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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In this world, the only ones who knew that he possessed another piece of the World-Defying Heaven Manual were him and Xiao Lingxi… and the Ice Phoenix divine being who had read his memories.

But, from the Ice Phoenix divine being’s reaction and account, it was clear that even she had not known that the World-Defying Heaven Manual was the Ancestral Divine Art.

Other than that, from the divine art that Xiao Lingxi had deciphered, that mysterious black jade should be the first part of the World-Defying Heaven Manual.

The World-Defying Heaven Manual… it was the Ancestral Divine Art left behind by the Ancestral God. So if he could cultivate it, did that mean that he could truly defy the world?

These thoughts chaotically jumbled about in Yun Che’s head, but he very quickly threw them aside.

The Sky Poison Pearl was still releasing its cleansing aura at an extreme rate, but Jasmine’s figure and aura had not appeared at all.

“Slave Ying, I have a question that I have always been very curious about. How did you find out about the relationship between Jasmine and I in the first place? And how did you know that I possessed the Heretic God’s legacy?” As he waited, Yun Che asked Qianye Ying’er a question.

Qianye Ying’er replied, “I found out from the Heavenly Slaughter Star God herself, it was something that she had said to the Heavenly Wolf Star God herself.”

Yun Che’s eyebrows greatly furrowed as he exclaimed, “Jasmine’s spiritual perception is publicly acknowledged as unrivaled in the God Realm, so how could you actually eavesdrop on her!?”

Qianye Ying’er replied calmly, “Her emotions had been thrown into complete chaos after she saw you at that time. Also, I can turn invisible just like Master, and because I was very close to her, my spiritual perception passed through the sound isolation barrier she had erected without her noticing.”

“Turn invisible? You can turn invisible?” This revelation mildly shocked Yun Che.

To his knowledge, the only one who had successfully cultivated invisibility in this world was him alone… Perhaps Master had also possibly accomplished it, but she had never shown it to him.

He had never heard that there existed other profound movement skills that would allow a person turn invisible, he had even thought that this might perhaps be a divine technique that was unique to the Ice Phoenix bloodline’s “Moon Splitting Cascade”.

Furthermore, out of all the rumors concerning Qianye Ying’er, there were none that mentioned that she could turn invisible!

Under Yun Che’s shocked gaze, before he had even seen Qianye Ying’er move, a faint and imperceptible light flashed across Qianye Ying’er’s golden mask as her long and willowy body twirled around lightly. As the light quickly dimmed, in the instant that her body made a full turn, she had vanished into thin air and she had not even left behind a trace of her aura.

Yun Che, “...”

Half a breath later, Qianye Ying’er’s body instantly appeared again and she assumed her previous stance again as she stood there.

“This is the core profound movement skill of my Brahma Monarch God Realm, ‘Great Splendorous Brahma Shadow’. In the nine hundred thousand years since the Grand Ancestor passed, I am the only one to cultivate it to the extreme realm of invisibility,” Qianye Ying’er said in a slow and unhurried manner. “As a result, Master isn’t the first person in the world who can turn invisible, he is the second.”

Yun Che was left speechless for a very long time.

He vaguely sensed that he was the first person outside of the Brahma Monarch God Realm to find out about her ability to turn invisible.

In the nine hundred thousand year history since the Brahma Monarch Grand Ancestor, she was the only person who had cultivated “invisibility”. Qianye Ying’er’s innate talent and power of comprehension was, without a doubt, incomparably strong.

At the same time, she had hidden it extremely well and it had never been exposed to anyone before. As such, over the years, he wondered just how many of the God Realm’s big shots Qianye Ying’er had spied on while they were unaware.

He was even less aware of just how many secrets and hidden cards she still possessed that no one else knew about.

“...Let me ask you another question. About nine years ago, your Brahma Monarch God Realm suddenly entrapped and slaughtered the wood spirit race, driving the Wood Spirit Patriarch and his wife to their deaths. Who was the perpetrator behind these actions?

He Ling, “...”

Qianye Ying’er did not immediately answer the question and she looked as if she was thinking about something. After that, she gave a quick answer, “I do not know what Master is speaking of.”

