Against the Gods

“Tai Yu, how long have I been here?” Zhou Xuzi asked after a long sigh.

“My lord, you’ve been here for over two months,” Honorable Tai Yu said.

“Two months…” Zhou Xuzi murmured in a daze. “And here I thought a century had passed.”

Honorable Tai Yu looked away to hide the pain in his expression.

Zhou Qingchen’s death—especially the way he had died—had been a huge blow to Zhou Xuzi.

Since then, he had been racked by the pain of losing his son, regret toward his late wife, and self-loathing.

Who would’ve thought that the former God Child Messiah, Yun Che, could become this vicious and cruel after he turned into a devil?

Zhou Xuzi then said, “It is time to crown a new prince.”

Honorable Tai Yu was slightly caught off guard. He was about to say that it was too soon considering that Zhou Qingchen had only just passed away when he realized something.

The fastest way to wipe Zhou Qingchen from memory was to crown a new prince. Besides that, it would divert the world’s attention from the cause of his death and alleviate the pain in Zhou Qingchen’s heart.

“Is it Qingfeng?” Honorable Tai Yu asked. It was phrased as a question, but he was aware that Qingfeng was the best and only choice.

Zhou Xuzi nodded. “I have wronged him long enough.”

Zhou Qingchen was very talented, but he definitely wasn’t the most talented of Zhou Xuzi’s descendants. The only reason he was selected to be the Crown Prince was because he was the only son of his first wife. Zhou Xuzi favored him more than anyone else.

One of the reasons Zhou Qingchen was able to make it to middle stage Divine Sovereign after several thousand years was because he had the best cultivation resources affordable by the Eternal Heaven God Realm.

Out of all the descendants of Zhou Xuzi, the seventy-seventh son, Zhou Qingfeng, was the most talented of them all. The elders of the Eternal Heaven God Realm was well aware of that.

Zhou Qingfeng had reached level ten Divine Sovereign despite being only four thousand years old. In fact, he was one step away from reaching the Divine Master Realm. Although his achievement was trivial compared to the Brahma Monarch Goddess’, he was still the Eternal Heaven God Emperor’s most talented descendant.

Besides that, his temperament fitted his name perfectly. He was kind-hearted, gentle, and pacifistic. Not only did he not express any dissatisfaction or reluctance when Zhou Qingchen was appointed Crown Prince, he even did everything in his power to solidify Zhou Qingchen’s power.

His actions were also far more mature and decisive than Zhou Qingchen’s. Zhou Qingchen himself respected his older brother deeply.

It was no wonder that the elders all thought that Zhou Qingfeng was really the most suitable person to succeed the Eternal Heaven God Emperor.

It was also why Zhou Xuzi had always felt guilty toward Qingfeng.

“Tai Yu, tell Qingfeng to come here and meet me. And there is no need to avoid prying eyes,” Zhou Xuzi said.

“Understood.” Tai Yu acknowledged the order but didn’t leave immediately. “My lord… do you still wish to retire from the throne?”

“No.” Zhou Xuzi slowly shook his head as he declared in a terrifyingly dark voice. “I must preserve my power until the day I can finally kill Yun Che with my own hands!”

Zhou Xuzi rarely exuded killing intent.

However, his last line was absolutely overflowing with hatred and killing intent.

Suddenly, Zhou Xuzi rose to his feet with a shocked expression.

“My lord?” Honorable Tai Yu was also shocked to see such a great reaction from his god emperor.

Clearly, Zhou Xuzi had just heard a sound transmission.

The darkness in his eyes was replaced by blank surprise, Zhou Xuzi murmured in a daze. “Yun Che has been crowned the Devil Master of the Northern Divine Region… a power that is above even the Yama Realm, the Soul Stealing Realm, and the Burning Moon Realm.”

“What!?” Honorable Tai Yu exclaimed in shock before shaking his head immediately. “Impossible. It has to be a false rumor.”

“Tens of thousands of projections were projected so that all the denizens of the Northern Divine Region could witness the coronation ceremony. They proclaimed Yun Che to be the incarnation of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and Chi Wuyao to be his empress… all the dark realms have sworn loyalty to him.”

Zhou Xuzi fell silent after reciting the message. A while later, he murmured in a daze, “That’s right, this is impossible… impossible… impossible…”

He repeated the word a couple times more. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—believe that it was true.

