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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The atmosphere in the Imperial Heaven Tower was already unusual in the first place. Everyone was still shocked at how cordial Witch Yao Die was being toward Yun Che and her offer. But if Yao Die’s attitude had caused shock, Yun Che’s reply caused the very air to freeze into ice.

Yao Die’s face darkened abruptly. What had been a gentle and friendly expression instantly turned chilly.

Chi Wuyao… There was no one in the Northern Divine Region who wasn’t aware of the Devil Queen’s name.

However, no one had ever dared to call her that.

The Witches especially viewed the Devil Queen as the highest, most untouchable existence of their lives, and Yun Che just touched Yao Die’s reverse scale!

“How… dare you!?” Tian Muhe had just stabilized his own wounds, but he turned around angrily and roared at Yun Che. “How dare you address the Devil Queen directly. I will—” 

A terrible power abruptly dropped down from above and forcibly cut him off. Tian Muhe turned around to look at Tian Muyi, and the latter shook his head with a serious expression on his face.

Tian Muhe immediately withdrew his voice, but his eyes were clearly trembling with emotion when he looked at Yun Che.

Although Yao Die was the one who hurt him, all of his anger was directed at Yun Che. After all, he was the one who hurt Tian Guhu in his home territory, and the damage he inflicted upon Tian Guhu’s reputation and spirit was far worse than the body… No one who called themselves a denizen of the Imperial Heaven Realm wanted Yun Che to leave this place alive.

When Yun Che clearly had the Witch’s protection, no one dared to move against him. But now? To describe his reply as arrogant would be a massive understatement—he was practically digging his own grave!

The Witch wasn’t qualified to invite him? Not even the most supreme beings in the world, the god emperors had the gall to say that!

As for his offense of addressing the Devil Queen by her name… If that wasn’t suicide, then what was?

At first, the people thought Yun Che mysterious after he defeated Tian Guhu in an overwhelming fashion. But that impression was changed to the highest degree of shamelessness and suicidal desire in just the blink of an eye.

“Heh, interesting.” Fen Jieran pinched his chin once while smiling. He was going to order a background check on these two mysterious people, but it seemed like it was no longer necessary.

Yun Che was dead the moment he addressed the Devil Queen by her name.

Although Yao Die’s expression didn’t change much, everyone could sense a piercing chill in their souls. Even the gentleness in her voice earlier was all gone. “If my master hadn’t given me an order, ten thousand deaths wouldn’t be enough to absolve you of your sins!”

“Very well.” Yao Die raised her palm slowly and summoned dancing light between her fingers. “I’d rather drag your limp bodies back home than escort you anyway.”

The corner of Yun Che’s lips curled upwards, but bizarrely it didn’t look like a smile at all. “It isn’t yet too late for you to change your mind. If you don’t… you will regret this.”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t have the right to say that,” Yao Die replied indifferently.

It wasn’t just Yao Die, everyone thought that Yun Che’s threat was a joke as well.

Yao Die was one of the nine Witches who served the Devil Queen. She was a level nine Divine Master and a terrifying being that stood above all higher realm kings.

Her sisters were as powerful as her, and her master was the Northern Region Devil Queen, a monster whose very name could strike fear in people’s hearts.

Yun Che’s threat was so stupid that it spanned the horizon.

Yun Che glanced sideways at Qianye Ying’er before saying, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but there is nothing more the woman beside me hates than a woman of great power and beauty… are you absolutely sure you want to fight us?”

“Can you cut the nonsense already?” Qianye Ying’er said while wrapping her hair around her finger.

“Hmph.” Yao Die was a Witch, so she rarely got angry. But his words, his indifferent tone, stoked the fury inside her again and again. She replied coldly, “I have never questioned my master’s will before, but it looks like she has made an error this time. In the end, a rumor is just a rumor!”

Buzz

Space expanded and expelled all the air within fifty kilometers of the Imperial Heaven Tower in an instant. The entire place was filled up by the auric pressure of a Divine Master.

From the moment they met, Yao Die already knew who Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er were due to a certain “special aura”. Everything that happened afterwards also proved her suspicion that Yun Che was not trying to hide his identity at all.

As a Witch, she of course knew that Yun Che was the one who stole the Untamed Divine Marrow the Burning Moon God Realm had hidden from the Devil Queen for tens of thousands of years. The only reason she didn’t expose his crimes and question him on the spot; the reason she went so far as to express goodwill toward him as a Witch… was because it was her master’s order.

She knew that her master had never met Yun Che. She also learned from Witch Chanyi that Yun Che was supposedly a Divine King. That was why she couldn’t understand why her master regarded him so highly. 

Today, she became certain that her master had made an error in judgment. No matter how amazing Yun Che’s potential was, there was no changing the fact that he had pissed on the olive branch the Soul Stealing Realm had extended to him. Not even a million stupidity points was enough to describe these fools, these dogs who had fled from the Eastern Divine Region!

