Against the Gods

The faces of all who were present twisted up at Cang Shitian’s words, and even their lips had started to twitch.

“Hmph.” Chi Wuyao’s voice immediately turned cold. “God Emperor Shitian, you are allowed to act the fool, but if you dare to sully His Magnificence’s name, that will be an unforgivable sin.”

Cang Shitian swiftly sank to his knees and exclaimed in a solemn voice, “I do not dare. However, I would request Your Magnificence and Your Majesty to make your intentions clear… when it comes to my Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm.”

Yun Che turned to look at Chi Wuyao… What exactly was she planning to do to the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm? Even he was not aware of what she was scheming up this time. Chi Wuyao had not spoken to him privately about it before this, so it was clear that she hadn’t wanted him to reject it outright.

However, it was at this moment that his eyes suddenly turned sharp before he looked toward the southeast.

A vast array of auras had generated a huge storm behind them as they swiftly zoomed toward this place.

It was a group of not more than a hundred people, but every aura was at the Divine Master Realm. There were even two god emperors leading the group. This was undoubtedly a terrifying assembly of power that would sweep over any location like a tidal wave.

However, this vast and abnormally strong group of auras was clearly filled with a deep panic and fear. The closer they grew, the more flustered and scared they became. It practically seemed as if these people thought that they were flinging themselves into a deep abyss of doom.

It was the Divine Masters from the Xuanyuan Realm and Purple Micro Realm.

Even though a day had already passed, one could still taste the dense tang of dragon blood in the air, a smell that pierced the hearts and souls of the Divine Masters from both king realms. The mound of tattered dragon corpses shocked them even more, but it was the mounted head of the Dragon Monarch that nearly made their bladders burst from fright. Their legs started shuddering crazily and uncontrollably.

Thud!

Even though they were still far away, the Xuanyuan God Emperor and the Purple Micro God Emperor fell heavily to the ground and landed on their knees. They kowtowed and yelled, “The troops from the Xuanyuan Realm and Purple Micro Realm have arrived late, we beg Your Magnificence and Your Majesty for forgiveness… It is our utter fortune and blessing that you are still both safe and sound. Your divine might stretches over the world and you trampled over the king realms of the west, cutting down the calamity that almost befell you… The atrocious demonic dragons have all fallen by your hand and all the universe will now be in the palms of your hands. Your might will stretch through all the ages and cover the heavens themselves for all eternity!”

It was an acknowledgement of their sins, words of fatuous praise, and oaths of loyalty rolled all in one… However, one could clearly hear the increasing violent trembling in both of the god emperor’s voices.

Long Bai’s head was mounted barely a kilometer away from them.

The divine power inheritors and Divine Master-level elders of both king realms had all fallen to their knees as well. Not a single one of them dared to display their usual common arrogance.

The Divine Masters of four king realms of the west had all been exterminated, and this included the mightiest king realm of them all, the Dragon God Realm! This news was so frightening that none of them could even bring themselves to believe it at first.

Chi Wuyao’s devilish eyes quietly turned towards them, her ice-cold gaze slowly sweeping over their bodies. “You’ve certainly chosen the ‘right’ time to arrive.”

The eyes of the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor widened into saucers as their bodies tensed up like coiled springs. The Xuanyuan God Emperor immediately pressed his forehead against the ground as he practically prostrated himself before Yun Che and Chi Wuyao. “The Dragon Monarch… Oh no, I meant that dastardly demonic dragon of the Western Region. His actions and movements were simply far too sudden. Once I heard the news, I immediately prepared for battle and rushed over at full speed, but I did not expect the divine might of the Devil Master and Devil Queen to be so powerful that you would only need a single short day to trample over these wicked dragons.”

The Purple Micro God Emperor quickly followed up, “On the day the Southern Sea God Realm fell, we already threw ourselves at the feet of the Devil Master. The heavens and earth can stand as witnesses to our loyalty. It is as bright as the light of the sun and the moon. Howev… However, we did not manage to reinforce our master in time and it was solely due to our incompetence. I am too ashamed to even look for an excuse and I willingly await His Magnifience’s punishment.”

The two mighty god emperors prostrated themselves before Yun Che as they blabbered tearfully. They didn’t possess a single iota of their usual dignity as god emperors at the moment… Every single one of the divine power inheritors and elders behind them wore extremely complex looks on their faces as they witnessed their god emperors’ undignified and shameful behavior.