Usually, it was incredibly difficult to glean any info about the Northern Divine Region, especially when it was from the core realms.

But this time, the news had spread unnaturally quickly.

It was because the Devil Master’s coronation ceremony was witnessed by the entire Northern Divine Region. The mere scale of the ceremony was unlike anything the world had ever seen before!

It was so loud that even those who lived at the borders of the Northern Divine Region could hear the incredible voice.

But how was that possible!?

Three years ago, Yun Che was just a Divine King.

Three months ago, Yun Che was a level seven Divine Sovereign. Although the young man’s cultivation speed was shocking, he was still no match for him.

So… how did he suddenly leap to the top and become the Devil Master, king of the king realms and ruler of all the Northern Divine Region!?

It need not be said how prideful the king realms of the Northern Divine Region were, not to mention that the devil people were a dark and violent people by nature!

So why would they make Yun Che, a denizen of the Eastern Divine Region, the Devil Master?

It was absurd. It was so absurd that there was no word in the world that could properly describe the absurdity of the entire situation.

Honorable Tai Yu thought for a moment before saying quietly, “Considering how much the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor cared for Yun Che, it is possible that she could’ve left behind her bloodline and devil art to him. But if that is all it takes to make the king realms submit to him, and in such a short time no less… then they can only be the joke of the century. Which means that something isn’t right about this.”

“Besides that, it doesn’t make sense that they would crown him so openly,” Honorable Tai Yu continued. “If this coronation is real, then the only logical explanation is that the three king realms are using Yun Che’s connection to the Devil Emperor to create a puppet.”

“The Northern Divine Region is eternally in chaos, but the title ‘Devil Emperor’ is something that transcends even faith in the Northern Divine Region. They made him a puppet because they wanted to build a faith that all the devil people would submit to… and whoever controls that faith controls everyone.”

Honorable Tai Yu’s thoughts were exactly the same as the denizens of the Northern Divine Region when they learned of the “Devil Master” for the first time.

Zhou Xuzi slowly sat down on his chair, his lost expression making it unclear if he had heard his loyal servant’s deduction fully. In fact, he was too busy trying to chase away two cursed sentences that just wouldn’t leave his mind, to no avail.

Virtue will lead to eternal peace.

Evil will bring the carnage of a devil god.

Moon God Realm, Moon Palace.

After Jin Yue entered a room in a hurry, she bowed toward the person behind a veil and reported softly, “A strange rumor has been spreading from the Northern Divine Region as of late, Master. It is said that Yun Che has been crowned the Devil Master, a seat of power that is above even the three king realms that rule over the Northern Divine Region. Besides that… the three king realms seem to have projected the coronation ceremony to every corner of the Northern Divine Region and sworn loyalty to Yun Che before everyone’s eyes.”

“...” Behind the veil, the Moon God Emperor replied indifferently, “Understood. It’s funny that the devil people are making such a big deal about this, it’s almost as if they’re afraid that the world wouldn’t hear about their new puppet. What a farce.”

The Moon God Emperor’s reaction was basically the same as everyone else’s. Jin Yue bowed again and continued her report. “One more thing. Recently, there has been a rumor claiming that the Eternal Heaven God Emperor snuck into the Northern Divine Region several months ago. In fact, the timing of his travel was very close to the date Zhou Qingchen’s death was announced. Therefore, it is rumored that Zhou Qingchen died in the Northern Divine Region, and that he had… transformed into a devil person prior to his death.”

“...” The Moon God Emperor fell silent again before muttering, “So fast…”

“Huh?” Jin Yue voiced her confusion.

“It is nothing. You may leave.”

“Yes, Master.” Jin Yue bowed, but did not rise to her feet. Instead, Raising her head and staring at the person behind the veil, she whispered suddenly, “Master, may… may Jin Yue see you once more?”

Moon God Emperor: “...?”

It made no sense to back down now, so Jin Yue gathered her courage and confessed her thoughts. “When Master first entered the Moon God Realm, Jin Yue was tasked to groom your appearance. That has always been the happiest and most honored moment of Jin Yue’s life.”

But after you became the Moon God Emperor, you no longer allowed Jin Yue to make contact with your body. And recently… we’ve only been speaking to each other with a veil between us. It… it has been a long time since I saw your holy face, Master.”

Moon God Emperor: “...”

