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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When Chi Wuyao said those words, Ji Daopian’s face immediately went stiff and the expression of every Moon Eater present changed as well.

In the Northern Divine Region, the Moon Eaters, Yama Devils, and Witches were existences that were inferior only to the god emperors themselves. They were people that the world could normally only admire from afar and offending them was the same as offending the mighty heavens.

The only people who just barely had the right to look down on them were the three emperors of the Northern Region.

If anyone but the Devil Queen had dared to say such words, if there had been another lesser being foolish enough to speak such nonsense, they would have been cut in two on the spot.

The Burning Moon God Emperor’s smile vanished swiftly as his eyebrows knitted together slightly. “Why would the Devil Queen say such a thing? Could it be… that you feel that the talent of this king’s foster son is only ordinary?”

“Oh?” A doubtful look crossed Chi Wuyao’s face as she asked, “Could it be that the Burning Moon God Emperor thinks that his foster son’s talent is laudable? Could it be that the Burning Moon God Emperor has not only emptied his body but also his mind on women over the last few years?”

“Hahahahaha!”

Chi Wuyao had mocked him in a way that bordered on humiliation, but the Burning Moon God Emperor responded with a hearty laugh instead. He could sense that Chi Wuyao was trying to deliberately provoke him, so… he chose to keep his cool to spite her.

“Even though we haven’t met in years, I’m surprised that the Devil Queen has grown so fond of jokes,” the Burning Moon God Emperor said as he leaned back. His eyes seemed to drift unintentionally toward Witch Chanyi who was quietly standing behind Chi Wuyao.

“The Devil Queen’s devilish might is as high as the heavens and I’m afraid that no one in this universe can truly catch your eye. However… Daopian received the Burning Moon divine power at around the same time as your newest Witch, the Ninth Witch. Yet, his cultivation is nearly half a level higher.”

“If Daopian’s talent is merely ordinary, then this Witch, someone under the Devil Queen’s command, is so talentless that it is hard to watch, no? Is the Devil Queen trying to mock herself with those words?”

The calm and collected words of the Burning Moon Devil Emperor instantly quelled the rage in the Moon Eaters’ hearts. The respect and deference in their eyes when they looked at Chi Wuyao had now been partially replaced by a mocking derision.

It was rumored that the Soul Stealing Devil Queen was as frightful as a demon and there was no one in this universe who did not fear her. But now that she had appeared before them, she had actually smashed her own foot with the rock she was trying to lob at someone else.

She did not seem like anything special right now.

Chi Wuyao gave a dry chuckle. “When it comes to telling jokes, this queen has no choice but to concede defeat in the presence of the Burning Moon God Emperor. What does cultivation have to do with talent? Even though this queen’s Chanyi would not dare proclaim that her talent is unrivaled, she isn’t someone your newly adopted foster son, who doesn’t even share your surname, can compare to.”

Before the Burning Moon God Emperor could even open his mouth, Ji Daopian’s head had already jerked up as he said, “Your Highness, this junior respects you as a senior so I dare not be impolite. However, as one of the Moon Eaters, I won’t allow you to maliciously trample all over our name! Even if you are the Devil Queen!”

As a Moon Eater ensconced in Burning Moon Royal City, he had the qualifications to confront any opponent, even the Devil Queen herself.

Chi Wuyao indolently looked toward him as her lips curved mockingly. “Maliciously trample all over your name? Do you think you’re even worthy of that?”

“Chanyi.” She suddenly gave a command before she continued in a languid voice, “This is the first time you’ve visited the Burning Moon Realm. Since you’ve come all this way, you should take the chance to exchange pointers with this newly-appointed Moon Eater. Teach him exactly what the word ‘talent’ means!”

“Yes Master.”

Chanyi stepped forward after receiving Chi Wuyao’s command and stood opposite Ji Daopian.

The atmosphere in the main hall thickened and astonished looks appeared in everyone’s eyes.

With the sole exception of Ji Daopian, all of the seven Moon Eaters present were level nine Divine Masters. They could tell with a single glance that this new Witch’s cultivation was in the middle of the eighth level of the Divine Master Realm whereas Ji Daopian’s cultivation was at the latter stages of the eighth level of the Divine Master Realm.

They were both eighth level Divine Masters but when one reached the latter stages of the Divine Master Realm, even the difference of half a level was nearly insurmountable.

As Moon Eaters and Witches were luminaries of the same standing, the devil arts that they cultivated were more or less equal. That was exactly why even a small difference could be described as “nearly insurmountable”. The strength of their darkness profound energy could directly decide between the victor and the vanquished.

