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...

Read More...

Beside Yun Che, Dongfang Hanwei’s complexion, which was already stark white, grew even paler.

“This…” The Eastern Frost Monarch looked towards Yun Che, and he was left at a complete loss.

Eyes which contained a dark, oppressive might and boundless malice glared at Yun Che. Yet the owner of these eyes discovered that the other party wore an astonishingly cold and calm expression, and he could not detect a single ripple in his eyes. This caused doubt to blossom in his heart as his gaze swivelled back once more. “Fang Zhou, are you sure it’s him?”

Fang Zhou said calmly, “Of course, how could this Fang dare to fool Clan Master Ming? Even though this Fang didn’t personally witness it…”

As he looked at Yun Che, a very light and cold smile crossed his face. “This person’s name is Yun Che and even though his cultivation has just entered the Divine King Realm, no one knows who he is and his background is extremely suspicious. He returned together with the Nineteenth Princess and she said one thing… She said that this person was the one who saved her life. Many people here can testify that they heard these words, including the monarch himself.” 

“In the vicious battle that took place beforehand, the monarch was worried about the Nineteenth Princess’ safety, so he ordered the commander of the Eastern Frost Guards, Qin Jian, to flee the royal city together with the Nineteenth Princess. If Young Master Ming Yang had come for the Nineteenth Princess and witnessed her flight, it would only be natural for him to follow.”

“In order to be a personal bodyguard of Young Master Ming Yang, one’s cultivation had to be uncommon to say the least, so there is no way that his party would not be able to catch up to Qin Jian and the Nineteenth Princess. Which also means that Young Master Ming Yang definitely saw the Nineteenth Princess. However, Young Master Ming Yang just so happened to be killed by someone else at this time. After the Nineteenth Princess returned, she did not mention a single word about Young Master Ming Yang. Instead, she said that Yun Che was her savior. If that is the case, then who exactly did he save the Nineteenth Princess from?”

Ming Xiao’s eye’s swiveled toward Yun Che and no matter whether it was his expression or his voice, they grew several times darker and more severe. “Are you… the one who killed my son!?”

Ming Yang’s four personal bodyguards were at Divine Spirit Realm, but Yun Che’s aura was at the first level of the Divine King Realm! He did indeed have the ability to kill Ming Yang.

Before Yun Che could even respond, Fang Zhou spoke up yet again. “There’s no way he will admit to doing it in front of Clan Master Ming. However, if you asked somebody else about this matter, it will be easy to get your desired answer.”

He slowly started walking towards Dongfang Hanwei, a calm and kind smile on his face. “Nineteenth Princess, the moment you left the city just also happened to be the time that Young Master Ming Yang came for you, so I believe that you definitely met him. Then, tell us, was Yun Che the person who killed Young Master Ming Yang?”

All eyes focused on Princess Hanwei’s body. Her body swayed slightly as she shook her head instinctively, “No… No…”

“Nineteenth Princess.” Fang Zhou’s voice rang out once more, but it was far gentler this time. “You must carefully consider your next answer. This Yun Che’s origins are unknown and his intentions are hard to fathom. At the very least, he is definitely not someone from the Eastern Frost Nation. So if he killed Young Master Yang Ming, it has nothing to do with the Eastern Frost Nation! Even if it really happened because of you, as long as you answer honestly and give us a detailed explanation, I trust that Clan Master Ming’s heart is as broad as the heavens, and he certainly won’t force the issue any further. He will only levy a heavy punishment on the wicked person who did the deed.”

“However, if you deliberately try to cover up for him… Then no one will be able to protect you if you enrage and offend a bigshot like the Dark Roc Clan Master. You will even implicate the entire imperial household and the Eastern Frost Nation itself! I trust that the Nineteenth Princess will be able to follow such a simple train of thought!” 

“Hanwei…” the Eastern Frost Monarch muttered softly. Dongfang Hanwei had previously gotten Yun Che out of a pinch by announcing to everyone that Yun Che had saved her life. At that time, he had expressed his gratitude deeply, but during the grand feast, he had not asked who exactly Yun Che had saved her from.

But when he heard Fang Zhou’s words now, he came to the abrupt realization that it was extremely likely that… Yun Che had indeed killed Ming Yang!

Dongfang Hanwei was still far too inexperienced and naive, and her heart was far too kind. She definitely must have thought that if no one witnessed it, the matter would not be exposed… and she had actually dared to bring Yun Che back to the royal city!

