Against the Gods

Luo Changsheng suddenly looked up when he heard Yun Che’s words. A rare, savage gleam passed through his eyes.

No one had ever dared—or qualified—to ridicule Luo Changsheng, but when he looked down on Yun Che like a judge who controlled everything, Yun Che was inadvertently triggered as a result. Yun Che knew that Luo Changsheng was arrogant and disdainful toward everyone, but that didn’t mean that the likes of him would swallow such a slight without retaliation.

That was why he didn’t hesitate to beat down on Luo Changsheng after catching him off guard.

The unexpected twist in what should’ve been a landslide victory caught everyone off guard, and the light from crimson flames that surrounded Yun Che’s body pricked their wide open eyes, especially those who were from Flame God Realm. Huo Rulie and Yan Juehai turned their necks stiffly and stared at one another. They were completely stunned and speechless for a very long time.

Before this, Yun Che had been completely suppressed by Luo Changsheng despite releasing the Golden Crow flames to the max and striking with the Heaven Smiting Sword. Forget hurting Luo Changsheng, he couldn’t even get close to his opponent.

However, this strange crimson flame had easily extinguished Luo Changsheng’s power and penetrated his defenses. However, Yun Che’s profound strength was still the same as before.

Both the Phoenix flame and Golden Crow flame sat at the highest level of divine flames. However, this crimson flame was far stronger than the Golden Crow flame despite being powered by the same level of profound energy!

Did this mean that the crimson flame… sat at a higher level than even the Golden Crow flame and Phoenix flame!?

Impossible! That is absolutely impossible!

Both Huo Rulie and Yan Juehai shouted so in their heads. It was because the Vermillion Bird flame, Phoenix flame and Golden Crow flame were the three ultimate divine flames of the Era of Gods. They were already the strongest when True Gods still roamed the world, so how could a mere human possibly ignite a flame that exceeded even them!?

But if that was the case, then what on earth was going on here? Could someone please enlighten them already!?

The words “complete confusion” couldn’t even begin to describe their feelings right now.

Although pain was still evident on Luo Changsheng’s face, he had already lowered his arm slowly as his defensive forcefield repaired itself. While staring at Yun Che, he spoke in a very low tone, “Very good, it would be boring if you went down as easily as I expected... But you’re naive if you think you can beat me with just this!”

Yun Che didn’t bother wasting his breath with Luo Changsheng. A fiery beam roughly several hundred meters long enveloped the Heaven Smiting Sword, and what should’ve been Golden Annihilation turned into “Crimson Annihilation” as he swung down mercilessly at Luo Changsheng.

As a man who was so powerful that he felt lonesome, yet so proud he couldn’t stomach any weakness within himself, withdrawal was a concept that he thought was beneath him. Before the crimson flames were summoned, Luo Changsheng had chosen to block Yun Che’s strikes head on, or even cancel them out leisurely with a single arm.

But when Crimson Annihilation came rushing down on him, his facial features tightened as his body reacted before his mind. He dashed a hundred meters away from the stormy power the instant it appeared.

Those who hadn’t been burned by the crimson flame before would never understand the kind of pain he was in earlier.

It was a pain that could turn even the proudest and firmest person into a bird, startled by the mere twang of a bow.

In the distance, Luo Changsheng turned stiff for an instant. He almost couldn’t believe that his first reaction toward Yun Che’s attack was to run away.

It was a normal, if not entirely logical, choice of action had he been any other profound practitioner, but… he was Luo Changsheng. How could he run away—in fear!—when his opponent was just a peer whose profound strength, background and reputation was below him in every way!?

Yun Che seized Luo Changsheng’s temporary lapse of attention to move closer and extend the crimson blade to two hundred fifty meters long. Then, he swung it horizontally toward Luo Changsheng. A thick, seemingly permanent, crimson trail seemed to follow wherever the blade went, and it looked powerful enough to cut even the void.

