Against the Gods

Every drop of water in the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake was extremely cold and yin-based. It had never frozen over before and at the same time, it could also be said to be absolutely stainless and pure.

Countless ice spirit danced above the Heavenly Lake but he unwittingly noticed an irregular light amidst these ice spirits.

The glinting reflection of light off the surface of ice?

No matter how cold the lake water in the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake became, it would never freeze over, so how could there be any ice for light to be reflected off of?

Yun Che immediately turned around. With a single flash, he had already arrived near the area where he had seen that icy glint. With a single glance, he noticed that there was, astonishingly enough, a large chunk of profound ice floating just beneath the surface of the Heavenly Lake.

Light reflecting off of ice and the surface of water were very similar. If one did not pay attention, it would have been very hard to notice the existence of this block of profound ice.

It was clear that this block of profound ice had been formed by very high level cold energy and it was able to exist in the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake without becoming one with the lake itself.

Other than that, this block of profound ice was not transparent and it seemed to be filled with some sort of strange mist. However, Yun Che was barely able to make out a blurry...

A human figure!?

What exactly was this...

This block of profound ice was something that absolutely should not have existed in this place. The Heavenly Netherfrost Lake was the most sacred and holy place in the Snow Song Realm, so Mu Xuanyin definitely would not allow any foreign objects to contaminate even the smallest bit of air in this place, much less the waters of the Heavenly Lake itself.

However, this bizarre block of profound ice could only have been placed here by Mu Xuanyin.

Yun Che’s rationality won out so he hesitated again and again, but he did not dare do anything reckless in the end. However, just as he was about to leave, his eyebrows suddenly gave a furious twitch.

This was...

The aura of life!?

His gaze fiercely swivelled back towards the block of profound ice, drilling into the blurry figure within the profound ice… Not only did it possess an aura of life, it was clearly a human being’s aura of life!

There was actually a human trapped inside there!

And it was a living, breathing human at that!

Yun Che’s expression changed many times in that one instant. Due to his enormous curiosity, he finally waved a hand, hurling the block of profound ice far away from the waters of the lake, causing it to land on the lakeshore.

With a flash, Yun Che appeared in front of the block of profound ice. His palm descended, and following a flash of blue light, the profound ice immediately started to melt away layer by layer… Gradually, a silhouette began to form out of that incredibly blurry figure and it swiftly grew more and more clear.

That was indeed a person.

Furthermore, once the layers of ice had completely melted and that person’s figure was fully revealed to Yun Che, his eyes dramatically widened as he hastily retreated a few steps… For a moment there, he could not even believe his eyes.

That person flopped to the ground. He was still alive and he actually still had a trace of consciousness left as he lay curled up on the ground, shivering and painfully gasping for breath in a quavery voice… Moreover, Yun Che recognized this person’s figure and face with a single glance!

Xing… Jue… kong!!

One of the Eastern Divine Regions four god emperors, the Star God Emperor, and also the father of Jasmine and Caizhi!

Yun Che was struck dumb and he only recovered his senses after several breaths.

The beard and hair of the person in front of him were no longer the pitch-black color they used to be. Instead, they had turned completely white and his skin was now a deathly white tinged with green.

His aura had also completely changed. He no longer even had the slightest trace of the majesty and dignity possessed by a god emperor. In fact, he did not even have the slightest trace of a profound aura.

However, although a person with no profound energy would have been killed instantly by the cold within the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake, his body was filled with exceptionally dense spiritual energy which stubbornly clung onto his life vein. Furthermore, it was clear that this spiritual energy had come from an external source and it had forcefully allowed him to survive in this cruelly cold environment for a long period of time… This coupled with his body, a body that had been tempered by enduring the power of a god emperor for a long period of time, meant that he truly would not be able to die here even if he wished for it.

If anyone saw him now, they would not be able to believe that he was actually one of the four emperors of the eastern region, the Star God Emperor. However, Yun Che’s gaze went rigid and he clenched his teeth tightly… No matter what kind of change he underwent, even if he was turned to ash, Yun Che would never be able to mistake him for someone else!

“Xing… Jue… kong!” Yun Che’s heart was filled with shock but he said every single word through gritted teeth.

Xing Juekong turned around while shivering. When he saw Yun Che, his entire body suddenly went rigid. HIs pupils contracted as he spoke in a weak and terrified voice, “Yun… Yun Che!?”

But immediately, the terror in his eyes actually turned into excitement… It was an exceptionally sorrowful and warped excitement at that. He desperately tried to drag his body towards Yun Che, a body that was spasming due to being tortured by the cold, as he gasped, “Ghost… You’re a ghost… You’ve come here seeking this king’s life… You have come here to take this king away…”

Yun Che, “...”

“Hurry… Hurry up and bring me away… Hurry up and let me die… Kill me… Hurry up and kill me!”

That trembling voice transformed into an impatient scream towards the end. His eyes shone with a nearly ecstatic light, as if death was the most beautiful thing in the world to him now.

