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 1215 - Fighting Nameless

Yun Che actually managed to stop it… he actually managed to stop the attack by force!

That was the Sword Sovereign’s sword; the sword blast that Jun Xilei had forcefully unleashed at the cost of her blood essence, talent and even her own life… and yet somehow, Yun Che had managed to stop it!

The spectators did not dare believe it, even though the scene had unfolded right before their eyes.

“He… actually… blocked that?” Huo Rulie recovered from his initial shock and gave his eyes a strong rub.

He was severely injured, the Heaven Smiting Sword was knocked away, his aura was in shambles, and he cut a sorry figure… but none of these changed the fact that he had defended himself against the Nameless Sword’s blast and got back up in just a few breaths’ time.

“How… how is this possible…” Shui Yinghen’s mouth was agape as he muttered to himself.

“...” Shui Qianheng’s eyebrows were slanted into a frown. For a long time, he didn’t say anything. This outcome was a shocker even to him.

Shui Meiyin put her tiny hands on her chest and felt her heart racing at an abnormal rate. It wasn’t until a while later that some color finally returned to her cheeks. She said in a small voice, “I just knew it, nothing bad would happen to Big Brother… that’s great...”

Shui Yingyue shot Shui Meiyin a complicated look. Before this, she had thought that Shui Meiyin’s sudden infatuation with Yun Che was just a product of impulse and playfulness. It could also be the residual effect of her soul losing a battle, but that could be healed very quickly.

However… she had never seen such level of worry, agitation, and fear in her eyes until now. There were even tears in her eyes.

Every sign was pointing towards Shui Meiyin falling for Yun Che for real, whatever her reason might be. At the very least, it was no temporary infatuation or simple playfulness.

However, Yun Che’s crisis was far from over.

Staring at Yun Che, Jun Xilei raised the Nameless Sword high up into the air once more. A shapeless power rose high up into the sky.

“Enough. This is enough already…” Jun Wuming closed his eyes. His voice had never sounded this powerless. At this point, he understood that there was no stopping Jun Xilei, especially when he had already failed earlier.

The sword’s power gathered once more, prompting the very sky itself to darken. Not a trace of the cloud’s usual color could be seen, and the atmosphere felt oppressive enough to squeeze blood out of one’s lungs. Yun Che, the target of the sword, felt like his head was being suspended in between a demon’s fangs. His body shook with fear against his wishes.

Everyone could sense that this new attack was even stronger than the one before!

“Retreat now, Yun Che!” Huo Rulie shouted. “Nothing is more precious than your own life! You’ve already won this battle!”

Yun Che had already tasted the terror that was the Nameless Sword first hand, but this second attack was going to be even deadlier than the first. Considering how badly he was wounded from the first sword blast alone… Yun Che had to know that there was no way he could endure another attack, or so Huo Rulie believed.

The reason Yun Che hadn’t surrendered during the first attack was because he was a proud man who wasn’t aware of just how deadly the Nameless Sword was. Now that he had tasted its might with his own body, he should know what the right choice to make here was… In Huo Rulie’s opinion, Yun Che was an extremely clever person. No matter how proud he was, there was no way he would recklessly throw his life away for pride.

But Yun Che didn’t take even a step backward. He ignored the Nameless Sword, extended his arm and summoned the Heaven Smiting Sword to his hand. But to everyone’s surprise, he put the weapon away instead of holding it in front of himself just like before. The fire surrounding him had also been completely extinguished.

It was replaced with the faint blue light of the Ice Phoenix.

There was a long cry, and Profound Handle: God Manifestation was unleashed once more. This time, it was the Ice Phoenix.

Everyone was stunned by Yun Che’s actions again… it was obvious that he was planning to endure Jun Xilei’s second strike.

“Is… is he trying to commit suicide!?” Huo Rulie’s hair stood up as he roared out in frustration.

Crack crack crack crack crack...

Blue light flashed repeatedly from both Yun Che and the Ice Phoenix Manifest God as they constructed many icy defenses between themselves and Jun Xilei. In just a few breaths, more than half of the Conferred God Stage was covered in ice mountains and frozen ground.