In their last meeting, the two god emperors had been forced to bow their heads as a stop-gap measure to prevent Yun Che from destroying them. However, today’s situation was entirely different from their last meeting. The previous humiliation they had been forced to endure now seemed like a most blessed and fortunate choice in this moment.

They had chosen to be neutral observers in the grand battle between the west and the north, neither helping Long Bai or Yun Che. As such, even if Yun Che did choose to punish them, it would most likely not result in their annihilation.

“Your Magnificence, how should we deal with them?” Chi Wuyao asked.

Yun Che’s eyebrows briefly knitted together before he barked out a cold and curt command, “Spare the useful ones and kill the useless scum!”

“We’re definitely useful! Definitely useful!” Yun Che’s words ran through the two god emperors like a bolt of lightning. They anxiously exclaimed:

“Every living creature in the Xuanyuan Realm awaits the Devil Master’s command. We will not have a single regret or complaint even if you order us to our deaths!”

“The line of the Purple Micro Realm will serve the Devil Master with loyalty for all eternity!”

“Xuanyuan Realm, Purple Micro Realm, hear me,” Chi Wuyao said in a quiet and composed voice. The two god emperors immediately fell silent the moment the first word spilled from her lips. “I will give you five months. You are to continue eradicating the remnants of the Southern Sea bloodline while also getting every upper star realm king in the Southern Divine Region to kneel before Yun Che and swear their loyalty to him. All of this must be accomplished within the next five months.”

When the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor lifted their heads to look at Chi Wuyao, their faces were filled with extreme gratitude.

“If you can accomplish these two simple tasks in the next five months, you will survive without losing a single hair on your heads. But if you can’t… Hmph, there really isn’t any reason to keep around useless sinners, is there?”

Five months… All of the upper star realms in the Southern Divine Region… The Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor’s scalps went numb as their hearts cried out in dismay, but they did not dare voice a single complaint or attempt to even negotiate with Chi Wuyao. Instead, they obediently said, “We understand. We will commit all of our effort to accomplishing these tasks.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Chi Wuyao continued. “If you do meet any stubborn fools, there’s no need to waste too much time on them. Just smash in their skulls.”

“However, you also need to remember this. Even though His Magnificence once saved the universe, he ended up being betrayed by it and everyone in it. Now that he finally reigns supreme, he could have chosen to vent his hatred on the world for their crimes against him. However, he, in his infinite compassion, chose to give the world peace instead. Unfortunately, there are some foolish people and star realms that are simply too pigheaded to acknowledge this. Not only are they not grateful to His Magnificence, they even want to go against the decree of heaven and cause chaos in the land. You were just unable to overlook this, so you chose to punish them in order to maintain peace and security in the Southern Divine Region. None of this has anything to do with His Magnificence, do you understand?”

“We understand, we understand.” The Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor hurriedly nodded their heads as tension began to bleed out of their hearts.

They could kill the ones who refused to listen… This allowance had actually made their task far easier.

“This is the chance that His Magnificence is bestowing upon you. You had better not mess this up.”

After she finished speaking, Chi Wuyao no longer deigned to even look at them. She turned toward Cang Shitian.

“Cang Shitian, upon the Devil Master’s suggestion, I am appointing you our “Keeper of Order”, someone second only to me and His Magnificence himself. Your job will be to pacify any and all rebellions against this new world order.”

The three words “Keeper of Order” fiercely pricked at Cang Shitian’s nerves. He instantly understood what his role was and all of the blood in his body started boiling like raging lava. A look of deep gratitude and excitement appeared on his face as he bowed and said, “I thank Your Magnificence and Your Majesty for this favor! I will definitely devote my entire existence to preserving order in this world! I will exterminate every demon and monster that would seek to disturb our newfound peace!”

The hearts of the Xuanyuan God Emperor and Purple Micro God Emperor, who were still prostrated on the ground, were filled with shock as looks of admiration and envy crossed their faces.

Cang Shitian was now only second to the Devil Master and Devil Queen, and he had even been bestowed the title of “Keeper of Order”, something which would fill the hearts of all who heard it with both extreme terror and pensive introspection. This meant that he practically possessed a level of power and authority that put him above the rest of the universe, a status that even exceeded his previous title of god emperor.

Chi Wuyao continued, “Six months from now, during His Magnificence’s grand coronation ceremony, we will officially bestow this title upon you. We will also begin to form the squad that you will command at that time. Cang Shitian, His Magnificence has not only forgiven you of your previous sins, he has even decided to put such faith and trust in you. You had better not let him down.”