“...” The astonished look in Yun Che’s eyes turned dark and sinister before turning back into a look of even greater astonishment after that.

If one did not personally see this… No, even if one did personally see this, perhaps no one would dare to believe that this man, a god emperor who used to command a vast king realm, a man who once stood at the peak of the universe, had actually fallen into such a state.

His profound strength had been crippled, his mind was deranged, and he could not even die despite wishing for death...

Who had the ability and gall to cripple the profound strength of a god emperor? Even though Yun Che did not know the history of the various large king realms, he could still be certain that Xing Juekong was definitely the first god emperor who had ever become a cripple.

Moreover, the person who had crippled him was definitely the very first person who had ever crippled a god emperor...

However, upon bearing witness to the utterly miserable appearance of a god emperor, Yun Che did not feel any pity even after he had recovered from his shock. Instead, the only thing that he felt in his heart was extreme joy.

After he took a deep breath, Yun Che looked down and said in a cold voice, "Old villain Xing, to think that there would come a day where you ended up like this. It looks like even the heavens will grow eyes every now and then.”

“That’s right, I am Yun Che. However, it’s such a pity… that I am not a ghost.”

“Uhh…” Xing Juekong’s mind was already clearly somewhat deranged so it took several breaths before he responded to Yun Che’s words. After that, his head jerked upwards as his widened eyes stared straight at Yun Che, and trembled in their sockets, “Not a… ghost? No… No… you clearly died… You had been completely destroyed… you did not even leave a body part behind…”

“Ha!” Xing Juekong’s quivering words caused Yun Che’s eyes to abruptly turn dark and vicious. He suddenly took a step forward as he stomped down on Xing Juekong’s hand.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, Xing Juekong’s right hand was completely shattered from fingerbones to wrist, causing him to suddenly howl in pain.

Yun Che did not lessen the pressure exerted by his foot as he stared coldly at Xing Juekong’s face which was warped in pain. He said, “Do you now know whether I am a ghost or not?”

“You… Argh...” Xing Juekong’s entire body shook but he still could not bring himself to believe that the person in front of him was Yun Che.

To anyone else, if they saw that Yun Che had returned alive, they would merely think that the rumors of his death had been wrong. After all, none of them had personally witnessed Yun Che’s death. But Xing Juekong had personally witnessed Yun Che turning to ash, personally saw that not even a single speck of him had remained.

“Heh, there’s no need to be so shocked,” Yun Che said with a cold laugh. “If a beast like you, an animal inferior to even a dog or a pig, can survive for so long, then why can’t I live until now? However, with that being said, it isn’t bad to see you living in your current state.”

“You… You…” Xing Juekong’s eyes continued to rapidly bulge. It was as if he simply could not believe that the person that had turned to ash right before his eyes was still alive. All of a sudden, his chaotic eyes once again gleamed with light. He stretched his other hand forward with much difficulty and grabbed Yun Che’s leg, “Kill… Kill me… You were killed by me… So you definitely must want to kill me… Kill… Hurry up and kill me… Hurry up, kill me and take your revenge!”

Bang!

Yun Che’s leg shot out, kicking him far away. He said in a deep voice, “No, for you to live in this state is an extremely good thing. It simply suits you far too well. Given all that you have done, if you were to die so easily, then the heavens would simply be blind!”

“In this place, you have no power, you have no ambition. But you do have enough time to regret, to seek forgiveness and atonement, to live… despite… wishing… to… die!!”

Even though Xing Juekong had already been reduced to such a miserable state, Yun Che could not contain the resentment and hatred in his words. The resentment and hatred still caused him to gnash his teeth in rage.

“Don’t you worry, I won’t kill you. I’m just like Master. I’ll make sure you stay alive and well, and the longer you live, the better! This is the end that you so richly deserve!!”

With a low roar, Yun Che curled his hand into a claw. Blue light flashed and he was prepared to reseal Xing Juekong inside profound ice.

“Wait… Wait a moment!!”

Xing Juekong suddenly started to struggle and flail as he let out a yell in a voice that was even more hoarse than before, “The Star God Wheel… I beg you, take the Star God Wheel… please… I'm begging you!”

“Mn?” Yun Che’s hand stopped moving but after that, his eyes grew even colder, “The Star God Wheel? What sort of object is that? But do you think that… I will follow your wishes? Just be good and get back into the ice!”

“Caizhi… It’s for Caizhi!”

Xing Juekong suddenly roared out those words frantically, causing Yun Che’s hand to come to a forceful stop at the very last moment.

Upon seeing Yun Che stop his hand movements, Xing Juekong grew even more excited. He stretched out a trembling hand and pointed at his own chest as he said, “The Star God Wheel… is in here… Take it away… and pass it to Caizhi… Quickly… quick…”

Yun Che’s brows deeply furrowed… He did not know what the Star God Wheel was and he was also completely disinterested in it. Even more than that, he did not want to follow any of the wishes of the Star God Emperor.