“You don’t know?”

“I do not know,” Qianye Ying’er said without a trace of hesitation. “If it truly involved the Wood Spirit Royal Family, then perhaps it was something that was done privately by a Brahma King or a Brahma Monarch Divine Envoy.”

Yun Che actually did believe that this matter had nothing to do with Qianye Ying’er. Otherwise, if she had truly been involved, then given her power, He Ling and He Lin would never have been able to escape.

“Since that is the case,” Yun Che said in a deep voice, “the next time you return to the Brahma Monarch God Realm, you need to investigate this matter thoroughly! I need to know precisely who this person… who those people are!”

“Understood,” Qianye Ying’er accepted the order.

“Master, there’s no need to be too anxious about this matter right now,” He Ling said in a soft voice. “The Sky Poison power has just been exhausted and it will still require some time to recover to the point where it can be used again.”

“You want to avenge yourself, right?” Yun Che said.

“Mn…” He Ling let out a very soft sound, but it was filled with a determination that made one’s heart palpitate.

“Don’t worry,” Yun Che gently comforted her, “that day will definitely come.”

Time flowed slowly. An entire day passed by and Qianye Ying’er had soundlessly killed an indeterminate number of wild beasts that had stealthily approached them, but Jasmine still had not made an appearance.

“Master, will she really come?” He Ling asked.

“She definitely will… She’s definitely nearby, so she can definitely sense it,” Yun Che repeated again as he stared into the distance.

Two days passed...

Three days passed...

Yun Che had stayed at the peak of the God Realm of Absolute Beginning throughout and he had not taken a single step away from it. The Sky Poison pearl also kept releasing that dark green cleansing light.

However, three days had passed and Jasmine still had not appeared.

“Master, do we still continue to wait?” He Ling asked weakly.

“...” Yun Che lowered his head but he did not reply. These few days of fruitless waiting had helped him gradually realize something amidst the silence.

Finally, he stood up and looked in front, his hands slowly balling into fists. After that, he suddenly roared with all of his might, “Jasmine! I know that you’re here, I know that you’re already here! Come out! Hurry up and come out!!”

“...?” Qianye Ying’er glanced to the side, she had not sensed anyone’s aura drawing near to them.

“Master?” He Ling also gasped in surprise.

“I’m still alive, you’re also still alive,” Yun Che briefly raised his head as he yelled with all of his might, “I not only managed to survive, I also no longer need to be as wary and apprehensive as I was back then. I even managed to plant a slave imprint on Qianye, the person we feared the most back then. So why are you deliberately avoiding me!?”

    “……”

“In this world, no one else can find you except for me. Because I know that you can definitely sense my arrival and I also know that you are definitely by my side right now. No matter what you’ve become, you will always be my Jasmine… and this is something that will never change!”

“If you are deliberately playing a game of hide and seek with me, you’ve played long enough now. If you are furious that I took such a long time to find you despite clearly being alive, then, could you please come out and punish me however you wish…”

In this barren and desolate world, Yun Che’s voice rang off into the far distance… yet he did not get a single reply.

“...” Yun Che closed his eyes and heavily gasped for breath. After that he suddenly said, “Slave Ying, retreat twenty five kilometers. After that, no matter what happens here, you are not to approach… Remember, seal your sense of hearing!”

“Yes,” Qianye Ying’er accepted her orders and left.

After that, Yun Che opened his eyes, but the light in those eyes had dimmed a little. He no longer shouted. Instead he muttered to himself in a very soft voice, “Jasmine, when I lost my life back then, the words that you said to me are words that I will never ever forget for as long as I live."

“Right now, I am perfectly alive, yet you want to be so distant from me.”

“Could it be you will only be willing to see me… if I’m dead…”

As he muttered those words, he raised his arm. After that, profound energy suddenly flared up around that arm before he fiercely smashed it against his own chest.

BOOOM——

The space around him lightly vibrated and it was as if a mountain had been struck. The power of this blow was incomparably vicious and merciless; it caused Yun Che’s chest to sink in dramatically as an arrow of blood violently shot out of his mouth and his eyes went dull for a fraction of a second.

