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 Yun Che appeared on the road of darkness, the three mighty profound warships of the king realms slowly sank beneath his level.

He wore a pitch-black robe that was imprinted with dark red devilish patterns. According to the ancient records, the patterns were the symbol of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. Parts of his eyebrows were hidden by his hair, and his pitch-black eyes felt like an abyss that could devour one’s heart and soul even if they appeared to be calm at first glance, especially if one tried to gaze into them. Countless experts bowed their heads in terror and worry because they had tried to stare Yun Che in the eye.

“Devil Master!”

On the Soul Sky Warship, the Witches, the Soul Spirits and the Soul Attendants kneeled down and cried out his title respectfully.

When Yun Che took another step, the Moon Eaters and the profound practitioners of the Burning Moon Realm also kneeled on their flagship in deference and respect.

“Devil Master!”

When he reached the center of the road of darkness, it was the Yama Devils and Yama Ghosts’ turn to kneel on their flagship.

Devil Master!”

Three flagships had escorted Yun Che. Three king realms had kneeled on the day of their master’s coronation.

To the profound practitioners of the Northern Divine Region, it was an honor to be able to meet either one of the Witches, the Moon Eaters, or the Yama Devils to say the least. But to see them give their knees in the most deferential and respectful manner to a man most of them had never seen before in their lives...

To say that it was stunning would be the understatement of the century. Even the proud realm kings felt like they were dreaming right now.

Yun Che’s pitch-black hair brushed against his handsome face. The dark gleam in his eyes and the occasional flash of power of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness only made him look and feel even more devilish than he already did.

The dark presence he inherited from the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor herself was something no being in the entire Northern Divine Region could resist. Wherever he went, dark clouds stilled and devils bowed their heads in fear. Their souls were trembling so much that they felt like dropping to their knees themselves.

Some distance away, Qianye Ying’er watched Yun Che and only Yun Che as he slowly made his way toward the front. Nothing else in the entire world mattered.

There was also a colorful figure hiding even further away behind the turbulent dark clouds. They didn’t make a sound or attempt to get close to the scene.

“Royal father, it’s him… it’s really him.”

Standing at the furthest corner of the Sacred Region was a woman in purple clothes. She was hugging her chest and staring at the man in the sky with a dazed expression on her face.

She was Dongfang Hanwei.

Eastern Frost was a small country in the East Ruins Realm. Normally, they didn’t qualify to attend an occasion like this. 

However, the East Ruins Realm was Yun Che’s first stepping stone after joining the Northern Divine Region, and Eastern Frost was his first residence.

Chi Wuyao knew Yun Che’s journey in the Northern Divine Region like the back of her hand. That was why she had sent an invitation to Eastern Frost, or more specifically the Eastern Frost Princess who made contact with Yun Che in the very beginning, Dongfang Hanwei. 

The monarch of Eastern Frost could hardly describe how he was feeling as he looked at the man in the sky. He murmured to himself, “Our ancestors must be watching over us. Who would've thought that the man who rescued us was the Devil Master himself?”

Theirs was the country Yun Che chose to stay in when he first arrived in the Northern Divine Region and even lent a hand during their time of need. He could already imagine how that connection alone would completely change the future of his country. They might not rise all the way to the ninth heaven, but he doubted that anyone would dare to oppress them after today.

The Witches, the Moon Eaters, the Yama Devils… to her, they were “gods” that only existed in legends. They were beings she didn’t even have the right to look up to. But now, they were all kneeling before the man who had once saved her life. Dongfang Hanwei stared at Yun Che and murmured in a daze, “Royal father… do you think he still remembers me?”

“...” The Eastern Frost Monarch gave her a pat on the shoulder before sighing quietly.

To Eastern Frost, it was the blessing of a lifetime to be able to meet Yun Che. But to Dongfang Hanwei… it might be the tribulation of a lifetime.

After all, how could one be satisfied with a simple body of water after they had witnessed the magnificent sea itself?

At another corner, there was another girl who was staring at the mighty man on the clouds in a daze. Unlike Dongfang Hanwei, she had eyes that looked like stars, and she was both smiling and crying at the same time.