But he still felt a very deep concern and guilt towards Caizhi. It was not only because she was Jasmine’s younger sister, it was also because… he had completed a proper wedding ceremony with Caizhi in the Star God Realm all those years ago. They had done so in front of her mother’s memorial tablet, with Jasmine standing witness to it.

Even though it felt very empty and inauthentic, with just this alone, Caizhi could indeed already be counted as his wife.

He had also sworn in front of Jasmine that he would always accompany and protect Caizhi in the future, yet he....

If it truly was an item that was very important to Caizhi...

Yun Che lowered his head and took a step forward, pointing a finger at Xing Juekong’s chest. As expected, he discovered a very small independent space inside of Xing Juekong’s chest.

He once possessed the strength of a god emperor, yet he actually hid this item in a space inside his own body. One could very well imagine just how important this thing was.

This space had been created by Xing Juekong’s god emperor power and it was absolutely impossible for Yun Che to break into this space with his current power. However, Xing Juekong’s profound strength had already dispersed a long time ago. This coupled with the erosion caused by the cold energy in this place meant that this space no longer had any residual strength since a long time ago. In fact, it was already teetering on the verge of collapse. Yun Che made a grasping motion with his hand and he barely exerted any energy before his profound energy entered within.

There was only a single object lying in this space.

Yun Che fished it out and a wheel that shone with starlight appeared in his hand.

The wheel was not even one foot in diameter and it felt like it hardly weighed anything. The surface of the wheel was wreathed by twelve clusters of sparkling light, each cluster radiating a different color. Four of these lights were exceptionally dense, they looked just like burning candles.

Yun Che stared at the wheel in his hand, his gaze unconsciously focusing on it… Although those four exceptionally dense clusters of starlight were very small, neither his sight or perception could penetrate them.

It was as if those seemingly tiny clusters of starlight were concealing majestically vast and boundless worlds.

“What is this? What does it have to do with Caizhi?” Yun Che asked in a deep voice.

As he looked at the wheel in Yun Che’s hand, the Star God Emperor’s eyes became chaotic and blurry alternately, while his expression flickered between relaxed and pained. He said, “The Star God Wheel… is the most important ancient divine artifact belonging to our Star God Emperor… As long as it exists… the Star God divine power will never be extinguished… and the Star God Realm… will also never collapse…”

Every single one of Xing Juekong’s words trembled and at some point in time, Yun Che’s hand had started to fiercely clench.

He suddenly understood what this thing was...

It was actually… the medium which contained the origin power of the Star God Realm’s Twelve Star Gods!

The twelve clusters of starlight gleaming on its surface represented the divine power of the Twelve Star Gods.

Furthermore, those four clusters of bizarrely dense light. They were lights that had returned to their places due to the fall of four Star Gods!

These four clusters of starlight corresponded to the fallen Heavenly Origin, Heavenly Strength, Heavenly Poison, and the crippled Heavenly Chief respectively!

The most important reason for the Star God Realm’s strength was the existence of Twelve Star Gods! Furthermore, after a Star God fell or had reached the end of their natural lifespan, their corresponding Star God divine power would not dissipate after that, and the origin power would return to the medium and find the next person compatible with its power. After that, the legacy would once again be transferred and a new mighty Star God would be born again in an extremely short period of time.

In the upper star realms, nurturing a Divine Master required them to use all of their strength and it still often depended on luck. However in the Star God Realm, there would always exist the mighty Twelve Star Gods… and the other king realms were the same as well.

This was also precisely the reason why they were the king realms who had always stood at the peak of the Primal Chaos!

When Yun Che first entered the God Realm and heard Mu Xuanyin and Mu Bingyun talk about the king realms, he had found out about the existence of the “legacies” and the “medium”. But he never would have thought that this medium would actually be so small.

No, compared to that, the one thing that had shaken him even more was that the foundation of the Star God Realm’s legacies, the powerful artifact that formed the core of the Star God Realm, was actually being held by him at this very moment!

Now that Yun Che had it in his hands, it meant that he was holding onto the Star God Realm’s lifeline, their future… their very fate and survival!

The Star God Wheel… The most important item in the Star God Realm, an item that they could not allow an outsider to come into contact with even if they themselves died. Yet Xing Juekong had handed it to Yun Che of his own accord.

This was because he already had no other choice.

Late Late TL note: After tling this chapter, I realized that I can't remember if we did explain why some Star God names got changed so I'll just drop another note, just in case. First, the Heavenly Jade Star God’s name/title is Aster and our dearly departed Heavenly Aster Star God’s title is actually from the 36 Heavenly Stars of the 108 Stars of Destiny (Water Margin/Suikoden fans feel free to go crazy). So we are changing his Star God title to Heavenly Strength Star God.

Tldr; Heavenly Aster Star God → Heavenly Strength Star God