If her master hadn’t given her a command, she wouldn’t even deign to capture them herself.

A Witch’s forcefield was nothing to be scoffed at. The Imperial Heaven Tower’s battlefield was devastated instantly, and the young Heavenly Sovereigns were blown far, far away without being able to struggle at all.

Yun Che himself was shaking like a leaf. His clothes were flapping wildly, and he looked like he was being sat on by a thousand mountains. But to Yao Die’s surprise, Yun Che showed no pain whatsoever despite being blasted by her aura at this range. In fact, he looked so calm that she couldn’t help but frown slightly.

“Qianying,” Yun Che whispered. “Our very first fight is against a Witch. This is a good beginning. Now… you won’t let down your half of the Untamed World Pellet, will you?”

Qianye Ying’er smiled slightly and replied, “You did say to make her regret this. I would be slapping your face if I failed to carry out your wish, wouldn’t I?... I couldn’t bear to do such a thing.”

The light of the Ni Yuan Stone vanished, and black light erupted into a gigantic domain of darkness around her. It tore apart Yao Die’s forcefield and instantly caused a storm in the Imperial Heaven Tower.

Yun Che backed off thirty meters from the epicenter of the storm before coming to a stop. Then, he waited for the battle to happen with a cold and stiff expression on his face.

“Ugh!??”

“Aaaaaaah…”

The storm was terrible, but the screams of the people it was suppressing were louder. Everyone’s face looked like it had been smashed in by a hammer.

Tian Muyi, Yan Sangeng, Huo Tianxing… They were all powerful Divine Masters in their own right, but their hair was standing on end, and their shock was palpable. No matter how long and hard they stared at the woman blocking Yao Die’s way, they just couldn’t believe their spiritual perception.

“A… A level eight Divine Master!” Tian Muyi cried unconsciously. It was almost enough to shatter the hearts of the people who heard it.

A level eight Divine Master was a late stage Divine Master, meaning that the woman was at the same level as the Witches, the Yama Devils, and the Moon Eaters!

The strongest realm king beneath the king realms, Tian Muyi himself was a level eight Divine Master!

No matter how unbelievable it sounded, they had to believe it since it came from Tian Muyi’s own mouth.

“Who… who is she?” Huo Tianxing said with a trembling voice. “Since when did we have someone like her in the Northern Divine Region!?”

Here in the Northern Divine Region, anonymity didn’t exist for anyone who was at level eight Divine Master Realm and above. They were practically worshipped like gods.

However, not a single person here had any knowledge of this masked, golden-haired woman at all. Not even her aura was familiar to them.

The combined auras of two late stage Divine Masters were practically as strong as a natural disaster. Pitch black light illuminated everyone’s face, and it was clear that everyone still present was shaking like a leaf, sweating like it was raining, and looking as pale as death. This was especially true for those from the Heavenly Net Realm; from the bottom rung all the way up to the top.

Were they seriously thinking about attacking a level eight Divine Master just now!?

When the Eternal Heaven Great Ancestor had consumed the Untamed World Pellet, she had skipped three small realms in one go and left behind an unforgettable miracle in the history of the profound way.

But her achievement was inferior to Qianye Ying’er, who skipped four small realms in one go and reached level eight Divine Master in just half a year!

As He Ling had mentioned earlier, the Untamed World Pellet she refined using her wood spirit powers and the Sky Poison Pearl was far superior to the one the Eternal Heaven Great Ancestor had consumed.

Yao Die frowned deeply at the sight.

Just like Yun Che, Qianye Ying’er was a fugitive who escaped to the Northern Divine Region. She had heard that the Lady Goddess’s power was destroyed a long time ago, and Chanyi herself had confirmed it several years ago… According to her sister, the Brahma Monarch Goddess was only in the Divine Sovereign Realm at the time.

So how did she grow so quickly in such a short time?

But maybe she was overthinking this. It was clear that the woman had a profound artifact that could conceal her aura perfectly. If it could fool her, then it could definitely fool Chanyi as well.

Black butterflies started appearing in Yao Die’s eyes. “I see. No wonder she dares to act so arrogantly. Unfortunately for her…”

When a profound practitioner reaches the Divine Master Realm, every small realm was as wide as the distance between heaven and earth. Only those who had reached the Divine Master Realm could understand this.

That was why a level eight Divine Master could never beat a level nine Divine Master.

Without a word, Yao Die reached out and made a grabbing motion toward Qianye Ying’er.

The latter also swung her hand in retaliation.

“Shi… retreat!!” Tian Muhe turned pale and shouted. There was no way a Divine Sovereign could withstand even the shockwave of the clash of domains between two late stage Divine Masters.

It was one thing to lose the Imperial Heaven Tower and another to lose their best juniors. It would be an unimaginable loss to the Imperial Heaven Sect if they were to all die here.

