Against the Gods

NEW NOVEL: First and foremost, I'm delighted to announce that our long-time veteran translator littleshanks has finally launched his new novel, Rise!  Rise is a novel about the esports scene in Shanghai, the competitive gaming capital of China. It follows the story of Lin Feng, a boy who has just moved to the city for his last year of high school. He's a passionate gamer and dreams of being the best professional League of Legends player in the world. The twist? He almost achieved his dream, but failed at the...

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Chapter 1181 - As if Awakening from a Startling Dream

A total of eight battles were going to be held tomorrow. Four battles of the second round of Conferred Gods Group, and four battles of the third round of Losers Group.

Although they were already mentally prepared, everyone from the Flame God Realm felt their hearts sink down upon seeing the name of Huo Poyun’s opponent in the match-up list.

The successor of the Sword Sovereign, one of the Eastern Region’s Four God Children, Jun Xilei!!

Huo Poyun didn’t change the expression on his face, but his hands slowly clenched into fists.

Yan Juehai and Huo Rulie glanced at each other. They were very clear about the strength of the “Sword Sovereign’s Successor” who was also “one of the Eastern Region’s Four God Children.” They had come into close contact with the master-disciple pair in the Snow Song Realm before arriving at the Eternal Heaven Realm. Jun Xilei was still of a young age, but the aura of the way of sword accumulated within her body made even two great Divine Sovereigns such as them feel inwardly apprehensive.

It was absolutely not possible for Huo Poyun to be her opponent.

The atmosphere remained tense for a short while, after which Huo Rulie relaxed his brows. He heavily patted Huo Poyun’s shoulder as he said smilingly, “Yun’er, you just have to give it your best in the battle tomorrow. It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose. You have already surpassed my expectations by a hundred, no, a thousand times by being able to come this far, and have also won unprecedented glory for our Flame God Realm. Therefore, you don’t need to feel pressure any longer.”

Huo Poyun slowly nodded his head, but didn’t say anything.

Yun Che glanced sideways at Huo Poyun. He knew very well that the true pressure for Huo Poyun didn’t originate from the expectations of the Flame God Realm, but from his own.

In the second round of the Conferred Gods Group, the first battle between the God Children of the Eastern Region was finally going to take place—Luo Changsheng VS Lu Lengchuan.

The battles between the Four God Children of the Eastern Region was undoubtedly going to be the greatest showdowns between the Eastern Divine Region’s younger generation.

[Note: Should be the “second” round as mentioned above, not the “third” round. It seems to be a mistake made by the author.]

Yun Che was at once taken aback when he saw the match-up list of the second round of the Conferred Gods Group.

Shui… Mei…yin!?

She’s actually… still not eliminated? Moreover, she is in the Conferred Gods Group!?

What’s going on?

It was easy to imagine the great strength possessed by those who were still left in the Conferred Gods Group. Luo Changsheng, Jun Xilei, Shui Yingyue, and Lu Lengchuan together monopolized half of those places, and Meng Duanxi as well as Chao Feng were both at the ninth level of the Divine Spirit Realm. They all were absolute experts who had firmly occupied a place in the top ten lists in the preliminaries.

Comparatively speaking, Huo Poyun’s profound strength at the seventh level of the Divine Spirit Realm was definitely near the bottom level among the thirty-two Conferred God Candidates. So he could be called an exception for still being in the Conferred Gods Group. In the opinion of the majority, luck was the biggest reason for such a thing to happen. After all, both of his opponents so far hadn’t lost because of him showing his amazing strength, or anything of the sort. One of them, Lu Chenyuan, was caught unprepared due to his arrogant and conceited attitude, and didn’t even get the chance to display his true strength. The other was Luo Changan, whose profound strength was at the bottom level compared to the other contestants, and had entered the Conferred Gods Group without having to fight a battle. It was nothing amazing to defeat such an opponent.

But why was Shui Meiyin… still in the Conferred Gods Group?

