“What? Yang Qi reached the Legendary level? How is that even possible? Is it really that easy to become a Legendary? It’s only been a few months! How did he do it? So he's going to be a holy neophyte now?”

There were quite a few grand elders clustered around Yun Hailan in the Minorcosm World.

Patriarchs Wind and Cloud. The Seven Preheaven Masters. The Three Pure Yang Elders. Legendaries were incredibly powerful figures in the institute. In fact, at this point, the only grand elder who could possibly cause any trouble for Yang Qi was Grand Elder Feat-Virtue, the very same one who had sold the Euphoria Godstone to him. In his mind, he had really pulled a fast one on Yang Qi. Little did he know that the godstone actually turned out to be extremely beneficial, and the best foundation Yang Qi could have acquired to build on.

The thirteen Legendaries were powering a spell formation for Yun Hailan, a Thirteen Heavenly Gates Reincarnation Formation that was in the midst of thoroughly transforming her. There were two magical treasures floating above her, the Gate of the Great Void and the Pearl of the Thousand Illusions World, which were being used to form an out-of-body incarnation, a second nascent divinity.

Yun Hailan was now at the peak of the Nonary Lifeseizing level, just on the verge of becoming a Legendary.

However, breaking into the Legendary level was no simple task. She had been working day and night with the help of these grand elders, their true energy stimulating her blood flow, all in the hopes of achieving the next breakthrough. Unfortunately, she still wasn’t ready.

And now, she received the astonishing news that Yang Qi was a Legendary. It was such a shock that her true energy suddenly went wildly out of control, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. It was a dangerous situation that could end in death if she didn’t regain control.

It took some struggle, but she stabilized herself and then looked over at the Crown Prince Society student who had brought the news, who was virtually soaked with sweat. 

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Yang Qi is at the Academy of Sage Studies right now, waiting for enough elders to show up. Even now, word is being sent summoning various grand elders. I took a look myself, and he’s definitely in the Legendary level. There’s no way that aura of his could be a counterfeit.”

“Damnation. How could this be happening?” Yun Hailan’s eyes glittered with raw malice.

It was at this point that the sound of bugles suddenly echoed out from the Academy of Sage Studies.

“The Sagely Might Bugles are sounding,” Patriarch Cloud said. “That means someone is being promoted to holy neophyte. Fellow Grand Elders, we need to get over there immediately to confirm what’s going on. We’re responsible for making sure new holy neophytes meet all the requirements. We can only accept loyalists, not monsters.”

“Regardless of anything, we have to stop Yang Qi from becoming a holy neophyte,” Yun Hailan said. “That’s what the Crown Prince ordered. Even if he really is a Legendary now, we absolutely, positively must stop him!”

“We hate Yang Qi as much as you do,” Patriarch Wind said. “He might want to become a holy neophyte, but that’s easier said than done. We have to crush him, and crush him hard. Force him onto the heretical path of wretch-devils, and make sure he can never recover. Wipe him out for all time!”

Patriarchs Wind and Cloud were completely stunned by this development, and knew that if Yang Qi became a holy neophyte, he wouldn’t just be on their level, he would surpass them.

“Very well, Grand Elders,” Yun Hailan said. “I’ll entrust the matter to you. Not everyone in the institute works for the Crown Prince, and some grand elders will likely welcome Yang Qi as a holy neophyte. After all, Legendaries are important assets to the institute as a whole.”

“Fear not,” Grand Elder Feat-Virtue said. “We’ve made great progress in winning people over to our side. Although, the leader of the Gentlemen’s Society, Master Wind Gentleman, has really been putting pressure on me lately. I hope the Crown Prince can offer some support in that regard.”

“We’re aware of that, and the Crown Prince has been informed,” Yun Hailan replied. “He’s very pleased with the loyalty you’ve shown. We’ve already sent Master Wind Gentleman a warning. The Crown Prince will be returning soon, and any who oppose him will be killed.”

“What?” Patriarch Cloud exclaimed. “The Crown Prince is returning this soon? I thought it was supposed to take five years.” 

Yun Hailan rose to her feet. “That was false information that the Crown Prince intentionally spread to make them think he was injured worse than he really was. The truth is that everything is going according to his master plan. Soon, he’ll be a Great Sage. Grand Elders, please hurry over and take care of Yang Qi.”

“Of course,” Grand Elder Feat-Virtue said, chuckling viciously. “How dare this good-for-nothing punk try to become a holy neophyte! I'm definitely going to teach him a lesson he won’t ever forget.” He couldn’t stop thinking about the incident with the Euphoria Godstone, and how easy it had been to bully Yang Qi. Because of that, he wasn’t afraid of him at all.

Whoooosh….

The large group of grand elders flew into the air and headed toward the Academy of Sage Studies.