“Did… did Jin Yue do something wrong? Have I angered you somehow? Please tell me if that is true, Master. Jin Yue promises that she’ll do her best to change whatever it is that displeases you.”

Jin Yue’s fear had been growing since the physical distance between herself and her master had grown wider and wider. She almost broke into a sob when she finished confessing her thoughts.

Behind the veil, the Moon God Emperor slowly turned away before declaring indifferently, “Starting today, this king will be entering secluded cultivation for several months. No one is to disturb me during this time no matter what!”

“...yes, Master.” Jin Yue accepted the order and retreated in dejection.

Northern Divine Region, behind a churning, black cloud outside the Soul Stealing Realm after the coronation ceremony was over.

“Are you really not going to see him?”

Chi Wuyao said to a small, delicate girl whose features looked like they were carved from fine jade. She was wearing a complex look on her face.

Caizhi shook her head before replying, “No.”

Chi Wuyao said with a smile, “You wouldn’t have come here and lingered for so long if you truly did not wish to see him.”

Caizhi turned away, her usual gentleness completely replaced by a kind of cold, hard indifference that rejected everything. "I can stomach not killing that woman. But there's no way I'll ever stand on the same side as her!"

Chi Wuyao’s eyes twirled. “I can distract her and give you a moment with him.”

Caizhi let loose a burst of profound energy before taking off into the distance.

Chi Wuyao blurred out of existence before appearing in front of Caizhi. “Fine, fine, I won’t force you. In exchange… can you answer me a question?”

Caizhi: “?”

“The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor is the one who changed you, am I right?” Chi Wuyao stared straight into Caizhi’s black eyes when she asked this.

The girl didn’t give her an answer. She took off again and quickly vanished from Chi Wuyao’s sight.

“I thought so,” Chi Wuyao murmured as she stared in the direction Caizhi had vanished.

“There is no one who understands human nature more than the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor in this world. She must have thought of the worst case scenario and left behind many backup plans for Yun Che that even I’m unaware of.”

“Well, it’s only natural. Her daughters’ lives are tied to Yun Che’s after all.”

Chi Wuyao was one of the very, very few people who knew that the daughters of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor and the Heretic God were still alive to this day. After all, there was almost nothing that Yun Che had hidden from “Mu Xuanyin” back then.

There was nothing more important than the small but absolutely essential power that controlled the world, the Divine Sovereigns and the Divine Masters. Especially the Divine Masters. They were the key to all their goals be it taking revenge, breaking the eternal cage that looms over the Northern Divine Region, or changing their fates.

Yun Che’s tasks became very simple after his and Chi Wuyao’s coronation ceremonies were complete.

There were two hundred upper star realms and eight hundred middle star realms in the Northern Divine Region.

Their numbers were absolutely inferior compared to any divine region be it in terms of high level star realms or high level profound practitioners (Divine Kings, Divine Sovereigns and Divine Masters). In the case of the Eastern Divine Region, they didn’t even have half of what their enemy possessed.

Every day, the Divine Masters, Divine Sovereigns, and Divine Kings of three upper star realms would arrive at the Yama Realm to receive the devilish blessing of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness.

In the case of the middle star realms, the blessing went much faster because they had far fewer top tier experts.

After Yun Che had Mastered the middle stage of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness, he could now bless a huge number of devil people with a casual wave of his hand. It was a blessing no profound practitioner had even dared to dream of in a million lifetimes.

In exchange for his time and effort, he gained the trust, loyalty, and reverence of those whom he had blessed.

They became the blades of darkness that Yun Che could use anytime he wished.

Besides that, he also devoted his time and energy to transforming the core strength of the Northern Divine Region… the Yama Devils, Moon Eaters, and Witches; and the Yama Ghosts, Burning Moon Divine Envoys and Soul Spirits.

He led them all into the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness. No outsider knew exactly what he was doing to them.

But a closer observer would notice that the darkness surrounding these profound practitioners’ bodies was a tad deeper every time they came out of the Bone Sea of Eternal Darkness.

It was incredibly difficult to make even the tiniest progress once a profound practitioner had entered the late stage of the Divine Master Realm. Therefore, to say that their transformation was “unbelievable” would be a massive understatement.

The ultimate profound art of the Devil Emperor, the Eternal Calamity of Darkness, was something that existed far, far beyond the common sense of the devils today and the Primal Chaos itself.