On the first day of the competition, he had immediately left after conceding, and he wasn’t even present at the battle site the day before. Therefore, he knew nothing about the other fights of the Conferred God Battle. He didn’t see Shui Meiyin’s name in the match-up list of the second round of the Losers Group this day, and naturally thought that she had been eliminated… After all, although she managed to enter the group of Thirty-two Conferred God Candidates with tricks, her profound strength was only at the first level of the Divine Spirit Realm. So, it was only natural for her to be immediately eliminated in the Conferred God Battle.

He was completely unable to understand what he was seeing at this moment. Not only was she not eliminated, her name was actually in the match-up list of the second round of the Conferred Gods Group tomorrow.

“Palace Master Bingyun, how did Shui Meiyin… win in her previous battle?” Yun Che asked Mu Bingyun as he looked to her.

Among the eight people of the Conferred Gods Group, four were at the tenth level of the Divine Spirit Realm, and two were at the ninth level of the Divine Spirit Realm. Huo Poyun was already considered an exception, so for someone like Shui Meiyin to be there with her profound strength of the first level of Divine Spirit Realm was simply…

Was there something really fishy going on?

Mu Bingyun replied, “Shui Meiyin indeed relied on her strength to remain in the Conferred Gods Group. Although her profound strength is only in the early stages of the Divine Spirit Realm, her strength cannot be measured according to normal conventions… the same as in your case.”

“…” Yun Che’s strength was far beyond the level of his profound strength, which was mainly because he possessed the unique inheritance of a Creation God; he had the heaven-defying Heretic God’s Profound Veins. But what was Shui Meiyin relying on that made her so strong?

“As for how she fought her opponent… You will be able to see it for yourself in the battle tomorrow.”

Yun Che was startled once again. Mu Bingyun clearly sounded as if she was implying that Shui Meiyin might win in the battle tomorrow, too.

She would win against Meng Duanxi, who was at the ninth level of the Divine Spirit Realm?

“You had better pay attention to your opponent tomorrow,” Mu Bingyun said in a serious tone.

In the match-up list of the third round of Losers Group, Yun Che found his name at a glance.

Battle 1: Divine Martial Realm 【Wu Guike】（Eighth level of the Divine Spirit Realm）VS Snow Song Realm【Yun Che】（Eighth level of the Divine Tribulation Realm）

Wu Guike!?

Just as Yun Che raised his head, his gaze met with a malevolent one. Wu Guike was sitting at the side of Wu Sanzun, the Divine Martial Realm King. There was surprise in his eyes, but they contained even more ruthlessness. He almost lost all his standing and reputation because of helping Yun Che to “cheat,” after all.

Other than surprise and ruthlessness, there was some fear within them too… Yun Che had two great blackmailing items with him!

Yun Che shifted his gaze away, and said in a low tone, “We’re truly fated, huh.”

Mu Bingyun found no trace of seriousness on Yun Che’s face. She asked in a low tone of voice, “How confident are you in obtaining victory against an opponent of Wu Guike’s level?”

“One hundred percent,” Yun Che immediately replied without the slightest hesitation.

Mu Bingyun revealed surprise in her eyes, before she said in warning, “Be sure to not underestimate Wu Guike. The profound art of the Divine Martial Realm is extremely hard, fierce, and domineering, which makes it difficult to execute. However, not only is Wu Guike proficient enough to easily execute it at such a young age, he has also cultivated it to a very high realm. His battle power will greatly surpass an opponent of the same level.

“The reason he has fallen into the Losers Group is due to him getting beaten by none other than Luo Changsheng.”

Following the end of the Conferred God Battle for this day, sixteen people were eliminated. Only sixteen were left out of the thirty-two Conferred God Candidates.

But, who would have thought that it would actually be Yun Che that caused the biggest sensation and attracted the most attention.

He had completely defeated Luo Changan, sixth level of the Divine Spirit Realm, with profound strength at the eighth level of the Divine Tribulation Realm. Moreover, he had ignored the enormous might of the Holy Eaves Realm as he humiliated Luo Changan a hundred times more than he himself had been, on the Conferred God Stage. Either of these two facts was enough to make everyone change the expressions on their faces, and many even had looks of shock.