Yun Hailan remained behind, her expression a complex mixture of jealousy and hatred. ‘I underestimated you yet again, Yang Qi. I thought I was going to reach the Legendary level first, but then I hit this bottleneck. How did you do it so quickly? Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll make sure you get what’s coming to you. Almost everyone in the Demi-Immortal Institute is loyal to the Crown Prince Society now. I’ve even got plenty of grand elders working for me. You, on the other hand, are all alone. How do you expect to accomplish anything like that? I think that, for the purposes of becoming a Legendary, I need to enact

that

plan.'

Suddenly, Yun Hailan began to murmur some sort of mysterious enchantment. A moment later, a voice pierced through the void, powerful and domineering to the extreme, almost like the voice of heaven itself. 

“Yes?”

It was none other than the Crown Prince!

“Crown Prince, I want to start Operation Azure Heavens.”

“Are you sure, Hailan? Operation Azure Heavens is nothing to take lightly. Not even I would enact it unless absolutely necessary. You’ll only have one fleeting chance to gain enlightenment of the dao of the azure heavens, and have the seed of that heavenly scripture implanted in your heart. If you fail, you will return to the dust. Not even your soul will remain. You have the blood of a sea god, the blood of a divine dragon, and other mysterious powers. You're an important person in my long-term plan.”

“It's fine. When I succeed with Operation Azure Heavens, then it will help your plan immensely. Besides, Yang Qi is a Legendary now, and he's about to become a holy neophyte. If he succeeds, he’ll have immense power. Other than you, no one will be able to keep him in check. Therefore, I can't wait.”

“Oh? That brat became a Legendary?” The Crown Prince was clearly surprised. To him, it was as if an ant had crawled onto his foot in annoying fashion. “Well, once I'm out of seclusion I’ll kill him.”

“You won’t have to,” Yun Hailan said casually. “I’ll personally put an end to him. By the way, I heard that he acquired the Grand Emperor's Pagoda.”

“What? The Grand Emperor’s Pagoda?! I can’t believe a low-down scumbag like him got it.” A psychic tempest rolled out through the void, seemingly strong enough to shake the Minorcosm World to the core, and definitely powerful enough to destroy Nonary Lifeseizers.

“It’s true,” Yun Hailan said coolly. “The chancellor sent you to the Heavendawn Quarry to get the Grand Emperor's Pagoda, but Yang Qi, a measly Lifeseizer, somehow managed to snatch it. It was definitely the chancellor who helped him. He must be worried about you getting too powerful, and is trying to play both sides. By giving the Grand Emperor's Pagoda to Yang Qi, he ensured that you wouldn’t get the full legacy of Grand Emperor Rich-Lush.”

“I was already aware of that,” the Crown Prince said. “The moment I saw the Grand Emperor's Pagoda flying away, I knew that the chancellor was behind it. Well, in the end, I’ll make sure he realizes how stupid it was to try to play both sides. I'm the Crown Prince. I'm the Son of Heaven! I'm a god from heaven descended into the mortal world. All living things will acknowledge allegiance to me. Not just the Rich-Lush Continent. Not just the four institutes. All of the countless energy warriors from the most powerful continents will be reduced to ashes if they cross me. Anyone who resists me is a rebel against heaven! Understand, Yun Hailan?! Very well. I suppose I need to help you with Operation Azure Heavens. Come, join me here!”

RUMBLE!

A massive psychic tempest swept through the Minorcosm World and wrapped up Yun Hailan. Then, she vanished.

**

Meanwhile, many other grand elders in the Minorcosm World were reacting to the sound of the Sagely Might Bugles.

“What? Someone reached the Legendary level?”

Holy Daughter Manyflowers was in her part of the Minorcosm World, absorbing Nine-Yang Immortal Energy. However, as soon as she heard the bugles, she flew up into the air and looked off in the direction of the Academy of Sage Studies. When she saw Yang Qi standing there, thrumming with energy, she realized instantly that he was a Blood-Form Legendary. ‘I can’t believe he got to the Legendary level so fast. It's a miracle. However, there are definitely going to be people who cause trouble. I need to head over to provide support.’

‘So many grand elders.’ Yang Qi thought. Numerous grand elders were converging in the Academy of Sage Studies. Soon, he saw Patriarchs Wind and Cloud, the Seven Preheaven Masters, the Three Pure Yang Elders, Holy Daughter Manyflowers and Grand Elder Feat-Virtue. There were other experts whose names he didn’t know. Before long, the hall was relatively packed, and everyone was looking at him.

“I trust you’ve been well since we last met, Grand Elder Feat-Virtue?” Yang Qi said, his eyes flashing with killing intent. “By the way, thanks a lot for that Euphoria Godstone. That was what pushed me into the Legendary level. The life force quintessence it gave me was exactly what I needed.”

“You!” Grand Elder Feat-Virtue blurted. A moment ago he had been nearly dancing with joy, but now he had to fight not to cough up blood. “You actually used a wretch-devil stone to become a Legendary! Well, you're obviously a monster! A true heretical villain! You want to be a holy neophyte? No way! I suggest that he be locked up immediately, and have the wretch-devil energy purged from him by force!”

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