the clan one day.
After all, no matter how strong the clan was, there would always be stronger people out there, and that meant that death was a constant threat.
With that, Yang Qi sent his thoughts into the Grand Emperor’s Pagoda, “Listen up, Blightczar Skyfiend. I really hope you weren’t lying to me about that mobile island. You saw what I just did. I didn’t even need the Grand Emperor’s Pagoda to kill Patriarch Mongolbeast. He didn’t last for one move against me.”
“Yes, of course….” came the reply. It was none other than the Legendary Blightczar Skyfiend. Yang Qi hadn’t killed him, but rather, taken him prisoner to learn more about the House of Shadowblight.