Even the experts from the great star realms, including the great realm kings, didn’t dare to believe their eyes.

Yun Che obviously expected things to turn out this way, but he didn’t worry about it in the least. While his actions had caused monstrous waves and lead to countless speculations in the profound strength cultivation world of the Eastern Divine Region, he returned to his residence and sat at the side of the pond where he had quietly passed a night earlier, silently thinking things through.

It was because of the rule that no outsiders were allowed to visit or disturb the Conferred God Candidates during the Conferred God Battle period that the residences of both the Snow Song Realm and the Flame God Realm were particularly quiet. Otherwise, it was certain that a large number of people would have visited Yun Che after his performance on this day.

“Yun Che.” Mu Bingyun soundlessly walked over to him. She spread open her palm in front of Yun Che, “This is your Time Wheel Pearl that was distributed yesterday.”

After every two rounds, the contestants would obtain a time wheel pearl to treat their physical injuries and recover profound strength, so long as they didn’t get eliminated.

Yun Che said as he took it, “Thank you, Palace Master Bingyun.”

Mu Bingyun retracted her snow white hand, “Are you not planning to use this Time Wheel Pearl to adjust your condition? Your opponent tomorrow will absolutely be much stronger than Luo Changan.”

“No need,” Yun Che said with a faint smile. “I hardly exhausted my strength while fighting Luo Changan.”

Furthermore, given his recovery ability, which was far more extraordinary than an ordinary person’s, it would be enough for him to completely recover in a night’s time, even if he had exhausted most of his strength.

Mu Bingyun’s gaze showed a slight surprise at his reply. After hesitating for a brief moment, she asked once again, “Can you give me approximate estimation of your current strength?”

Yun Che shook his head slightly, “I don’t know. Once I witness the four battles of the Conferred Gods Group tomorrow, I will have a rough idea about it. However, it should not be too difficult to win against Wu Guike.”

What Mu Bingyun felt from Yun Che wasn’t arrogance due to the great increase in his strength and thoroughly defeating Luo Changan. It was an unshakable confidence that he harbored in his heart. However, seeing him so calm and confident actually caused the look in Mu Bingyun’s eyes to grow complicated. She shifted her gaze away and suddenly asked in a faint voice, “Yun Che, it seems that you are really not clear about the one that gave you the strength you possess right now.”

Yun Che was startled. He said in puzzlement, “Umm… My profound strength greatly increased because of the medicinal power of the Universe Penta Jade Pellet that I had refined inside the time wheel barrier. What is Palace Master Bingyun trying to say?”

“…Then, why do you have your master’s aura on your body?” Mu Bingyun slowly closed her beautiful eyes, as she found it difficult to calm the surging thoughts and emotions in her mind.

“The medicinal power of the Universe Penta Jade Pellet was too fierce, and I was basically unable to refine it with my own energy. Therefore, it was Master who assisted me through the whole thing.” Yun Che replied, as he felt doubtful in his heart… There was no reason for Mu Bingyun to be unaware of it.

“…So you mean to say that you had sealed your external senses during the refining process of the Universe Penta Jade Pellet?”

Yun Che nodded his head. "The medicinal power of that Universe Penta Jade Pellet was several times fiercer than I had expected it to be, so I didn’t dare to let myself be distracted by external influence. Furthermore, I was still surrounded by perils despite trying to be so careful. If it was not for Master guiding her energy into my body to help me refine the medicinal power, my life would have very likely been in danger.”

“Guiding her energy… into your body?”

Mu Bingyun’s chest heaved heavily. She let out a very light sigh and turned away, “The Universe Penta Jade Pellet can certainly boost the cultivation of a profound practitioner by a great extent before they reach the Divine Tribulation, but in your case, you had already entered the Divine Tribulation Realm. Do you truly believe that just by relying on a Universe Penta Jade Pellet, you could raise your cultivation from the early stages of the Divine Tribulation Realm up to its late stages? Besides… your profound veins are very abnormal compared to ordinary people, and hence would require much greater energy to raise your cultivation compared to others.”

