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 miserable battle across the Eternal Heaven God Realm was still ongoing. In just two hours’ time, nearly half of the realm was drowning in blood so thick that the air itself was colored red. Despair was slowly but surely deepening across every corner of the sacred king realm.

The only reason they hadn’t crumbled completely was because they were still clinging to the hope that reinforcements from nearby upper star realms and the other two king realms would reach them in time.

They couldn’t possibly know that the Star God Realm’s reinforcements had been sent slinking back into their hole by Caizhi.

The most powerful king realm of the Eastern Divine Region, the Brahma Monarch God Realm was ambushed by the Southern Sea God Emperor himself after their main force took off to the Eternal Heaven God Realm. Although the fight hadn’t devolved into an all-out battle, Qianye Fantian ultimately chose to abandon the Eternal Heaven Realm to their fate and even seal off his entire realm.

As for the Moon God Realm… most of their core forces were still hunting after the escaped Shui Meiyin. They couldn’t even return to their own realm in time, much less rescue the Eternal Heaven Realm.

As for the powerful upper star realms...

The Shrouding Sky Realm was one of the three most powerful upper star realms of the Eastern Divine Region. They hadn’t been attacked by the devil people, but they were located so far away from the Eternal Heaven God Realm that the battle would’ve been over long before they reached it.

The Blue Jade Moon God had been keeping an eye on the Glazed Light Realm since the escape of Shui Meiyin. They decided that they might as well stay put and do nothing.

Finally, the Holy Eaves Realm was shrouded by an eerie silence despite the chaos.

Not one of their three top tier Divine Masters—Luo Guxie, Luo Shangchen, or Luo Changsheng—showed their faces or responded to the cries for help at all. 

The rest of the upper star realms were too busy defending their own territories to do anything, especially since Zhou Xuzi had summoned most of their realm kings and core forces away from their home realms. Had they had the time to collect themselves, they would be swearing bloody murder at the Eternal Heaven Realm for weakening them at the worst of times, much less save them.

The projection from the Eternal Heaven God Realm was still active. Almost everyone from every corner of the Eastern Divine Region could look up and see how the battle was progressing there.

Everyone’s morale and faith was dropping like a rock as the battle grew worse and worse.

At the Eternal Heaven God Realm, Qianye Ying’er withdrew her sound transmission profound formation before walking up to Yun Che. She said, “As expected, Nan Wansheng invaded the Brahma Monarch Capital the moment the Brahma Monarch Profound Warship left the realm.”

“Hmph.” Yun Che let out a low and disdainful sneer.

“Nan Wansheng only brought two people with him, probably two of the four Sea Kings. Clearly, he was hoping to grab what he wanted as soon as possible and escape before Qianye Fantian returned. Unfortunately, they chose not to duke it out.”

Qianye Ying’er used the word “unfortunately”, but her expression was devoid of surprise. “It isn’t a surprising outcome. Both Qianye Fantian and Nan Wansheng are old bastards who place their own self-interests above everything else. They wouldn’t resort to costly measures unless they had no other choice.”

“And after that?” Yun Che asked.

“The Brahma Monarch God Realm went into lockdown. Clearly, Qianye Fantian has lost his nerve after being taken by surprise like that. As for the Southern Sea God Emperor…” Qianye Ying’er let out a cold chuckle. “He is still somewhere around the area. Knowing his character, he will not give up on ‘eternal life’ easily. Besides that, the chaos embroiling the Eastern Divine Region right now is the perfect opportunity for him to get what he wants!”

“If I have to guess, Nan Wansheng must have given Qianye Fantian a time limit. During this time, he will attempt every play in the book to pressure Qianye Fantian into giving him what he wants.”

“Will Nan Wansheng lose his patience first, or will Qianye Fantian mount a desperate retaliation… I can’t wait to know the outcome.”

The possibility that Qianye Fantian might surrender the Primordial Seal of Life and Death to Nan Wansheng never crossed her mind. It was simply impossible.

“What about the Star God Realm?” Yun Che asked.

“The situation in the Star God Realm is a bit strange,” Qianye Ying’er said. “Their starship was seen taking off from their star realm, but the Star Gods and the elders boarding the ship soon returned without it.”