“Of course,” Cang Shitian replied in a voice filled with gratitude. After that, he asked, “Since I will be devoted to helping the Devil Master and Devil Queen maintain order in the universe, I won’t be able to lead Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm. Regarding the one who will succeed me… Do Your Magnificence and Your Majesty have any thoughts on that?”

Chi Wuyao always found it refreshing when she spoke to someone who was quick on the uptake. This meant that she did not need to waste any superfluous words on them. She immediately replied, “Within a month, I want you to transfer your position as Deep Sea God Emperor to your royal sister, Cang Shuhe.”

“...!?” This name immediately caused Cang Shitian’s eyes to tremble violently.

Qianye Ying’er instantly frowned. Her?

Cang Shitian naturally bowed her head as he swiftly shook the look of utter shock from his eyes. He replied in a perfectly calm voice, “To think that my sister Shuhe would be shown such favor. What an honor and blessing. However, Your Majesties may not know this, but Shuhe has been frail and ill since birth. Not only is her profound cultivation weak, she is also ill-versed in the ways of this world. She can’t even inherit our Deep Sea divine power. I would dare say that she is the candidate least suited to this position among my many brothers, sisters, and even my children.”

Chi Wuyao let out a dry chuckle. “If I say she is suitable, then she is suitable. You only need to pass your throne to her. There is no need for you to pass her the Deep Sea Divine Pearl as well. After all, she is only going to be emperor in name. You, Cang Shitian, will still be the true ruler of the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm. As such, her true capability is entirely irrelevant to this discussion.”

“As for her incompatibility with the Deep Sea divine power, that is something that you need not worry about. His Magnificence will naturally make her compatible with it. After all, we can’t allow the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm to have a god emperor who hasn’t inherited the Deep Sea divine power in its history books. So for Cang Shuhe, this is also the fulfillment of a grand wish and blessing upon her, isn’t it?”

“I see.” Cang Shitian bowed deeply toward them. “Then I will obey. Within a month, I will transfer my position as Deep Sea God Emperor to Shuhe. I also want to take this opportunity to give my utmost thanks to Your Majesties on behalf of Shuhe. Thank you for showing her such favor.”

He bowed his head deeply, so no one could see his pupils narrowing in shock and confusion. They only heard the intense gratitude in his voice, and not the sound of his teeth lightly chattering.

“Do I need to give you any further instructions on what you need to do?” Chi Wuyao said with a soft laugh.

Cang Shitian immediately replied, “Once Shuhe has inherited the throne, I will find a suitable time to announce that she will also become a concubine of the Devil Master and that the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm would be joined to the Devil Master forevermore.”

“Very good.” Chi Wuyao gave a slow nod of her head. “You are indeed worthy of His Magnificence’s trust and confidence.”

Yun Che had caught both Cang Shitian’s momentary loss of control and Qianye Ying’er’s strange reaction. He immediately sent a sound transmission to Qianye Ying’er. “What is so special about this Cang Shuhe?”

Qianye Ying’er glanced at him and replied, “To put it simply, she is a woman of the Deep Sea Realm that Cang Shitian desperately wants every outsider to forget ever existed. Even I had very nearly forgotten about her. To think that she was still alive… and that Chi Wuyao actually managed to dig this information up.”

“Hm?” Yun Che furrowed his brow. “Who exactly is this person?”

Qianye Ying’e asked, “Now that you have seen Cang Shitian’s true personality, do you think that he really wanted to become the Deep Sea God Emperor?”

Yun Che thought about it for a second before replying, “Given everything that I’ve witnessed so far, I really must say that he really isn’t compatible with the title ‘god emperor’.”

Even though the title of god emperor was the ultimate symbol of status and power, it was also something that fettered anyone who inherited the title. This was because every action and every word, every attitude and every posture that a god emperor adopted would represent their king realm and even an entire divine region at times.

Given Cang Shitian’s personality, being bound to something was definitely the one thing that he hated the most.

“That’s right. According to Qianye Fantian’s memories, Cang Shitian had not been the original successor to the throne of the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm. He had forcefully grabbed it by using every and all means at his disposable and the main reason behind his ruthless and despicable behavior was his sister, Cang Shuhe.”

“Why?” Yun Che asked. During the years he had spent in the God Realm, he had never heard anyone mention the name “Cang Shuhe” even once.