As a result, if they were to truly fight a duel, Witch Chanyi had practically no chance of winning… So what pointers could she even give Ji Daopian?

This Devil Queen… Was she stark raving mad or was she deliberately trying to pick a fight?

Clang!

Before Ji Daopian even had a chance to reply, Nanhuang Chanyi had already drawn her golden sword. Black mist spread out all over her body and her devilish might was flaring out at full force. “Please advise me!”

Now that she had already drawn her sword, Burning Moon had no choice but to respond in kind. In fact, they would not be able to find a reason to refuse even if they wanted to. Ji Daopian’s eyes narrowed as he turned to look toward the Burning Moon God Emperor.

The Burning Moon God Emperor rose to his feet and said, “Fine, since the Devil Queen is so eager, Daopian, go and spar with the supremely talented Ninth Witch.”

“Yes, royal father!”

Ji Daopian flung his arm open with a soft, disdainful snort and a huge black halberd appeared out of thin air. It caused a roiling wave of darkness energy to surge out and shake the entire hall. And in the short span of a single breath, it violently tore apart most of Chanyi’s energy field.

Fen Daozang and another Moon Eater immediately flew out of their seats and an obstruction barrier was swiftly formed, splitting the great hall in two.

“Since it’s just a friendly spar, this much space will do.” While the Burning Moon God Emperor wore a relaxed smile on his face, his heart filled with tension.

Every time he checked the Witch Chanyi’s aura, he could confirm that she was in the middle stage of the eighth level of the Divine Master Realm and he was intimately familiar with Ji Daopian’s strength as well. If they were to truly fight, it would almost be impossible for Ji Daopian to lose.

The Devil Queen that he knew would never offer to take a beating when she clearly knew that she was outmatched. In that case, only one possibility remained.

She was seizing the opportunity to cause a ruckus!

Ji Daopian had clearly been enraged and in his rage, he would unleash all of his power and try his best to beat the Ninth Witch as quickly as he could to slap the Devil Queen’s face. It was very likely that the Ninth Witch would get injured in the process.

Which would give Chi Wuyao an even greater excuse to stir up trouble!

When he thought of that, the Burning Moon God Emperor sent Ji Daopian a concentrated sound transmission, “Remember! You must not hurt her!”

Qianye Ying’er shot a cold glance at the Burning Moon God Emperor. A god emperor was the highest existence in this universe. They were truly individuals who could look down on all creation, they were completely unrivaled and free from any worries. In such a situation, any other god emperor would definitely let out a wild laugh and relentlessly mock the other party.

Yet the eyes of the Burning Moon God Emperor, who clearly held the absolute advantage in this situation, were actually filled with caution and hesitation.

He was practically a disgrace to all god emperors.

However...

How could anyone who became a god emperor be a simple person?

Everyone had their own way of life and way of doing things, and it was the same for god emperors as well. If she dared to look down on an existence like a god emperor, then she would not even know how she had died when death came for her.

In the moment that Qianye Ying’er withdrew her gaze, she suddenly felt a cold light sweep across her body.

The dark imperious might that swept over Qianye Ying’er for an instant caused her eyebrows to sink suddenly.

Even though it had only lasted for a mere instant, Qianye Ying’er had still clearly felt the Burning Moon God Emperor’s power and it definitely surpassed the power that Xing Juekong or Yue Wuya had back in the day… In fact, he did not seem any weaker than Zhou Xuzi.

Inside the barrier, Ji Daopian was finally making his move.

He did not bother with any niceties or formalities as he started to twirl his giant halberd in the air. It looked like a dragon soaring out of an abyss as it danced in the air and the dark devilish light that radiated from it instantly flooded the world.

Even the people outside of the barrier could suddenly feel a heaven-toppling weight press down on them.

He was the youngest Moon Eater in history, the very first foster son that the Moon God Emperor had made an exception to accept, so he already possessed a very strong sense of pride and self-respect.

In front of the Burning Moon God Emperor and all of the other people present, how could he lose to a Witch of the Soul Stealing Realm who was clearly weaker than he was!?

Chanyi’s delicate brows knit together slightly. She gave a slight twist of her waist as her sword flashed out in a golden blur to collide against the giant halberd sweeping toward her.

Rumble!

The entire surface of the barrier started to ripple and shake, and it did not subside for quite a while.

There was an insurmountable gap in power between the two of them. When the strength of two people’s devilish power and devil art were on the same level, the results of a direct clash of power was clear for all to see. Chanyi resembled a butterfly caught in a gale as she was sent flying head over heels into the distance. The excess power generated by the gigantic halberd had been absorbed or resisted by her Witch Domain and she swiftly regained her balance.