It was at this moment Jun Xilei finished channeling and swung the Nameless Sword a second time!

It was the same pose as before, the same basic sword blast. However, the instant Jun Xilei unleashed her attack, Yun Che felt as if all the blood in his body had been frozen by the sword’s overwhelming might. The terrible omen of death, that penetrated right through his heart and soul, warned Yun Che that this new attack was nearly twice as powerful as the first!

The spectators’ cries were also far louder than before, but Yun Che heard not a sound, just like the last time. Everything had been devoured by that unparalleled power that didn’t belong on this stage at all.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang...

Yun Che retreated as quickly as he was able as the Nameless Sword’s sword blast cut through the erected defenses. The ice shattered like it was made of rotten wood, but the blast itself barely lost any power at all.

Every ice defense the Ice Phoenix and he had constructed were ground into dust in just an instant. The long cry of a phoenix cut through the air, and the Ice Phoenix—before anyone realized it, had grown several times larger than normal—charged straight towards the sword blast like a glittery ice beam covered in blue crystals.

Scree!!!

A beautiful aurora bloomed above the Conferred God Stage, shrouding the entire sky in dreamy blue light.

The sword blast continued to fly straight towards Yun Che. This time, it was clear to everyone that the Ice Phoenix had successfully reduced its power with its sacrifice… but it was still an incredibly terrifying attack.

Yun Che came to a stop. He had used the bought time to channel his power to the peak, and the condensed, scarlet profound energy of Rumbling Heaven shook violently like it would spiral out of control at any moment. Locking onto the sword blast with both his sight and spiritual perception, Yun Che abruptly spread his arms open.

“Sealing—Cloud—Locking—Sun!!”

Profound energy burst out his body, and Yun Che unleashed the strongest, biggest Heretic God Barrier he had ever created in his life.

The Heretic God Barrier spread to several kilometers away almost instantly. At the same time, the sword blast struck the Heretic God Barrier.

The impact sounded incredibly shrill. It was so discomfiting that it was like a thousand saws were sawing one’s heart. Not a single person in the spectator stands tried to cover up their ears, however. They were all staring at the Conferred God Stage without blinking...

The incoming sword blast… was stopped in its tracks! The terrible screeching continued as the two energies clashed against one another, but the half transparent barrier was definitely working as intended.

However, this stalemate only lasted for a breath’s time. As the screeching took on a new pitch, the Heretic God Barrier began shrinking rapidly.

One and a half kilometers...

One kilometer...

Five hundred meters... 

Three hundred meters...

Yun Che’s face contorted slightly under the pressure as he poured every bit of strength into the barrier. However, the Heretic God Barrier continued to shrink at a rapid pace until it was barely a hundred meters wide.

The sword blast’s power was definitely decreasing, but it still felt near impossible to defend against. Although the rate at which the Heretic God Barrier was shrinking was slowing, its power was still inferior to the sword blast every step of the way.

Finally, the Heretic God Barrier stopped shrinking when it was less than thirty meters wide, looking like it had reached a point where it could barely hold out against the sword blast. However, not only was the Heretic God Barrier fully deformed at this point, a pale white crack had suddenly spread and covered more than half its surface in an instant.

Yun Che sweated like he was standing under the rain. Nearly every muscle in his body was shaking uncontrollably.

It took a lot of energy to maintain the Heretic God Barrier for even a breath’s time, much less a full powered Heretic God Barrier. At this point, Yun Che was aware that he and his barrier were approaching their limits.

No, not like this...

Ruthlessness slowly entered Yun Che’s eyes. He clenched his teeth, and fire suddenly appeared on his body and flowed into the Heretic God Barrier. It quickly turned the colorless barrier into a fiery one.

Suddenly, the Heretic God Barrier exploded into a gigantic sea of golden flames, causing the Nameless Sword’s blast to detonate at the same spot as well. A large portion of the Conferred God Stage crumbled, and broken jade bits flew all over the place.

Yun Che was thrown out of the flames as quick as a meteor. The explosion had reopened his chest wound, and blood spilled all over the place yet again.

Bang!!