“It’s too late.” Tian Muyi forced himself to calm down before shouting, “Raise the barrier!”

As a late stage Divine Master himself and the strongest realm king beneath the king realms… Tian Muyi felt like swearing at the women duking it out in his home.

Tian Muyi, Huo Tianxing, and the Great Viper Sage immediately worked together to create an isolation barrier.

Boom!

Darkness completely devoured the light, and nearly half of the Imperial Heaven Tower was destroyed in the blink of an eye. Still, a couple of huge dents aside, the barrier managed to protect one half of the Imperial Heaven Tower and all the stunned crowd inside it.

The rest of the higher realm kings also came back to their senses and poured their powers into the barrier as well. However, everyone’s gaze was really focused on the battle happening above them.

It was a battle between Witch Yao Die and a level eight Divine Master. It was a natural disaster that was happening right above their heads. They would probably never get a chance to see a battle at this level ever again.

To everyone’s surprise, the clash of domains ended in a perfect stalemate. Yao Die’s expression changed slightly again.

Although Qianye Ying’er’s cultivation level was clearly inferior to hers, she sensed something that should be absolutely impossible...

She sensed that the quality of her power was actually inferior to Qianye Ying’er’s!

As the subordinate of the Devil Queen, the darkness profound art she inherited was without a doubt the strongest darkness profound art in the current world. Naturally, no one’s level should even come close to her own, much less be stronger than hers. At the very least, the only person she knew whose dark powers were truly beyond her was the Devil Queen, who was special in her own right.

But not only did she feel inferior to Qianye Ying’er, it was an unquestionable divide that she couldn’t even hope to close!

The realization was further reinforced by the fact that Qianye Ying’er was able to defend herself perfectly despite being a small realm behind her.

Yao Die whispered something and waved her hands. Her aura changed suddenly, and black butterflies suddenly appeared all around Qianye Ying’er. Every single one contained an aura of abyssal darkness and death.

Qianye Ying’er twirled slightly and split the air with a golden light. Gripping the Divine Oracle in her hand, she easily slashed holes in the black world that sustained the black butterflies, killing them as if their bodies were made of smoke. Not a single one of the butterflies was able to get close to her.

“!?” Yao Die’s dance stopped for a second before she clenched her hands into fists and withdrew the butterflies. They gathered behind her to form a pair of butterfly wings that were three hundred meter long. She then appeared next to Qianye Ying’er like a ghost and folded her wings, threatening to turn Qianye Ying’er and the space around her into a black abyss that devoured everything.

Boom

In the Northern Divine Region, there was no one who doubted the strength of a Witch. Every time Witch Yao Die made a move and covered the world in darkness, she was indirectly showing off her true power to the crowd.

A rumor and a first-hand experience were two completely different things. Every time they felt the waves of the Witch’s power through the barrier, every time their eyesight and their souls came under assault, the higher realm kings couldn’t help but fear and respect the Witch even more than they already did.

However, what shocked them even more was the fact that the Witch, for all her power, couldn’t keep the golden-haired woman down in the slightest!

Qianye Ying’er had inherited all her darkness profound arts from Yun Che, or more accurately the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor.

Her profound talent and comprehension were incredibly high in the first place, and her knowledge was at least equal to the best of the best. After absorbing the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s own blood into her body, her mastery over darkness profound energy was only second to Yun Che.

After dual cultivating with Yun Che for several years, her compatibility with the devil emperor’s blood was growing steadily. Moreover, her mastery and understanding of the darkness profound arts became greater as well. After she had fully cultivated the Illusory Devil Tome of Eternal Night Yun Che had tossed her in passing, she handpicked a couple more darkness profound arts the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor left behind and fully cultivated them in just a couple of years as well.

Although they couldn’t compare to the Eternal Calamity of Darkness at all, they were at least as good as the Brahma Monarch Divine Art she spent several centuries cultivating to completion, if not better.

Nearly three-fifths of the Imperial Heaven Tower had turned to dust in the darkness. Yao Die’s attacks grew more and more violent, and the mere flap of her butterfly wings caused a dark storm that mercilessly ravaged the world. However, not only did she fail to gain the upper hand, the immovable pressure Qianye Ying’er’s power was putting on her was slowly but surely disturbing the calmness of her mind.

Rumble!

Black light erupted again in midair, and this time it turned into a huge, undying vortex of darkness.

The duo broke off from the vortex and stared at each other from afar. Yao Die asked in a dark tone, “Where did your profound arts come from!?”

Qianye Ying’er eyes narrowed slightly, her mask hiding a beautiful but clearly distorted gleam in them. She said sweetly, “You should reserve this question for your future master… preferably while you are in his bed.”

“... ?” Confused by her reply, Yao Die exhaled slightly before whispering, “Master forbade me from killing him, but not you.”

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