“…” Yun Che slowly stood up, but he could only see the back of Mu Bingyun, “Although there is one other reason behind the increase in my profound strength, the medicinal power of the Universe Penta Jade Pellet was indeed a bit extraordinary. Palace Master Bingyun, do you mean that… Master executed some other secret method on me while helping me to refine the medicinal power?”

Mu Bingyun didn’t reply, and instead said lightly, “If she hasn’t told you anything, it shows that she doesn’t want you to know about it… or anyone else for that matter. Therefore, you don’t need to inquire any further. Don’t ask your master about it, either.”

Yun Che, “…??”

“You only need to remember one thing.” Mu Bingyun’s voice became faintly chilly all of a sudden. “I owe you a great favor for saving me, so it is natural for me to help you in various ways. But… your master doesn’t owe you anything. She has assisted you in so many ways because she wants to be good to you. Don’t you ever… do anything… that would let her down.”

Mu Bingyun’s heart had always been calm like still water. Her voice was mild like clouds, and as light and slow as fog. But, Yun Che actually sensed deep chilliness in her voice at this time when she spoke these words.

“…” Yun Che stood dazed in place, with a blank look on his whole face. He watched the back of Mu Bingyun who was already moving away, far into the distance at a slow pace. Afterwards, she disappeared from his sight.

Amidst the quiet surroundings, Yun Che kept looking ahead blankly for a long time. There was absolutely some deep meaning hidden within Mu Bingyun’s words… He vaguely remembered that two years ago, when Mu Xuanyin had captured him at the Illusory Sea Island and brought him back to the Snow Song Realm, Mu Bingyun seemed to have spoken in a similar tone… when he saw her upon awakening.

What exactly was the meaning of her words?

Yun Che again sat back at the side of the pond with his brows knitted. Very soon, he closed his eyes and started to attempt recalling the details of the refining process of the Universe Penta Jade Pellet inside the time wheel barrier.

It took quite a long time for the Universe Penta Jade Pellet to be refined completely. When he had finally opened his eyes, the time wheel barrier had still existed, but there was only a very thin layer of it left. It was evident that the barrier was on the verge of dissipating. Hence, he didn't dare delay any longer and had at once focused his mind on fusing the Ice Phoenix divine soul that the Ice Phoenix girl had given to him.

Given his special profound veins and soul, the process of the fusion of the Ice Phoenix divine soul was naturally extremely fast. The whole process had finished successfully in less than three days. But it was not that he had woken up on his own, but it was Mu Xuanyin's shout that had awakened him instead… The time wheel barrier had disappeared by the time he woke up, and the time for this day's Conferred God Battle to begin was drawing closer.

He was brought to the teleportation profound formation by Mu Xuanyin and had rushed to the Conferred God Stage at his top speed, but was still about to be late for the battle.

During this whole period, he had sometimes sealed his senses, sometimes fully concentrated his mind to cultivate, and sometimes burned with impatience. There had naturally been no time for him to carefully think about things until now.

But at this time, he finally recalled the memories of him refining the Universe Penta Jade Pellet as he was feeling doubt. He at once sensed something odd just after thinking a bit about the refining process.

The aura that had surged every time the medicinal power went out of control…

It was clearly an external aura but it could perfectly fuse with his own… Later, whenever it appeared, it would be slightly weaker than the previous time… The most important point was that the moment it appeared within him, he immediately found it familiar for some reason…

A familiar feeling…

Yun Che suddenly thought back to the time in the God Burying Inferno Prison. Inside the Primordial Profound Ark, he had to commit an immoral act so as to not let Mu Xuanyin be hurt by the blood of the horned dragon in her severely injured state. He had violated her ten-odd times… The aura that had flowed in reverse up to his body on its own every time he raped her, and caused his profound strength to breakthrough from the Divine Origin Realm to the Divine Soul Realm…

Yun Che stood up all of a sudden as if his body had come into contact with electricity. He stared blankly ahead for a long while, and his brain was in mess.

Impossible…

How could… How could Master…?

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