Yun Che soared several kilometers through the air before he finally hit the ground hard. However, the landing wasn’t enough to stop his momentum, and his bloody figure kept on bouncing towards the back.

He was already at the edge of the Conferred God Stage!

The explosion had wounded Yun Che greatly and thrown him away from the blast zone. Assuming that he was still alive and aware after the impact, there was still no way he would have any strength left to alter his momentum. The outcome was already decided.

Just when everyone thought that Yun Che would cross the boundary and lose the match, a blue light suddenly shot out of Yun Che’s body and transformed into an Ice Phoenix. The Manifest God flapped its wings, threw a hail of ice behind Yun Che and swept him back where he had come from.

The profound handle could be unleashed with a single thought. Neither physical gestures nor profound energy were necessary… it was one of the best points of the profound handle.

Bang!

Yun Che crashed back onto the Conferred God Stage. His bones felt like they were falling apart, and pain assaulted every one of his senses. The Ice Phoenix was withdrawn immediately because he barely had any strength left in his body. Even supporting his own weight was becoming an issue.

Yun Che pressed a hand to his chest and resealed all of his wounds with ice. Although he was shaking with pain, the corners of his mouth were curled slightly upwards… The reason he smiled was because he had ultimately managed to block Jun Xilei’s second attack!

He had to use nearly all of his strength, and the impact had wounded him severely just like before… but still, he had undoubtedly thwarted the attack!

“He… did it again…”

The thought resounded throughout everyone’s hearts and souls like the ephemeral voice of a dream.

“Unbelievable.” Shui Qianheng inhaled slightly before whispering to himself, “Just how many trump cards does he have left?”

Shi Yingyue stared blankly at the stage. A long time later, she let out a quiet sigh. “I’m… no match for him.”

“Huh?” Shui Yinghen asked in confusion, “What did you just say, second sis?”

“I’m no match for him.” This time, Shui Yingyue’s tone sounded a lot calmer. “At the very least, I couldn’t have blocked that attack even if I used everything I have.”

Shui Qianheng shot her a sideway glance but maintained his silence.

“Ah…” Shui Yinghen’s mind went blank for a moment.

“This also means that Jun Xilei is no match for Yun Che even if she wasn’t ‘tricked’ by him at the beginning. There are two reasons behind Yun Che’s actions: one, he wanted to take it out on Jun Xilei, and two, he wanted to conceal his strength.” Shui Yingyue looked up slightly. “His goal isn’t Jun Xilei or I… he’s planning to beat Luo Changsheng!”

It had only been three days since Yun Che went away from the stage, but his new strength could be said to have stunned the entire Eastern Divine Region.

Even better… the boy still hadn’t revealed all of his trump cards!

Everyone in the spectator stands and the entire Eastern Divine Region were staring at the bloodied Yun Che. He was severely wounded, and he had collapsed on the ground. He looked like he was having difficulty even standing. However, no one was laughing at his wretched state or looking at him with scorn in their eyes… even the realm kings of star realms were having problems controlling the wild beating of their hearts.

At the beginning of the Conferred God Battle, Yun Che was suspected, scorned, and ridiculed as the shame of all profound practitioners. Then, he astounded everyone with his strength and shook the entire Eastern Divine Region… Every time he went on stage, he would deliver a new level of shock to their senses. Every time he stood on the Conferred God Stage, they had to reevaluate their views of him...

At this point, the word “stunning” could hardly explain their experience.

Among the spectators were unmatched experts who had lived for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, and these people had seen countless extraordinary geniuses in their lives. However, while there might be another “Jun Xilei” or “Luo Changsheng” in the future, they simply couldn’t imagine encountering another “Yun Che”!

Yun Che regulated his breathing as he held himself up with both arms. He was just about to push the floor and get up on his feet, when suddenly he froze and looked towards the front.

In the distance, Jun Xilei’s black hair danced in the air. Her eyes were becoming unfocused, and her life presence had grown as weak as a willow. However, there was no doubt that she was slowly raising her sword to gather the power that transformed even the winds and clouds once more.

Yun Che’s facial features tightened as his pupils shrank.

Don’t tell me… she can swing that sword a third time!?

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