Qianye Ying’er sifted through the memories of Qianye Fantian, which had already started to become blurry, before replying, “As the son of the previous Deep Sea God Emperor’s concubine, the status of both Cang Shitian and his mother was not high. However, Cang Shtian not only showed astounding potential since his youth, he even managed to resonate with the Deep Sea Divine Pearl when he reached a thousand years of age.”

“However,this also aroused fear and apprehension in his eldest brother. He was afraid that Cang Shitian would threaten his position as the Deep Sea Realm’s crown prince, so he plotted to assassinate him before he inherited his Deep Sea divine powers… However, this assassination attempt was foiled by Cang Shitian’s mother, and she was also badly wounded in the process. Furthermore, she was pregnant at that time, so she passed from this world after she barely managed to give birth to her daughter. Right before she died, his mother did not entrust her daughter to the Deep Sea God Emperor, who had barely any feelings for her in the first place. Instead, she entrusted the infant girl to her brother, Cang Shitian.”

“I heard that it was after this event that he started calling himself ‘Shitian’.” The corner of Qianye Ying’er’s lips twitched in mirth before she continued, “This may sound rather ridiculous to you, but he was also the one who gave Cang Shuhe her name.

To think that someone who called himself “Shitian” would actually give his own blood sister the name “Shuhe”. What a joke this was.

“So he did all of this just to fulfill his mother’s dying wish?” Yun Che found this quite hard to believe. A mad dog like Cang Shitian, someone who could barely contain his desire to piss on every rule and law written in the universe, was actually such a filial and faithful person?

Qianye Ying’er continued, “Because she was badly wounded during the assassination attempt, Cang Shuhe was born with many serious ailments. Her body was extremely frail and if not for the protection of her brother, who had already become a Sea God by then, she probably wouldn’t have lived past a hundred years of age.”

“Unfortunately, this sickly princess just so happens to be as beautiful as she is frail.” Qianye Ying’er gave a soft snort before she continued her account. “It’s rumored that that lustful devil Nan Wansheng actually saw her during one of her rare public appearances. After that, he shamelessly visited the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm more than twenty times over the next three years and a rumor soon sprang up from it. The rumor was that the Deep Sea God Emperor was going to marry Cang Shuhu to Nan Wansheng as his queen.”

“As his queen!?” Yun Che’s eyebrows twitched violently. Becoming a queen and becoming a concubine were two totally different concepts altogether… Furthermore, this was the Southern Divine Region’s number one king realm!

He had actually visited the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm over twenty times in the span of three years, making his infatuation practically comparable to his thousand-year chase of Qianye Ying’er.

“That’s right,” Qianye Ying’er replied. “You can well imagine just how obsessed Nan Wansheng was with Cang Shuhe. However, a strange and sudden event occurred a short two months after that rumor started to spread. Cang Shitian used some unknown means to wrest control of the Deep Sea Divine Pearl from the Deep Sea God Emperor. Then, he forced his father to step down from the throne and took it for himself.

“After Cang Shitian was made emperor, he immediately announced that Cang Shuhe had fallen deathly ill and needed a very long time to rest and recover… Later on, there was very little news of Cang Shuhe at all. She also seemed to have disappeared completely and even Nan Wansheng did not manage to catch a glimpse of her despite his many visits to the Deep Sea Realm.

“When the entire Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm had fallen into Cang Shitian’s hands, Cang Shuhe started slowly fading into obscurity. In fact, even the occasional rumor about her was that she had died from illness.”

“Speaking of which…” Qianye Ying’er’s golden eyes narrowed slightly as she stared straight at Chi Wuyao. “Even I have never seen Cang Shuhe and I would have forgotten that name if you hadn’t brought it up. So where did Chi Wuyao even find out about it… and why was she so confident that she was still in the Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm?”

“She may very well have grabbed hold of Cang Shitian’s true weakness this time… and it might even be his only true weakness.” The gloomy light in Qianye Ying’er’s eyes trembled slightly as she said, “This woman really is mind-numbingly terrifying sometimes.”

She even suspected that Chi Wuyao had secretly wiggled her way into Cang Shitian’s soul a long time ago.

“Devil Master, Devil Queen, where do we go now?” Fen Daoqi asked as he took a step forward.

Chi Wuyao turned to face Fen Daoqi and let out a soft and dreamy sigh. “Let us return to the north.”