Yun Shang was now eighteen years old and a young woman. Although she was still wearing a white, cloudy dress like before, her child-like innocence had faded away with age. Her dark blue hair was coiled into a flying immortal hairstyle, and her simple but elegant mannerisms gave her a transcendent appearance that somehow dissuaded people from having immoral thoughts about her. Rainbows danced in her eyes, and her smile looked as beautiful as lined jewels.

“Do you want to meet him, Shang’er?” Yun Ting asked her. He was as excited as he was confused by everything.

Everything that had happened back then almost felt like a dream today.

But Yun Shang shook her head, the swaying motion causing a small tear to escape her eyes. Still keeping her gaze fixed on the man in the sky, she said softly, “Not yet… but one day, one day, he will hear about me.”

It was her biggest dream, motivation, and desire in life.

“Don’t forget about our promise… when I grow up… when I find you again… I hope that your smile… won’t be as sad as it is now…”

Her eyes grew blurrier as she repeated the words she told Yun Che a long time ago.

Be it the denizens of the three king realms or the people of the Northern Divine Region, everyone was looking at Yun Che when he came to a stop as he arrived at the top of the Temple of Heaven. It was nine hundred and ninety nine levels tall, the tallest Temple of Heaven to ever be created in the history of the Northern Divine Region. No god emperor’s coronation had even come close to surpassing this.

Above the Temple of Heaven, Yun Che slowly turned around and observed the beings beneath his feet.

Was he a god emperor? No, he was above them. He was the first true Devil Master to enter the history of the Northern Divine Region.

There was no emotion behind his eyes, however. He looked so calm that staring at him felt like staring into a dark lake with bottomless depth.

I hadn’t wanted to become the master of anything, but fate wouldn’t grant me even my simple wish.

Now that I have become the master of darkness, why would I not engulf those filthy lands in darkness?

From this day onward, all lives in the Northern Divine Region are my tools and blade.

Blood, death, hate, fury, murder, terror, despair...

I will take back the peace I granted you all with my own hands hundreds and thousands of times over.

The God Realm I saved, the God Realm that took everything from me deserves nothing but a lightless hell!

Yan Tianxiao flew upward until he was around Yun Che’s waist level. Then, he declared in an imperious voice, “Che of Yun, a man only in his thirties, is the successor of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor’s unparalleled bloodline and devil art. His devilish veins and power are extinct in this world, and his status is rivaled by none. He is the supreme gift the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor has left behind to us, the Northern Divine Region.”

“We, the Yama Devil Realm, Soul Stealing Realm, and Burning Moon Realm, bow before his power, virtue, and ambition. May the supreme Devil Master lead the three realms and the Northern Divine Region to greater heights!”

Yan Tianxiao waved a hand and raised the Heaven Offering Altar. An inscription appeared in front of Yun Che as well.

“Please enter the Heaven Offering Altar, Devil Master. Only the heavens and earth are worthy to bear witness to your unprecedented glory.”

But Yun Che didn’t step forward as Yan Tianxiao said. He simply let out an indifferent chuckle and said, “Unnecessary. They are unworthy.”

It was only four words, but the boundless insolence that wouldn’t tolerate even the heavens and earth was unmistakable.

Yun Che waved his hand, and the heaven offering inscription vanished immediately.

Rumble…

The dark clouds in the sky shook restlessly. For the longest time, a monarch of any stature who underwent a coronation had always asked for the protection and the witnessing of the heavenly law. It was the same across all planes and regions.

No one… not even the supremely arrogant god emperors had ever dared to offend the heavenly law. Until now.

Yan Tianxiao was stunned. The Soul Stealing Sacred Region was so silent that the sound of a pin hitting the ground could be heard.

To an outsider, Yun Che’s arrogance was entirely too much.

But not Qianye Ying’er and Chi Wuyao. They knew… that the heavenly law truly was unworthy of Yun Che.

___________

Author’s Note:

[I know it’s short, but I’m starting to lose consciousness. I’ll add in the rest tomorrow.]

(No one praised me when I uploaded a 4k+ chapter yesterday anyway (╯︵╰))

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