But this was the Dark Roc Clan’s young master!

Dongfang Hanwei had just turned twenty. The fact that she had been able to cultivate to the Divine Soul Realm at her age meant that she was a genius among child geniuses in this middle star realm. However, what confronted her right now was the threat of her nation’s destruction, an increasingly desperate situation, and the coercion and oppressive might of several Divine Kings...

How could this be something that she could endure!?

Her body shook like a floating leaf in a storm, her face was as pale as fine snow. She shook her head, she shook it in an incredibly chaotic and vigorous manner… But with the experience that these Divine Kings had, this reaction of hers had already given them the most clear and concrete answer.

But even though fear and despair were driving her to the brink of collapse, she still continued to deny it in a soft and quavery voice. “It… it wasn’t Senior Yun… It wasn’t… it wasn’t…”

Yun Che briefly glanced to the side to look at her.

This was also the first time that Yun Che had truly looked at her and paid her any attention.

What was most important to everyone would change at different stages of their lives.

To the current Yun Che, the thing he minded the most was betrayal.

Because, even though he had been the savior of the universe, he had been betrayed by a countless number of the people he had saved and was left in a pool of his own blood...

Even though he had also saved their lives, there were people who wanted to bury him once peace had arrived. However, there were also people who had chosen to stand by him, even in the face of adversity… even when his situation had gotten desperate.

At this moment, Dongfang Hanwei was definitely unaware that her refusal to sell out Yun Che, even if it was so short and powerless, despite the extreme pressure and fear she was experiencing had completely and utterly changed her fate, and the fate of the entire Eastern Frost Nation. 

“Heh,” Ming Xiao barked out an incomparably dark and cold laugh. “Dongfang Zhuo, you have truly raised a good daughter! Good… Very good! After I have killed the person who killed my son Ming Yang, I will definitely slaughter your shitty royal city!”

“Clan Master Ming!” the Eastern Frost Monarch exclaimed in a trembling voice, his heart greatly alarmed. “My humble daughter is young and ignorant and the Eastern Frost Nation definitely does not have any intention of offending the Dark Roc Clan. We beg that Clan Master Ming show us his generosity and magnanimity… As for what happened to Young Master Ming Yang, this humble king will definitely do his best to investigate everything and account for it to Clan Master Ming.”

“Account for it? What better way to account for it than by dying with him!?” Ming Xiao’s voice dripped with bloodlust, and it sounded like the voice of a malicious spirit.

“Heh, you truly brought your downfall upon yourselves, there’s no hope for you now,” Fairy Zixuan said with a disdainful laugh. “It looks like our Great Yin Immortal Palace won’t need to take any action today.”

Amidst the shock and fear of everyone from the Eastern Frost Nation, Ming Xiao took a single step forward. Immediately, it felt as if an immense mountain had collapsed on them and that single step alone caused all of the Eastern Frost profound practitioners to retreat in panic, and some of them even fell on their butts as their bodies shuddered violently.

However, Ming Xiao only took that single step forward before he briefly glanced to the side.

This was because Yun Che, who had remained silent throughout the entire proceedings, had finally started moving. He raised his head and looked towards Ming Xiao.

 

It was this simple action, an action that could not be any simpler, that caused a subtle and indescribable change in the atmosphere of this entire location. For some odd reason, nearly everyone noticed or, perhaps it would be better to say, sensed Yun Che’s action… But no one felt it was strange.

“That person called Ming Yang. I was the one who killed him.”

Yun Che finally opened his mouth and the voice that rang in everyone’s ears was actually even colder and deeper than Ming Xiao’s, and it even carried faint undertones of disdain and contempt.

Everyone’s eyes were fully focused on Yun Che now.

“Senior… Senior Yun…” Dongfang Hanwei muttered in a dispirited voice as she bit down hard on her bottom lip. She knew that she had implicated Yun Che in this mess… If she had not insisted on inviting him here, he would not have been plunged into this deadly predicament.

“Just as expected.” Fang Zhou’s eyes burned bright as he stared at Yun and said in a cold voice, “From the very first moment this Fang laid my eyes upon him, I knew that he definitely wasn’t a good person. But to think that he was actually such a wicked and foolhardy individual! Nineteenth Princess, you actually brought such a person into the royal city and you even tried to cover up his heinous crimes. As the Eastern Frost’s Imperial Advisor, I am well and truly disappointed with you!”