However, she had been left at an absolute disadvantage after the very first clash of arms.

Ji Daopian was already rushing forward, a dark devilish light trailing behind. The gigantic halberd actually started to bend into the shape of a crescent moon as he swung it with terrifying strength and it snapped toward Chanyi’s frail and willowy waist like a whip.

Rumble!

Rumble!

RUMBLE!!

Even though the spectators were separated from this duel between Divine Masters by that barrier, they could still feel the world-destroying might emanating from each attack.

This battle had been decided from the very beginning. Witch Chanyi, who possessed a weaker cultivation, could still return some attacks at the beginning, but as the battle began to drag on, her inferiority was on full display. She could no longer find the opportunity to counterattack as Ji Daopian’s gigantic halberd swung wildly at her from every direction. She had to devote all of her effort to defense.

As Ji Daopian started to destroy her Witch Domain and it started to shrink inch by inch, even defense was starting to look like a lost cause.

“He he he.” The Burning Moon God Emperor let out a long laugh as he said, “The Devil Queen wanted to show this king what ‘talent’ was, and it seems like this king has already witnessed it. How about we just call it quits here?”

If one did not know the Burning Moon God Emperor, they would definitely think that he was an amicable and easygoing person for being such a gracious winner. They would have thought that he was a broad-minded, benevolent pacifist.

Chi Wuyao gave a dry chuckle as she replied in a languid voice, “I feel that the Burning Moon God Emperor may be speaking a little too soon.”

Just as Chi Wuyao finished speaking, the battle within the barrier suddenly started to change.

Chanyi was under so much pressure that she was forced to keep retreating and even her Witch Domain was about to be blasted apart, but she suddenly went from defense to offense as she instantly gathered the energy of her domain to the front and clashed head on against Ji Daopian’s rampaging great halberd.

This action seemed to be the last forced counterattack an opponent would launch when they were on the brink of defeat and everyone in the hall could already see the image of Witch Chanyi being blown away after taking a heavy hit...

Only the Burning Moon God Emperor’s gaze abruptly grew focused in that instant.

Because the speed at which the Witch Chanyi was gathering the power of her domain was abnormally fast.

Boom!

As the strength of two Divine Masters directly collided, Witch Chanyi leaned backwards as she was blasted away… Her energy had been blasted aside and the profound energy surrounding her should have gone into a frenzied chaos for a short amount of time.

However, she managed to stabilize herself as dark profound light started shining from her body once more. A dark lotus swiftly bloomed in front of her to meet the onrushing Ji Daopian.

This scene was something that defied all the laws of darkness and it actually caused Ji Daopian, who still held the absolute advantage over Chanyi at this moment, to falter as he rushed toward Chanyi. However, even though he was shocked by the scene that had played out in front of his eyes, he did not allow himself to get flustered. He did not stop his headlong charge and he swept his giant halberd forward, smashing apart the dark lotus in front of him… But just then, the pupils in his eyes fiercely shrank.

Even though the Witch Chanyi was still in full retreat, when she waved her jade palm, three dark lotuses bloomed to meet his explosive attack head-on. Every black lotus was radiating an aura of darkness that was no weaker than the last.

“!??” As a Moon Eater, someone who had inherited the Burning Moon divine power and possessed the highest level of knowledge when it came to the power darkness, Ji Daopian was so shocked by what was happening that he actually stopped moving in the midst of this fierce battle.

The faces of all of the Moon Eaters who had gathered in the main hall today changed dramatically. Even the Burning Moon God Emperor… had subconsciously taken half a step forward when he saw what the Witch Chanyi did.

They had an even better view of the fight than Ji Daopian did, so they clearly saw Witch Chanyi create three dark lotuses consecutively even though she was off-balance and her power had been blasted aside.

The giant black halberd thrust out viciously and devilish light instantly filled the area. It swiftly tore through all three black lotuses like a howling evil dragon, scattering countless dark energy fragments over the area.

However, the devilish light that shone from the giant halberd dimmed considerably after it had torn apart those black lotuses. Furthermore, it was also at this moment that Witch Chanyi rushed in front of Ji Daopian. Black and gold clashed as a dark light shone from the golden symbols inscribed on her sword as she suddenly thrust it in his direction

Bang!

The halberd collided against the sword, causing black stars to fill the sky. This time, it was Ji Daopian, who had not put the full force of his strength into the blow, who felt his body quiver violently. After that, he felt his body flying backwards as a look of shock flashed across his face.