“Ah! Master!!” He Ling shouted in shock, her astonished face immediately going deathly pale. “What… What are you doing?”

Yun Che’s body bent over and as blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. He then moved his palm away from his chest. Profound energy that had turned chaotic once again condensed in the center of his palm. It was now much more violent and merciless than before. He softly whispered, “Jasmine, if I have to be on the border between life and death… before you are willing to see me… then I am willing… to die again!!”

As his voice fell, his palm once again fiercely smashed towards his chest.

“Master, don’t!”

He Ling’s alarmed cry resounded in the sea of Yun Che’s heart… However, the terrifying sound of energy exploding did not ring out after it.

A small pale-white hand suddenly stretched out from out of nowhere and grabbed Yun Che’s finger, stripping away all of the profound energy within. This froze Yun Che’s movements while also locking his eyes in place.

She was dressed in red robes the color of blood and that was the color she loved the most. However, her long hair was no longer scarlet. Instead, it was now a pitch-black color that was even darker than night.

Her eyes were previously the most beautiful stars Yun Che had seen in his entire life, but now they had lost that dangerous and mysterious bloody color, and had instead transformed into a boundless pitch-black abyss...

She had lost her bright and beautiful blood-colored hair and eyes, but to Yun Che, her face, her existence was something that he had long ago become intimately familiar with, down to every bit of blood and bone that she had.

When the gazes of the two people met, it was as if time had frozen for a second. They were unable to think, unable to talk. It seemed as if she wanted to be cold and distant, but the pitch-black pupils of her eyes were trembling uncontrollably...

Finally, the small hand she had used to grasp Yun Che finger began to pull back slightly. But in the next instant, Yun Che fiercely grabbed that hand instead. After that, he pulled her into his chest, smothering her in a tight embrace.

“Jasmine…” Yun Che used all of the strength in his body to hug her and it was as if he hated that he could not push her into his own body. His heart beat wildly as his blood surged and his soul shook… Finally, he felt that peace and satisfaction that only Jasmine could bring him, “I finally… found you.”

“...” Jasmine’s frail and delicate shoulders were lightly trembling. At this very moment, she, a person so terrifying that she had cast a thick and heavy dark shadow over the entire God Realm, had lost all ability to resist. She had wanted to speak in an icy-cold voice, but the moment she opened her mouth, it became a soft and gentle whimper instead. “You… big idiot...”

Yun Che laughed, and even the salty blood in his mouth made him feel a little intoxicated, “It’s been so many years since I’ve heard you call me an idiot, I felt as if my life was missing something.”

Jasmine, “...”

“Especially the last few years, I thought that I had lost you forever. After that, I learned that you were still alive… and now I’ve finally found you once again. There is no better gift in this world than this feeling of finding something you’ve lost,” Yun Che whispered softly in her ear.

“...” Jasmine closed her eyes for a long time. After that, she suddenly stretched out a hand as she struggled to break free from Yun Che’s grasp and push him away. But her other hand was firmly caught in Yun Che’s own and after two more attempts to pull back her hand, she actually had not struggled free.

She turned around and faced the barren and desolate gray world as she coldly said, “Since you’ve already fulfilled your wish of meeting me, then you should go back.”

Yun Che was not shocked or stunned by those words. Instead, he firmly held onto that tiny and lightly clenched hand and said, “Do you still remember what you told me three years ago?”

“...” Jasmine lightly bit down on her bottom lip.

“You said, if there is a next life, no matter whether I am man or demon, plant or beast, you would still definitely find me… Right now, I’m standing right in front of you, so why do you want to run away?”

“...” Jasmine’s lips faintly quivered and it was a long time before she finally spoke in a cold and heartless voice, “Because I am no longer Jasmine. The one standing in front of you right now is the Evil Infant!”

“No,” Yun Che gently said as he looked at her, “actually, I know the reason. Jasmine, you’ve changed, you changed a long time ago. It’s just that I had never truly noticed it.”

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