The earlier experience had actually left a trauma in Luo Changsheng. His body instinctively shivered, and every hair on his body was standing on its end. But there was no way he was running away a second time after this! Growling, Luo Changsheng erupted the profound light surrounding him into a turbulent wind domain, crossed the Holy Lightning Sword and Divine Wind Battleaxe before himself, and charged toward the crimson sword.

If Yun Che wasn’t using the crimson flame, the power behind his slash would’ve been largely diminished by the wind domain and become completely harmless to Luo Changsheng. But not only did the crimson sword cut through the wind domain, that could’ve ground a ten thousand meter tall mountain into dust, but it did it with such ease that there was barely any resistance at all.

Both the sword and the battleaxe glowed brightly with yellow light. It was obvious that Luo Changsheng was in full defense mode.

There was a loud bang, and both the crimson flame and storm exploded at the same time. The crimson blade was knocked far away, but it hadn’t broken upon impact. Yun Che immediately threw another horizontal sweep at Luo Changsheng.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom...

Yun Che’s expression was ruthless, and his gaze demonic. He was suppressing Luo Changsheng, and he noticed that the crimson flames had left a lingering impression in his opponent’s mind. There was no way he was going to give the enemy any chance to breathe at all.

Yun Che poured every bit of profound energy he had into maintaining Crimson Annihilation as he slashed again and again at Luo Changsheng like a storm. Every time he clashed directly against Luo Changsheng, a miniature red explosion would appear and linger around for an indefinite amount of time, forcing his opponent to dodge far into the distance. For a time, Luo Changsheng couldn’t find any opportunity to mount a counter attack at all.

Yun Che had attacked Luo Changsheng dozens of times in just a few breaths’ time. In the end, Luo Changsheng let out an angry roar and caused a loud bang that deafened the ears. The crimson blade was finally shattered into a shower of sparks.

Yun Che shook violently as he was thrown backwards.

At this point, Luo Changsheng’s gentle demeanor was completely gone. The young man rarely got angry, but right now he felt like his heart could explode from sheer fury. Now that that fearsome crimson blade was finally shattered, Luo Changsheng let out a low growl and was just about to retaliate fiercely against Yun Che when an unnatural reverberation suddenly coursed through his arms.

What shook wasn’t his body but the Holy Lightning Sword and Divine Wind Battleaxe.

Luo Changsheng subconsciously lifted the weapons for an inspection, and his pupils abruptly shrunk as if he was pricked by a needle.

The Holy Lightning Sword’s blade was chipped in at least a dozen or so places. The largest chip of them all was at least half a finger wide. Faint crimson light could be seen swimming around the chips as the lightning stored inside the Holy Lightning Sword visibly leaked out of the gaps, accompanied by a despairingly painful and frightful ringing.

The Divine Wind Battleaxe was also dented in a dozen or so different places. The longest mark on the blade was at least half an inch deep. As a result, the battleaxe looked visibly crumpled, and it was leaking storm power and ringing sorrowfully as well.

“How… is this… possible…?” Stunned, Luo Changsheng just couldn’t believe his eyes.

As the son of the Holy Eaves Realm King and the strongest cultivator out of the Four God Children of the Eastern Divine Region, how was it possible for him to weild ordinary weapons? His Holy Lightning Sword and Divine Wind Battleaxe, Lu Lengchuan’s Sky Splitter Spear, Jun Xilei’s Misty Light Sword and Shui Yangyue’s Jade Rivulet Sword were profound weapons of the highest grade at the Divine Spirit Realm and below. Not only did they contain divine power, but they couldn’t be destroyed by another power of the same level.

However, it was a fact that the Holy Lightning Sword and Divine Wind Battleaxe were damaged by the crimson blade. In fact, it was clear that they were damaged every time they clashed against it.

Naturally, his brief loss of attention meant that he had missed his best chance to retaliate against Yun Che. By the time he recovered, Yun Che had already steadied himself and was dashing towards Luo Changsheng yet again. Although the crimson sword beam hadn’t reappeared, the Heaven Smiting Sword was burning brighter than before.