However, he had not even been given the chance to catch his breath as another sword beam shot toward him. She had clearly rushed forward to catch up to him, but the might of her blow was actually no weaker than the previous one!

Witch Chanyi continued to attack with the sword in her left hand as her right hand continued to form dark lotuses. A slash of her sword shoved aside Ji Daopian’s giant halberd and a malevolent look flashed across her face as a black lotus heavily smashed into his body, causing the domain around his body to sink in heavily at the point of impact. 

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang——

Witch Chanyi’s incomparably bizarre transformation was not just a short-lived burst of power. Instead, her attacks were growing fiercer and fiercer. Her sword strikes were so fast that they resembled a raging storm as they poured down on Ji Daopian. And this was not even the astonishing thing about her attacks...

The most astonishing and irregular thing about her attacks was that each blow of her sword contained a tyrannical amount of dark power. It had not receded or grown any weaker despite her constant rain of blows. In fact, her Witch Domain, which had nearly been blasted apart earlier, was now slowly unfurling once more. It grew bigger and bigger as it started to suppress Ji Daopian’s ever-shrinking domain.

All of the six Moon Eaters in the audience rose to their feet, mystified and astonished expressions on each and every one of their faces. Even the Burning Moon God Emperor could no longer hide the shock on his face.

Darkness profound energy was an extremely strong but unruly beast. This was common knowledge throughout the Northern Divine Region.

But when Witch Chanyi used her darkness profound energy, it actually flowed as smoothly and easily as a stream of running water. The speed at which she gathered, released, and withdrew her darkness profound energy was so fast that even he, a god emperor of the northern region, could not understand what was happening… In fact, it was fair to say that he was completely confused by this.

He suddenly glanced to the side to look at Chi Wuyao and Yun Che, only to discover that there was no disturbance in their auras at all. It was as if they were looking at something that could not be any more ordinary.

Ji Daopian was left reeling as he started to lose every clash against the Witch Chanyi. She unleashed an unending torrent of attacks, her sword flashed with such alacrity that it resembled a fount of quicksilver flowing out from the ground. Before Ji Daopian could even catch his breath after each clash of arms, Witch Chanyi fiercely assaulted him with yet another wave of dark power.

Clang!

A dull and muffled sound rang in the air as one of Chanyi’s blows connected. Ji Daopian’s numb right arm was violently smashed aside by Chanyi’s sword. He finally lost all feeling in that arm when his giant black halberd was sent flying from his hand. With her other hand, she forcefully pierced Ji Daopian’s protective domain, which was already on the verge of collapse. A black lotus then mercilessly exploded soon after, striking his chest.

Rumble!

An enormous sound rang in the air as Ji Daopian’s protective domain was instantly riddled with holes. He flew through the air in a heap until his back smashed heavily against the barrier. When he fell to the ground, his body gently swayed as he stabilized himself… and forcefully swallowed the mouthful of blood that was surging up his throat.

Unfortunately, no matter how much of a strong front he tried to put up, the giant black halberd which had left his hand and his complexion, which was now a little pale and sickly, very clearly painted a picture of his defeat.

Moreover... one could even call it a complete defeat.

Witch Chanyi sheathed her sword and turned around. Even though they did not see her make any movements, her Witch power, which had originally been surging up violently, vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

This scene caused many pairs of eyes to tremble once more.

Ji Daopian stood frozen in place. He did his best to maintain the haughty look in his eyes and the hardened expression on his face, but his eyes were distracted and unfocused. It was as if he could not bring himself to believe or accept that he had actually been beaten...

As a Moon Eater, he had actually lost to a Witch of the Soul Stealing Realm whose cultivation was inferior to his.

“This… is?” The Burning Moon God Emperor slowly turned his head towards Chi Wuyao, and everyone could clearly see… the astonishment and shock on his face. Emotions that he could not suppress even though he possessed the dignity of a god emperor.

“So has the Burning Moon God Emperor now witnessed what talent truly is?”

Chi Wuyao held a jade cup in her hand, her long snow-white fingers even more delicate and lustrous than the devil jade used to make this cup. “It’s fine if you allow women to empty your body, but you shouldn’t let them empty your head as well.”

_______________

Author’s Note:

    【Ji Daopian’s combat power is 10 and attack speed is 2，The Witch Chanyi’s combat power is 9 and attack speed is 4… 36 to 20, this is a completely lopsided fight (HULK SMASH)】

    【The numbers above aren’t there to show how powerful Yun Che’s Eternal Calamity of Darkness is. The important thing here is to show what happened to 【Ji Daopian】in the end []~(￣▽￣)~*】

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