Yun Che: “... ?”

“Our spies tracked down the starship eventually, but they discovered that it had been completely destroyed.”

“Who did it?” Yun Che frowned slightly.

Qianye Ying’er replied, “They didn’t find the culprit, but… I’m pretty sure I know who the culprit is. The starship was destroyed, but there were no signs of battle. Whoever did it had done it in half parts hatred and reluctance… and there was only one person that fit that description.”

Yun Che didn’t say anything for a long time.

Have you returned to the Eastern Divine Region too, Caizhi?...

Rumble

The explosion could be heard throughout the entire Eastern Divine Region. The protective profound formation of the first sacred hall had finally collapsed completely under the endless bombardment.

The sacred hall was constructed from divine jade, but without the protective formation it couldn’t possibly withstand the power of a Divine Master. Over half of the building was destroyed in the blink of an eye.

The underground of the sacred hall was fifty kilometers deep. It contained everything the Eternal Heaven Realm had accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years. If the devil people noticed and plundered it all, the Eternal Heaven Realm would be hard-pressed to make a comeback to say the least.

Alas, right now, they couldn’t even protect their own lives, much less their physical wealth.

Yan One took down yet another Guardian with his ghastly claws as the sacred hall collapsed. When he perished, his eyes were dyed in despair and fear instead of the will to protect.

As a Guardian of the Eternal Heaven Realm, he had of course killed many devil people who tried to escape the Northern Divine Region over his whole life. But it was only during the last day of his life that he realized that darkness profound energy was this scary… and that a monster like Yan One still existed in this world.

Despite being a level nine Divine Master and a bearer of the Eternal Heaven divine power, there was almost nothing he could do against this monster.

Yan One was the leader of the three Yama Ancestors and the first true ancestor to inherit the Yama Devil power. Besides that, he had soaked in the ancient yin energy of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness for over eight hundred thousand years. Just judging by profound cultivation alone, he was the strongest god emperor there ever has been besides the Dragon Monarch himself.

However, neither the Eastern Divine Region, the Western Divine Region nor the Southern Divine Region were aware of this.

Even the devil people of the Northern Divine Region were mostly unaware of their existence until they became Yun Che’s loyal dogs.

Yan One, Yan Two, and Yan Three had displayed unparalleled power in this absolute bloodbath. They had made sure that every living being in the Eastern Divine Region would forever engrave their faces and their hellish screams into their minds forever.

By now, only two Guardians—Honorable Tai Yu and Honorable Tai Yun—were still alive in the Eternal Heaven God Realm. Over sixty percent of their elders and Adjudicators had been killed in action.

Honorable Tai Yu was second only to Zhou Xuzi in the entire Eternal Heaven Realm, but even he was powerless before Yan Three. He was thrown back again and again by Yan Three’s powerful swipes, and the reddish black claw marks on his body were so numerous that it became an unbearable sight.

Tai Yu’s mind turned blank when the sacred hall collapsed before his eyes, and Yan Three punched him right through the heart for that lapse of concentration. Jets of blood burst out of his body as he was thrown back like a leaking blood bag.

He hit the ground and skidded for a moment before coming to a stop, leaving a bloody trail where he passed through. For a time, he was too weak to even get back on his feet. A sorrowful shout kept reverberating in his mind:

Where are our reinforcements… Why aren’t reinforcements here yet…

Is it the heavens’ will for us to die?...

“Tai Yu!”

Honorable Tai Yun shouted as he pounced toward Honorable Tai Yu and fired a blast of energy. That action cost him an entire row of ribs as Fen Daoqi landed a palm strike to his side.

Rumble!

A powerful tempest threw Honorable Tai Yu far, far away into the distance.

“Run! Run! Ugah!!”

Tai Yun’s shout was cut off by a screech of despair.

Yan Two had moved behind him and penetrated his body with his claw. The power of the Yama Devil instantly flooded his nerves and devoured all of his remaining life force.

“What a great man he was. It was almost enough to bring tears to my eyes.”

Yan Two said as he let out a chuckle. He withdrew his claw and turned Honorable Tai Yun’s corpse into a pile of goo.

“Tai… Yun.” Honorable Tai Yu uttered in pain, but he wasted no time in leaping into the air and making a mad escape.