The Eastern Frost Monarch opened his mouth, but at this moment, he was already left speechless and his heart was filled with sorrow and despair like he had never felt before.

“Just… who exactly are you!?” Even though his heart was filled with extreme fury and he could barely wait to rip Yun Che to shreds, Yun Che was simply far too calm. He was so calm that Ming Xiao could not help but feel suspicion and apprehension bubble up in his heart. “Why did you kill my son Ming Yang?”

Even though he was confronted by Ming Xiao’s aura and overbearing rage, Yun Che’s face still remained cold and stiff. “Do I need a reason for killing him?”

When he said those words, he did not only stunned Ming Xiao and Ming Ao. He had stunned everyone from the Great Yin Immortal Palace, Heavenly Martial Nation and the Eastern Frost Nation as well.

In the eastern region of the Eastern Ruins Realm, the Nine Great Sects were like the heavens themselves. Who would dare to behave in front of the sect master of one of the Nine Great Sects in such a reckless and arrogant manner?

Ming Ao was so furious that he actually laughed. “Very well! Yun Che… No matter what your background is, today, I will definitely personally… bury you with my son!”

“Clan Master,” Ming Ao said as he raised his hand, “a mere first level Divine King is not worthy of your personal attention.”

He took a step forward and stretched out his arm. “Yun Che, you killed our young master, you offended our Dark Roc Clan, so even death cannot atone for your crimes! Even if you were to kneel down and beg for your life now, it would be far too late!”

BOOOM——

He soared into the sky, his profound energy erupting outward as an astonishing wave of energy swept across the area, shocking all the profound practitioners so greatly that their faces turned ashen. As a beam of black light flashed by, Ming Ao had already plunged downward. His spread fingers were pointed directly at Yun Che’s throat as they flickered with a cold light that was even more dreadful than the talons of a devil eagle.

The main powers of the Dark Roc Clan were darkness and wind, and their speed was extremely fast. Ming Ao was a fifth level Divine King. If he faced off against a first level Divine King, once he locked onto his opponent, the other party would have no chance of escaping.

The moment Ming Ao’s body soared into the air, anyone within a few kilometers of him, including all of the guards, profound practitioners, the Eastern Frost Monarch, Dongfang Hanwei, Qin Jian, and even Fang Zhou, were all fiercely swept aside. The location, where a large army had once stood, had been cleared in an instant.

Only Yun Che was left standing in this empty space.

His movements had clearly been suppressed by Ming Ao’s aura and he was not even able to try to escape.

The distance between the two was pulled close in a single instant, but Yun Che remained motionless. In everyone’s eyes, the next scene would be one where Yun Che’s head was shorn from his body by those dreadful roc talons.

But when Ming Ao was finally not more than three meters away from him, Yun Che finally sprang into action. He raised an arm and as he faced the swooping Ming Ao, he lazily and slowly extended a single finger to greet the roc talons which were aimed at him.

There was no explosion of profound energy, no fresh blood splattering the air and there were not even any cries of misery. The scene, which was originally supposed to be shocking and appalling, had suddenly gone quiet in an incomparably bizarre manner.

Ming Ao was right in front of Yun Che, his right hand still shaped into a terrifyingly sharp claw, but one finger pressed against the palm of that hand… It was also in that moment that the cold light glinting off his talons, the storm surrounding him, and the profound energy circulating through his whole body shockingly vanished in a single instant.

The scene was incomparably quiet and eerie, and besides Ming Ao, no one else knew what had happened… No, in actual fact, even Ming Ao himself did not understand what had just happened.

In his suddenly ashen eyes, Yun Che raised his hand briefly and muttered indifferently, “Is that all you’ve got?”

As his words fell, he gently flicked his finger.

RIIIP!!

An extremely piercing ripping sound resounded in the depths of everyone’s souls. In that instant, Ming Ao’s entire right arm was abruptly torn from his body, causing a fountain of blood to erupt in the air. After that, his arm exploded into countless fragments amidst the wildly gushing blood.

Ming Ao, who had lost his right arm in a single instant, let out a heart-wrenching shriek as he was blasted through the air. He landed directly in front of Ming Xiao, rolling on the ground in agony.

Previous Chapter Next Chapter