Luo Changsheng frowned and gritted his teeth. He was just about to meet Yun Che again when Luo Guxie’s voice suddenly appeared beside his ears:

“Changsheng, Yun Che’s flame is extraordinarily powerful, but its aura is very unstable. It obviously cannot be maintained for a long time, so all you need to do is to avoid direct confrontation and outlast him. You don’t have to face it directly. Once he runs out of power, you can trample on him however you wish.”

Luo Guxie herself was frowning deep and worriedly after she was done.

Strictly speaking, what Luo Guxie did—sending a sound transmission—was dangerously close to breaching the rules of the Conferred God Battle. The reason she did something she never thought she would do was because Luo Changsheng had never looked this terrible until today.

Luo Changsheng, “...”

Boom!!

Yun Che swung his sword and caused an explosion of flames, but Luo Changsheng had already escaped far, far away from the point of impact. Running on Extreme Mirage Lightning, Yun Che locked onto Luo Changsheng, closed in and tried to envelop the latter in fire yet again.

Luo Changsheng growled and activated a couple of yellow barriers before him. While the barriers were holding, he escaped into the distance yet again.

Luo Changsheng was faster than Yun Che. Amplified by the power of the storm, he moved so quickly that it was impossible to catch him with one’s eyes. His movements proved so elusive that it was almost illusory, but Yun Che kept chasing and attacking him like torrential rain. Still, Luo Changsheng’s full switch to defense allowed him to avoid the center of impact every time, while protecting himself perfectly from the shockwaves.

For a time, the wind whistled, and the fire exploded on the God Conferred Stage. Luo Changsheng was actually the one who was being chased around by Yun Che right now. Although his great speed and defense meant that Yun Che couldn’t harm him at all, it seriously did not create a good impression.

Yun Che seemed to grow impatient after failing to take down Luo Changsheng despite many attempts. He paused for a brief instant, and the crimson flame around him suddenly turned as volatile as the Golden Crow flame. Then, he attacked Luo Changsheng again with even fiercer fire waves.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

Every time there was an explosion, a bigger ball of crimson flame was left behind. Moreover, they showed no signs of dying out even after a few breaths’ time had passed. Very soon, Yun Che’s seemingly insanity fueled attacks left dozens of crimson fireballs on the God Conferred Stage. They looked as beautiful as reddish stars in space.

“Oh no!” Huo Rulie frowned, “Luo Changsheng may look sorry right now, but he’s obviously waiting for the moment Yun Che runs out of that crimson flame… That strange flame of Yun Che’s is incredibly unstable, and it is clear that he isn’t able to control it fully. There’s no way he can keep this up for long, or he would’ve used this from the very start.”

“If this situation continues, if this strange flame dies out before Luo Changsheng is defeated, Yun Che won’t have any chance of victory whatsoever.”

Huo Rulie waited, but didn’t hear a reply from Yan Juehai for a long time. When he turned to look at the sect master, he suddenly discovered that Yan Juehai was staring blankly to the front while muttering unclearly, “This… could this be… is…”

Huo Rulie, “???”

Boom!!

Another fireball appeared after the Heaven Smiting Sword was swung, but suddenly Yun Che ceased attacking Luou Changsheng. Instead, he stood still in the air as a strange, crimson gleam passed through his eyes.

All around him, thirty six red fireballs could be seen floating in the air. Since Yun Che had stopped attacking, Luo Changsheng had naturally ceased running away as well. However, he showed no signs of relaxing because a sudden, strong sense of crisis had suddenly gripped his heart and soul.

At the same time, Luo Guxie’s urgent voice rang out, “Defend now, Changsheng!!”

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang...

In an instant, the fireballs slowly exploded… no, bloomed before everyone’s fully widened eyes and transformed into thirty-six demonically beautiful fire lotuses.