He couldn’t let Tai Yun’s death go to waste.

However, his mad escape only lasted a couple of breaths before he suddenly turned back. Every scrap of profound energy boiling like a furious volcano, he dashed toward Yun Che with the most ferocious eyes he had ever worn in his life!

No, I am the head of the Guardians! It is my highest duty to protect the Eternal Heaven God Realm; a responsibility that is even more important than my own life!

I will not escape!

His despair and his determination spurred him to his limits. He was almost at his fastest as he made his way toward Yun Che.

But neither Yun Che nor Qianye Ying’er turned around to respond to him. It was as if they hadn’t noticed the approaching danger at all.

Yun Che still didn’t react when Honorable Tai Yu was just thirty meters away from him. Meanwhile, Honorable Tai Yu had gathered almost all of his remaining energy and punched out with the greatest killing intent he had ever gathered in his life.

The denizens of the Eastern Divine Region and the devil people looked up in unison.

Even Zhou Xuzi, who was being carried away on the back of his Guardian had regained a bit of clarity of mind to stare at the projection with widened eyes.

Honorable Tai Yu’s palm moved closer and closer toward Yun Che’s heart, but… what followed afterward wasn’t the destructive explosion of the Eternal Heaven divine power.

It was a hum so low and soft that it caused an uncomfortable itch in one’s heart.

Yun Che was still facing forward. He hadn’t turned around or even adjusted his posture one bit. However, his right hand was bent backward and touching… Honorable Tai Yu’s chest.

No one, not even Honorable Tai Yu himself had seen how he moved his arm or extinguished his final power.

It was as if the contact had frozen Honorable Tai Yu’s time and space. The only things that weren’t affected were his shrinking pupils.

Buzz!

A wave of energy burst out of Yun Che’s arm as the Phoenix flame and Golden Crow flame burned at the same time. An instant later, they had combined to form a crimson flame. 

A black mist rose from Yun Che’s body next. The crimson flame turned darker and darker until it turned completely pitch-black.

Black flames were rare, but they were hardly impossible to manifest.

However, the black flames Yun Che summoned were so pure and deep that even through the projection, the denizens of the Eastern Divine Region thought that they were witnessing a burning black hell.

The battlefield suddenly turned incredibly silent. Be it the disciples of the Eternal Heaven Realm, the devil people of the Burning Moon Realm, or the three Yama Ancestors, everyone… was staring at the flames as if coerced by an invisible, irresistible force.

The pitch black flames reflecting inside their pupils slowly morphed into unspeakable fear. It was as if they would bury them in infinite darkness at any moment.

“Ah… ugahhh… AH!!”

Honorable Tai Yu was screaming, but he was screaming more out of fear and despair than pain.

The pitch black flames slowly spread from his chest to other parts of his body. Tai Yu himself and the entire world watched as his body disappeared bit by bit...

There was no blood, no ash, no sound, not even pain.

He was just… vanishing slowly due to the black flames.

Honorable Tai Yu was grievously injured and absolutely exhausted, but he was still the strongest Eternal Heaven Guardian and a level ten Divine Master!

His body was literally the body of a god. Not even ten thousand mountains could hurt a hair on his body.

Still, it was a fact that this divine body was being consumed bit by bit into nothingness.

His consciousness and his vision were so clear that it was cruel. Honorable Tai Yu tried to escape Yun Che’s control, but he didn’t have nearly enough strength to perform such a feat.

To watch oneself disappear into nothing… it was a kind of fear and despair no one but the victim themselves could understand.

Silence reigned over the Eternal Heaven God Realm for a time. The denizens felt like their souls had departed their bodies in shock, and no one said a word or took a step to save Tai Yu. All they could do was shiver from head to toe, from outside to inside as the black flames continued to eat away at his limbs… his head… everything.

Not one speck of dust was left behind when the “cremation” was finally over.

When the black flames died, Yun Che slowly lowered his arm and placed it behind his back. He never turned around to look at his victim—it was almost as if he was just burning a fly who insisted on flying to its death.

The entire Eastern Divine Region fell into deathly silence as well.

Unspeakable fear was tearing away at their nerves and the very fabric of their souls.

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